One of the most competitive and prestigious exams, civil services, is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), India's major regulating body. UPSC also conducts a number of competitive exams to fill-in various civil service vacancies for the government of India.
The UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE), popularly known as IAS (Indian Administrative Service) exam, in two phases namely- UPSC Prelims and UPSC Mains. The prelims exam comprises objective-type questions, while the questions asked in mains need descriptive and essay-type answering.
If you are planning to appear for the UPSC 2016 exam, you need to get acquainted with the factors mentioned below:
The exam dates
The exam dates are subject to change as per the UPSC guidelines. So, an aspirant is required to keep an eye on the new dates released by the commission on the official website.
Why IAS?/PI quotient
Before stepping into the preparation of one of the most competitive exams in the nation, an aspirant must get his/her PI (personal interview) quotient scoped-out . During personality test, a candidate's candidature would be measured against his/her performance. Once he/she gets the PI quotient evaluated, the candidate would have a clearer mindset throughout the preparation.
The subsets of IAS
IPS, IRS, IFS fall under the aegis of the IAS exam and the cutoff to get recruited in the services mentioned above is decided after the conduction of the exam. A good understanding of the target is what will streamline the preparation and to keep the focused better.
- IPS Indian Police Service
- IRS Indian Revenue Service
- IFS Indian Foreign Service
How do you think you can contribute?
Before one starts with the preparation, he must prove his caliber and ask himself what changes can he bring about as an IAS officer. A candidate's plan need not to be monumental but should be cogent enough to set him apart from the other aspirants. Apparent answers to such questions will give a candidate an edge over all the other applicants in the interview session.
Preparation technique:
It is not an exaggerated fact that IAS is the nation's toughest competitive exam and calls for intensive practice and preparation.There is no definite answer to the most commonly asked questions, such as how many hours an IAS aspirant need to put in every day? It will differ from person to person so let us look at it from a general perspective.
Time required:
Experts believe that aggressive preparation for 10 to 12 months is a must. Four out of every 10 Indians (21-32 years) aspire to become an IAS officer and competition is so intense that only 5 percent of that massive number gets through. An aspirant must map-out an effective strategy and decide ideal number of hours required to implement that strategy.
An aspirant should also understand that preparation for civil services examination calls for qualitative and not quantitative preparation. It is about completion of your short term target. Ideally you should target two subjects every day. Most of the top rankers have started preparing for the exams right from their school days, as most of the questions are asked mostly from Class 6 to 12 standard books. So preparing notes and devoting 10 to 12 hours before a year of exam is believed to be sufficient.
Outline the syllabus and design your preparation
If you have studied biology, you would definitely be familiar with a word "catabolism". It is a process in which original components are broken down into their by-products. You can do the same with your IAS syllabus. Find out the topics you are good at and the topics you would need help in. Do it for all the subjects and work upon them.
Objectifying the syllabus
Most of the IAS aspirants get discouraged seeing the bulk of IAS syllabus. No doubt the syllabus is huge, but if you divide the subjects into manageable chunks, then impossible looking tasks will become easier for you.
Enjoy your preparation
Unarguably, UPSC preparation is a lengthy process. But the moment you start enjoying your preparation, all the unwarranted stress and anxiety associated with the preparation will vanish. Civil services examination aspirants tend to give up their hobbies, but pursuing your hobbies side by side will make your preparation more fun.
