UPSC - 2013 (New system) Part I

UPSC 2013 General Studies: Prelims + Mains for Civil Service IAS IPS Exam

UPSC 2013 Part 01 (Introduction and Prelims)

Prologue

• Ok, so few days back UPSC released the much awaited notification for 2013. So we already know, what is changed. It is stale news.  This article is just an overview article for future approach.
• We should not waste our time digging around Mains material (or debating about the “change” on various online forums), because given the number of days left, first priority should be= reading, revision and practice for prelims.

What is not changed?

1.     Age- attempt limit is not changed.

2.     Age is still counted on 01 August of the given year. (Rumor market said UPSC was planning to count age on 01 Jan.)

3.     Vacancies are almost the same (2012: 1037 vacancies, 2013: approx. 1000)

4.     Mains to Interview quota are same (twice the number of vacancies. It was same in 2011 and 2012)

5.     Prelims syllabus is not changed even one bit. (So the approach / strategy for prelims remains one and same.)

Prelims approach

Approach to general studies for prelims, here is just a checklist:

1.     If finished reading NCERT, NIOS, Yearbook, Laxmikanth etc. (+static topics from GS Manual) multiple times. Have rock solid command over them (or will be revising them often until I get rock solid command).

2.     Have tried/ will try myself with the MCQs given in GS Manual.

3.     For aptitude, doing maximum practice at night (so don’t fall asleep by simply reading some book).

That’s well and good, the it is on right track.  Now the question that bothers a lot of candidates:

What about the current affairs?

Current affairs itself is quite big. But for prelims, you’ve to concentrate only on the current affairs associated with specific sectors:

High priority current affairs	1.     Environment n biodiversity 2.     Science tech 3.     Polity 4.     Economy. 5.     Yearbook stuff (Government schemes/ org. etc)
Low priority current affairs	1.     International relations. 2.     Misc. GK (Sports, awards, persons in news, books, authors etc)

• Have been maintaining notes out of Hindu/Indian Express past one year, that’s totally awesome. Just keep doing it.
• But those, who joined the game late and or did not diligently read newspapers/maintained notes. What to do now? Here is a firefighting tip. Do any one of the following

Option A:

• Get a book called Wizard’s Current Affairs 2013. (They publish it every year. Please note, other publication houses also release similar books. Use whatever is easily available to you.)
• It doesn’t guarantee UPSC is directly going to asks questions from it. But such book gives an overview of what happened past one year (in topic wise fashion: bilateral, sci-tech etc.)
• The book itself is quite thick but don’t have to prepare everything, just concentrate on the high priority areas. Then dig internet, standard reference books etc. for topics that are directly indirectly related to it and are “basic” in nature. For example, there is news about Libya, then check Libya’s location in the map, its capital, its bordering nations and so on. There is some news about Eastern Dedicated freight corridor, then dig out from which states does this corridor pass through? …..Prelims is not about Ph.D. Prelims is mostly about tricky questions from very basic concepts / facts.

Option B:

• Hit the public library. Pick past 1 Years’ current affairs magazines (CST, Chronicle, PD, Wizard. Whatever is available).
• Go through the first 20-25 pages: the important national international affairs are given here.
• And Remaining pages of magazines is usually filler material (toppers’ interviews and recycled articles on polity), can read them if have time and mood.
• But from those first 20-25 pages, note down the exam worthy current affairs, come back home dig net +/- standard reference books as and where required.

^Please note, these option A / B are just firefighting tools. They’d work fine for SSC, SBI type exams. But current affairs for UPSC is a different game altogether. That’s the reason everyone advise people to read daily newspapers and maintain notes out of it. As a UPSC aspirant, Current affairs must be part of our daily routine. If we don’t do it on daily basis, that’s when we’ve to turn to such (not so reliable) ^firefighting tools. And don’t put too much of time in current affairs, because lot of questions come from static part (theory) too.

Another concern is regarding “Cutoffs possibly getting high” because IFoS and IAS have common preliminary exam. My point is: Just read revise and practice. Leave rest in the hands of God. Don’t enter the exam hall with the cut off mindset or negative marking will dig your grave.

That’s for prelims. Now let’s move to Mains.

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