12/10/12

The Hindu : Education / Careers : Study plan for UPSC

EducationCareers
Published:December10,201217:23IST|Updated:December10,201217:26IST

StudyplanforUPSC
AloysiusXavierLopez

Agroupdiscussionclass.Photo:ShankerChakravarty

TheHindu

Someusefultipsforaspirantsplanningtotaketheexam.

TheCivilServicesMainsExamination2012isyetanotherindicationofthepatternoftestingtobepursuedbytheUnionPublic
ServiceCommission(UPSC)toselectcivilservantsforthemostpopulousdemocracyonearth.
Thenumberofquestionsthattesttheanalyticalabilityofcandidateshasincreasedwhencomparedtothatoflastyearinthegeneral
studiespaper.
InGeneralStudiesPaperI,thenumberofquestionstotestanalyticalabilityhasincreasedto181marksthisyearwhencomparedto
111marksinthepreviousmainsexamination.
InGeneralStudiesPaperIItoo,suchquestionshaveincreasedto210whencomparedto117lastyear.Thetotalmarksforeachof
thegeneralstudiesmainspaperis300.
DecemberandJanuaryarecrucialforaspirantstofocusonthepreparationforthenextprelims,asachunkofthecandidateswho
haveappearedforthemainswillhavetositagainfortheprelims.
Eventhosesuccessfulcandidateswhomissthisopportunityinthesethreemonthstoprepareforthenextprelimswillhavenotime
becauseoftheneedforpreparingforthepersonalitytest.
IfacandidategetsselectedtotheIndianRevenueServicethisyearandwantstoimproverankingtojointheIndianAdministrative
Servicenextyear,thepreparationbeforeJanuary2013isimportanttoclearthenextprelims,saysP.S.Ravindran,director,Vajiram
andRaviInstituteforIASExamination,NewDelhi.
Preparation
Thecivilservicesmains2012resultsareexpectedtobereleasedearlierinFebruaryandthepreparationforthepersonalitytesthasto
beginthisweek.
CandidateshavetostartgatheringinformationfrombroadsheetssuchasTheHindu,Frontline,WorldFocus,IndiaYearBook,
EconomicSurveyandYojana,saysMr.Ravindran.

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12/10/12

The Hindu : Education / Careers : Study plan for UPSC

SuchexpertsalsostresstheneedforAllIndiaRadionewsanalysisat9.15p.m.,theaudiorecordingofsuchanalysesontheAIR
website,paneldiscussionsandexpertopinionatLokSabhaTV.
Newlyaddedtopicssuchasbiodiversity,climatechange,environmentandsustainabledevelopmentcarryaround15marksinthe
prelims.
Newscoverageandeditorialpertainingtoimportantdevelopmentsandconferencesonthesetopicshavetobereadthoroughly.
StressshouldbeontheCivilServicesAptitudeTest(CSAT)asthepotentialforscoringislikelytobehighinthepaper.
Themostimportantreasonisthatscoringmorethan95ingeneralstudieswillbetoughevenwiththoroughreadingoftheentire
syllabus.Socandidateshavetotryandscoreatleast125inCSATforadecentscoreintheprelims.
Whattoexpect
Candidateswithascoreof200outof400arelikelytocleartheprelimscomfortably.
Thetypeofquestionsinthegeneralstudiesquestionpaperforthemainsexamination2012stresstheneedforfocussingmoreonthe
biodataofthecandidatesandtheirabilitytoformopinions.
Thecandidateisexpectedtostartgatheringinformationonthemainsapplicationformcolumnsforagoodscoreinthepersonality
test.
Candidateswhogettothenextstageofthecivilservicesexambyclearingthecivilservicesmainsexaminationwillhavetoundergoa
personalitytestwhichislikelytobeatestofsuchaspects.
Candidatesareadvisedtoformagroupoffriendswhohaveclearedthemainsanddiscusstheissuesinsocial,economic,national,
international,culturalandpoliticalcoveredinabroadsheetnewspaper.
AccordingtothenotificationoftheUPSC,thecandidatewillbeinterviewedbyaBoardwhichwillhavebeforethemarecordof
her/hiscareer.
Soitisbettertohavethephotocopyoftheformandcommencepreparationbasedonthedetailsgivensuchashobby,hometown,
subjectofgraduation,previousjob,interestsandextracurricularactivitiesandsoon.
Candidateswillbejudgedbasedonmentalalertness,criticalpowersofassimilation,clearandlogicalexposition,balanceof
judgement,varietyanddepthofinterest,abilityforsocialcohesionandleadership,intellectualandmoralintegrity.
Keywords:UPSCexam,civilserviceexam,examinationtips
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