VisionIAS
10:23
Click Here to download VISION IAS BUDGET (HINDI) 2018-19 PDF
Click Here to Like our Facebook page for latest updates and free ebooks
Showing posts with label upsc 2018. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upsc 2018. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
VISION IAS BUDGET (HINDI) 2018-19 PDF
Click Here to Like our Facebook page for latest updates and free ebooks
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
UPSC Study Notes 2018: Important Government Schemes to Remember
VisionIAS
18:34
This post is brought to you by Oliveboard, an
online exam preparation platform for government, banking and MBA exams.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
· Announced in PM’s
Independence speech on 15th Aug 2014.
· Under this, a
person not having a savings account can open an account without the requirement
of any minimum balance and, in case they self-certify that they do not have any
of the officially valid documents required for opening a savings account, they
may open a small account.
· This scheme is
launched to carry out Financial Inclusion by ensuring that each household
should have at least 1 bank account
· Country Divided
into 1.59 lakh Sub Service area’s (SSA). One SSA has approximately 1000 to 1500
households.
· SSA’s without Bank
Branches were assigned Bank Mitra’s (Branchless banking)
· Subscribers get
RuPay debit card, with inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh, and
access to overdraft facility upon satisfactory operation of account or credit
history of six months.
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)
· Started on 9th May,
2015
· For all Bank
Account holders whose age is between 18 to 50 years
· The life cover of ₹
2 lakh is for the one year period stretching from 1st June to 31st May and is
renewable and Risk coverage under this scheme is for ₹ 2 lakh in case of death
of the insured, due to any reason.
· The premium for
this scheme is ₹ 330 per year which is to be auto-debited in one instalment
from the subscriber’s bank account
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
· Started on 9th May,
2015
· For all Bank
Account holders whose age is between 18 to 70 years
· The risk coverage
under the scheme is ₹ 2 lakh for accidental death and full disability and ₹ 1
lakh for partial disability at a premium of ₹ 12 per year which will be auto
paid by account holders bank account by “Auto-Debit facility”.
· Provided by all
public sector insurance companies.
Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
· Started on 9th May,
2015.
· APY is open to all
bank/post office savings account holders in the age group of 18 – 40 years.
· Subscribers shall
receive assured monthly pension from ₹ 1000 to ₹ 5000 based on their
contributions after the age of 60 years
· After the subscriber’s
death, the pension shall pass onto his/her spouse.
· The minimum pension
would be guaranteed by the Government, i.e., if the accumulated corpus based on
contributions earns a lower than estimated return on investment and is
inadequate to provide the minimum guaranteed pension, the Central Government
would fund such inadequacy. Alternatively, if the returns on investment are
higher, the subscribers would get enhanced pensionary benefits.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana
· Started on 8th April
2015.
· Loans given under 3
sub schemes –
· Shishu – up to
₹50,000
· Kishore – between
₹50,000 to ₹5.0 Lakhs
· Tarun – between ₹5
Lakhs to ₹10 lakhs
· Non-Collateral
Loans
· To promote
entrepreneurship among youth and help small businesses to expand.
· As on 23rd March
2018 the total amount of Loans disbursed under this scheme was ₹ 220596.05
crores
Stand Up India Scheme
· Launched on 5th April
2016
· To give bank loans
between ₹10 lakhs and ₹1 crore to at least one SC / ST borrower and at least
one Woman borrower per bank branch for setting up greenfield enterprises.
· In case of
non-individual enterprises at least 51% of the shareholding and controlling
stock should be held by a SC / ST or a woman entrepreneur.
· Implemented through
all scheduled commercial banks
· To benefit at least
2.5 lakh borrowers
· It is promoting
entrepreneurship amongst women, SC & ST category
· Government of India
has set up the Credit Guarantee Fund for Stand Up India (CGFSI).
· Dedicated Stand Up
India portal
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) –
Assured Pension of 8% for people aged above 60.
· Implemented through
LIC.
· Assured return of
8% per annum payable monthly
· Monthly interest
rate of ₹ 1000 for an investment of ₹ 1.50 lakh and ₹ 5000 for an
investment of ₹ 7.5 lakh.
· Policy period is 10
years.
· Person can get a
loan up to 75% of the purchase price
Hope this helps!
Friday, April 06, 2018
Vision IAS PT 365 Culture 2018 PDF
VisionIAS
07:56
Click Here to download Vision IAS PT 365 Culture 2018 PDF
Click Here to download Vision IAS PT 365 Social Issues 2018 PDF
Click Here to download Vision IAS PT 365 Science & Technology 2018 PDF
Click Here to download Vision IAS PT 365 Economy 2018 PDF
Click Here to download POLITY AND CONSTITUTION PT 365 BY VISION IAS 2018
Click Here to download POLITY AND CONSTITUTION PT 365 BY VISION IAS 2018
Monday, April 02, 2018
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES FOR UPSC- 2018
VisionIAS
06:24
Click Here to download GOVERNMENT SCHEMES FOR UPSC- 2018
Click Here to Like our Facebook page for latest updates and free ebooks
Thursday, March 15, 2018
UPSC CSE 2018 Study Notes: Important Government Schemes
VisionIAS
12:39
Here is a post on UPSC CSE 2018 Study Notes: Important Government Schemes brought to you by Oliveboard, an online exam preparation platform for government, banking and MBA exams. UPSC always lies ahead in time while asking questions. So, few Schemes which are announced but not yet formulated and formulated but not yet implemented are also discussed here.
1. AAJEEVIKA GRAMEEN EXPRESS YOJANA
Launched as a part of the DeendayalAntyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
Ministry: Ministry of Rural development.
Objective: To provide an alternative source of earning/livelihood to Self Help Groups (SHGs) by providing them to run public transport facilities in rural backward areas.
Beneficiaries: Rural SHG’s
Scheme:
Ministry: MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMER WELFARE
Objective: To achieve faster agricultural development with focus on agriculture infrastructure especially on post-harvest assets and promotion of agri-business models linked with value addition.
Funding: As grants in ratio of 60 :40 between Centre and States. 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States.
Beneficiaries: Farmers in Agriculture and Allied activities.
Scheme:
NAHEP has been formulated by ICAR in partnership with World Bank.
Objective: To improve and sustain quality of Higher Education in Agriculture.
Improve learning outcomes, employability and entrepreneurship
Enhancing institutional and system management effectiveness
Funding: The project has been launched for a period of 4 years on 50-50 cost sharing basis with world bank and GoI starting form 2017-18 upto $165 million.
Targets: To make Agriculture education infrastructure competent enough with world universities in Student and faculty development.
Beneficiaries:
1.All statutory agricultural universities.
2.Deemed to be Universities
3.Agricultural Faculty of Central Universities are eligible to participate.
Project: It will focus on raising the standards of teaching and learning through faculty and student development programmes, infrastructure, state of the art laboratories, industry linkage, alumni network, career development etc.
The project has 3 components
Objective: Integrating SHG members with the national Financial Inclusion agenda;
Improving the quality of interface between SHG members and Banks for efficient and hassle-free delivery of banking services by using the available technology;
Integrating delivery system with SHGs using Aadhaar linked identity.
Beneficiaries: Rural poor community and members of SHGs
Scheme:
Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli HarGhar Yojana
Objective : To provide all families in India with electricity.
Ministry : Ministry of Power
Funding: 16,320 crores 60 percent by central grants 30 percent by bank loans, 10 percentby states.
Benefeciaries: Un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data.
Scheme:
The SAATHI initiative of the Government will be jointly implemented by EESL and the office of the Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis.
Ministry: Ministries of Power and Textiles
FUNDING: Central Sector Scheme
Objective: To provide energy efficient equipment and thus save energy and Cost reduction to the unit owners of textile industry.
Scheme:
Ministry: Ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship along with WORLD BANK.
Objective: To improve Skill development and certification methodology.
Funding: SANKALP – Central Sponsored Scheme
STRIVE-CENTRAL Sector Scheme
Scheme:
8. AGRI-UDAAN Food and Agribusiness Accelerator 2.0 programme
Objective: To promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture.
Management: ICAR-NAARM along with IIM-A
Beneficiaries: Rural youth interested in agri-entrepreneurship.
Scheme:
Objective: To provide a platform for selling Agriculture Produce.
Beneficiaries: Farmers from the smallest villages to the biggest markets of the world.
Targets: e-RaKAM is a first of its kind initiative that leverages technology to connect farmers from the smallest villages to the biggest markets of the world.
Project:
Objective: Aims integrated use of Space and Geospatial Tools for Mapping, Monitoring and Management of Agriculture.
Scheme:
a. UDAAN
b. UDAN-RCY
c. AGRI-UDAN
d. AVATARAN
Answer: c
2.Read the following statements and mark the options
1.SANKALP is a Central Sector Scheme
2.STRIVE is a Central Sponsored Scheme.
a. 1 is true
b. 2 is true
c. Both 1 and 2 are true
d. Both 1 and 2 are false
Answer: d
For now, a total of 20 schemes have been discussed in both Part 1 and Part 2. Please revise them thoroughly for getting nuances of the schemes .Give special attention to objectives,targets and ministries.
Along with these Schemes the schemes listed in INDIA YEAR book also need to take a look where in the past years some questions have been asked.
Happy Preparation everyone!
1. AAJEEVIKA GRAMEEN EXPRESS YOJANA
Launched as a part of the DeendayalAntyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
Ministry: Ministry of Rural development.
Objective: To provide an alternative source of earning/livelihood to Self Help Groups (SHGs) by providing them to run public transport facilities in rural backward areas.
Beneficiaries: Rural SHG’s
Scheme:
- The Self-Help Groups under DAY-NRLM will facilitate transport service in backward areas.
- It will help to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities for the overall development of the communities and the area as a whole.
- This will also provide an additional Source of Income for SHG’s..
- The Community Investment Fund (CIF) provided to Community Based Organization (CBOs) under DAY-NRLM will be used to support the SHG members
- SHG member will be given an interest free loan by the CBO from its Community Investment Fund up to Rs.6.50 lakh for purchasing the vehicle. Also, as an alternative, CBO will own the vehicle and lease it to an SHG member to operate the vehicle and pay rent.
- AGEY will be implemented in 250 Blocks in the country on pilot basis in the beginning with each Block provided upto 6 vehicles
- All vehicles under the scheme will have a colour code and carry AGEY branding to make sure their identity and prevent diversion to other routes
2. RKVY-RAFTAAR
RKVY is now modified now as RKVY- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) for three years i.e. 2017-18 to 2019-20.Ministry: MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE & FARMER WELFARE
Objective: To achieve faster agricultural development with focus on agriculture infrastructure especially on post-harvest assets and promotion of agri-business models linked with value addition.
Funding: As grants in ratio of 60 :40 between Centre and States. 90:10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States.
Beneficiaries: Farmers in Agriculture and Allied activities.
Scheme:
- States start the process of decentralized planning for agriculture and allied sectors by preparing District Agriculture Plans (DAPs) and State Agriculture Plan (SAP) based on agro-climatic conditions, availability of appropriate technology and natural resources to fulfill local needs, cropping pattern, priorities.
- National priorities like Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI), Crop Diversification Program (CDP), Reclamation of Problem Soil (RPS), Foot & Mouth Disease – Control Program (FMD-CP), Saffron Mission, Accelerated Fodder Development Programme, etc. are being implemented through the window of RKVY.
- It gives considerable flexibility and autonomy to states in planning and executing programmes for investment in agriculture and allied sectors
- It will also strengthen farmer ‘s efforts through creation of agriculture infrastructure that helps in supply of quality inputs.
NAHEP has been formulated by ICAR in partnership with World Bank.
Objective: To improve and sustain quality of Higher Education in Agriculture.
Improve learning outcomes, employability and entrepreneurship
Enhancing institutional and system management effectiveness
Funding: The project has been launched for a period of 4 years on 50-50 cost sharing basis with world bank and GoI starting form 2017-18 upto $165 million.
Targets: To make Agriculture education infrastructure competent enough with world universities in Student and faculty development.
Beneficiaries:
1.All statutory agricultural universities.
2.Deemed to be Universities
3.Agricultural Faculty of Central Universities are eligible to participate.
Project: It will focus on raising the standards of teaching and learning through faculty and student development programmes, infrastructure, state of the art laboratories, industry linkage, alumni network, career development etc.
The project has 3 components
- Support to Agricultural Universities
- Investments in ICAR for leadership in Agricultural Higher Education
- Project Management and learning.
4. E-Shakti
NABARD has launched e-Shakti initiative for digitization of Self Help Groups (SHGs).Objective: Integrating SHG members with the national Financial Inclusion agenda;
Improving the quality of interface between SHG members and Banks for efficient and hassle-free delivery of banking services by using the available technology;
Integrating delivery system with SHGs using Aadhaar linked identity.
Beneficiaries: Rural poor community and members of SHGs
Scheme:
- The main agenda of E-Shakti software is ‘one-click’ availability of social and financial information of all the members of the Self-Help Groups.
- It is an initiative launched by the Micro Credit and Innovation Department of NABARD in line with the Digital India drive.
- The project involves E-book keeping and regular updates of transactional data and Auto generation of loan application for bankers on input by SHGs.
Process:
- Information of all the SHGs and their members are uploaded in the website. The transactions are updated through ‘apps’ on android Mobile/Tablet. Data authenticity is ensured through SMS alerts to members and sample audits. MIS reports on groups are generated and progress is tracked on a real time basis.
- Helps the SHG members to access credit based on their real time performance
- Reduces saving-credit linkage gap and Promotes transparency through real time SMS alerts
- Aided convergence with government schemes.
Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli HarGhar Yojana
Objective : To provide all families in India with electricity.
Ministry : Ministry of Power
Funding: 16,320 crores 60 percent by central grants 30 percent by bank loans, 10 percentby states.
Benefeciaries: Un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data.
Scheme:
- Problem of electricity wasn’t resolved through DEEN DAYAL UPADHYAY GRAM JYOTI YOZANA and hence this scheme to provide electricity to all households not only rural but also urban.
- Rural Electrification Corporation Limited is the nodal agency for the operationalization
- Free connections will be provided to below poverty line households and others can avail it
- by paying Rs500 in 10 instalments with their monthly bill.
- Households will be provided with solar power packs along with battery banks if National Electricity Grid can’t be connected.
- Remote hamlets will be provided with solar panels along with five LED lamps, a DC fan, and a plug point along with repair and maintenance for five years.
- States are eligible for an incentive of 50% of their loan being converted to grants, if the provided targets are met by 31 December 2018.
6. SAATHI Scheme:
(Sustainable and Accelerated Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help Small Industries)The SAATHI initiative of the Government will be jointly implemented by EESL and the office of the Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis.
Ministry: Ministries of Power and Textiles
FUNDING: Central Sector Scheme
Objective: To provide energy efficient equipment and thus save energy and Cost reduction to the unit owners of textile industry.
Scheme:
- Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public-sector entity under the administrative control of Ministry of Power, would procure energy efficient Power looms, motors and Rapier kits in bulk and provide them to the small and medium Power loom units at no upfront cost.
- The use of these efficient equipment would result in energy savings and cost savings to the unit owner and he would repay in installments to EESL over a 4 to 5-year period.
- The unit owner neither has to allocate any upfront capital cost to procure this equipment nor does it have to allocate additional expenditure for repayment as the repayments to EESL are made from the savings that accrue as a result of higher efficiency equipment and cost savings.
- Cluster wise demonstration projects and workshops will be organized in key clusters such as Erode, Surat, Ichalkaranji, etc.
7. SANKALP and STRIVE
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved two new World Bank supported schemes of Rs. 6,655 crore – Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) and Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE).Ministry: Ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship along with WORLD BANK.
Objective: To improve Skill development and certification methodology.
Funding: SANKALP – Central Sponsored Scheme
STRIVE-CENTRAL Sector Scheme
Scheme:
- The two schemes shall address this need by setting up national bodies for accreditation & certification which shall regulate accreditation and certification in both long and short term Vocational Education and Training (VET).
- SANKALP set-ups National bodies for accreditation and certification.
- STRIVE scheme will incentivize ITIs to improve overall performance including apprenticeship by involving SMEs, business association and industry clusters.
- The schemes aim to develop a robust mechanism for delivering quality skill development training by strengthening institutions such as State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), Sector Skill Councils (SSCs), ITIs and National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) etc.
- The schemes shall support universalization of National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) including National Quality Assurance Framework (NQAF) across the skill development schemes of central and state governments thus ensuring standardization in skill delivery, content and training output.
Objective: To promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture.
Management: ICAR-NAARM along with IIM-A
Beneficiaries: Rural youth interested in agri-entrepreneurship.
Scheme:
- It is a food and Agriculture Accelerator which focuses on catalyzing scale-up Food & Agribusiness start-ups through rigorous mentoring, industry networking and Investor pitching.
- The programme will help convert innovative ideas from India’s rural youth into viable businesses startups and help them connect with potential investors.
- It is managed by ICAR-NAARM’s (Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management) technology incubator, a-IDEA along with IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation.
- Start-ups will get incubation space to run their businesses and have access to research laboratories and libraries. Regulatory services like company registration and environmental compliances will be provided.
- Following an intensive training lasting six months, the new start-ups will be connected to investors for funding.
9. E-rakam Portal
The Union Government has launched e-RashtriyaKisanAgri Mandi (E-RaKAM) portal.Objective: To provide a platform for selling Agriculture Produce.
Beneficiaries: Farmers from the smallest villages to the biggest markets of the world.
Targets: e-RaKAM is a first of its kind initiative that leverages technology to connect farmers from the smallest villages to the biggest markets of the world.
Project:
- e-RaKAM is a digital initiative that aims to bring together the farmers, PSUs, civil supplies and buyers on a single platform to ease the selling and buying process of agricultural products.
- It has been developed by state-run-auctioneer MSTC Limited and CRWC (Central Railside Warehouse Company) Limited.
- Under this initiative, e-RaKAMcenters are being developed throughout the country in a phased manner to facilitate farmers for online sale of their produce
- The farmers will be paid through e-Payment directly into their bank accounts under the e-RaKAM initiative.
10. NPSTAlll
Ministry: The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers WelfareObjective: Aims integrated use of Space and Geospatial Tools for Mapping, Monitoring and Management of Agriculture.
Scheme:
- The current running programmes will be subsumed under this. They are
- Project FASAL (for crop forecasting),
ii. Project NADAMS (for drought assessment),
iii. Project CHAMAN (for horticultural assessment and development),
iv. Project KISAN (for crop insurance) and Crop Intensification planning.
- •The programme will have four sub-programmes catering to various themes viz. Crop Assessment & Monitoring; Agricultural Resources Management; Disaster Monitoring and Mitigation and Satellite Communication and Navigation Applications.
- •In order to increase the availability of certified/quality seeds to the farmers locally, the Government has proposed to set up 500 numbers of seed production and seed processing units at Gram Panchayat Level.
Sample Questions:
1.ICAR-NAARM along with IIM-A havedeveloped a programme nameda. UDAAN
b. UDAN-RCY
c. AGRI-UDAN
d. AVATARAN
Answer: c
2.Read the following statements and mark the options
1.SANKALP is a Central Sector Scheme
2.STRIVE is a Central Sponsored Scheme.
a. 1 is true
b. 2 is true
c. Both 1 and 2 are true
d. Both 1 and 2 are false
Answer: d
For now, a total of 20 schemes have been discussed in both Part 1 and Part 2. Please revise them thoroughly for getting nuances of the schemes .Give special attention to objectives,targets and ministries.
Along with these Schemes the schemes listed in INDIA YEAR book also need to take a look where in the past years some questions have been asked.
Happy Preparation everyone!
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
UPSC CSE 2018 – Exam Dates, Vacancies, Eligibility, Syllabus and more!
VisionIAS
12:52
The Union Public Service commission (UPSC) conducts
the Civil Services Examination (CSE) to recruit officers for various officer
level all India services such as: the Indian Administrative Services (IAS),
Indian Foreign Services (IFS), and Indian Police Services (IPS) etc. The exam
is conducted in offline mode (pen-paper test).
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
UPSC Civil Services Notification 2018 For 782 Vacancies Released; Know How To Apply
VisionIAS
19:37
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2018 notification today. The UPSC Civil Services online application process has already started on the official website of the commission. The candidates will be given time till March 6, 2018 for the registration of the CSE 2018. UPSC has also released the Indian Forest Services examinations notification along with the CSE notification. According to the notification, UPSC preliminary exam will be conducted on June 3, 2018.
The number of vacancies to be filled on the result of the examination is expected to be approximately 782 which include 32 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category.
The number of vacancies to be filled on the result of the examination is expected to be approximately 782 which include 32 vacancies reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disability Category.
UPSC Civil Services Notification 2018: How to Apply
UPSC Civil Services Notification 2018: How To Apply @ Upsconline.nic.in
Candidates are required to apply online for UPSC Civil Services exam by using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in. Detailed instructions for filling up UPSC CSE online applications are available on the above mentioned website. Brief Instructions for filling up the "Online Application Form" are given here:
Step one: Go to UPSC official application website: upsconline.nic.in
Step two: The candidates will be provided two registration links there
Step three: Fill all the required details and upload required documents and submit.
The application process will not be complete without application fee payment. Application fee can be submitted via Credit card/debit card/Internet banking.
Candidates are required to apply online for UPSC Civil Services exam by using the website http://www.upsconline.nic.in. Detailed instructions for filling up UPSC CSE online applications are available on the above mentioned website. Brief Instructions for filling up the "Online Application Form" are given here:
Step one: Go to UPSC official application website: upsconline.nic.in
Step two: The candidates will be provided two registration links there
Step three: Fill all the required details and upload required documents and submit.
The application process will not be complete without application fee payment. Application fee can be submitted via Credit card/debit card/Internet banking.
The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility conditions for admission to examination.
Monday, February 05, 2018
UPSC CSE 2018 - Expert's Strategy for Exam Preparation!
VisionIAS
13:43
Planning to attempt UPSC exam this year? UPSC
Civil Services Preliminary Exam 2018 is scheduled to be held on 3rd June 2018
(Sunday). The official notification will be published on 7th February 2018.
Here are tips from an expert, a strategy that will help you kickstart your UPSC
exam preparation. The strategy is shared by Rishav Jha who is an Oliveboard user and has cleared the UPSC CSE 2016 with AIR
162.
In his own words,
“My typical day would start around 11 in the morning and go up to
4-5 in the morning. I have always been a night owl (the rigorous IPS training
here in NPA, Hyderabad has unfortunately ended this habit of mine) as I believe
that peaceful nights are the most productive time of a day. I never studied for
more than 12 hours on any given day and I used to study for around 10 hours on
an average. You have to keep in mind that quantity doesn’t matter at all. I
would try to sit for an hour and study with the maximum amount of concentration
that I could conjure, and then take a 15-minute break. I would repeat this
cycle many times a day. During evenings, I would take hour-long breaks, hangout
with my extremely limited number of friends, watch a movie or simply take a
nap.
Obviously, things were not as smooth and there were times when I
would face seemingly insurmountable challenges. The most important challenge
was trying and being consistent. There were times when I would feel that my preparation
was not going as intended and I would spiral down into phases of depression. To
overcome this, I started making plans- long, medium and short term. Long term
plan was solely focused on first clearing Prelims and then Mains and
Interviews. Medium term plans would be for the next two to three months. But
the most important for me were my short-term plans, where I would chalk out in
detail what I needed to achieve in the next 15 days. Obviously, there were days
when I would achieve my target well within deadline and then there were days
when I would miss my target completely. But I would take my successes and
failures in my stride and learn whatever I could from them and try and improve
myself. Another challenge I faced was to overcome my appetite for instant
gratifications. For example, there would be days when I would want to just
sleep throughout the day or roam around aimlessly or watch movies back-to-back.
But then I would try to remind myself about my goal and I would conjure all the
mental strength I could and get back to my work as soon as possible.
Now when I look back to those days, I feel I didn’t do anything
special that others didn’t do. I didn’t read anything that others didn’t.
Rather I tried to be consistent throughout my preparation phase and never lost
sight of my target. I guess I executed my plans quite well through my short and
medium terms goals. The result was that a day before my paper, I was quite sure
I would do well and then, on the day of the paper, I surpassed my own expectations.
You have to always remember that Civil Service is all about being
“Jack of all trades, master of one” (one refers to your optional subject here).
You have to always keep a balance between the depth and the range. For example,
when you prepare for the current affairs part and you find a piece of news
about PSLV launch of ISRO, try and make a short 10-point notes about the PSLV
and ISRO so that any probable question with 4 options can be easily handled.
Another point is regarding what to keep in mind and what not to.
Don’t go after facts, barring the crucial ones, e.g. number of successful PSLV
launches till date. Focus mainly on concepts and get a fair idea about the
historical background of any piece of news. If the newspaper or any other source
doesn’t provide you with adequate information, go to Google immediately and
clarify your concepts.
Always maintain notes. Human mind is extremely volatile and if you
just go on reading, you won’t even remember 5% by the time you take your paper.
I would make detailed notes of current affairs, both online (in word files) and
offline (in notebooks) depending on the source. If I would read something
online, I would just copy and paste it in a word file after necessary deletions
and additions. Make current affairs notes month-wise so that revisions can be
chronologically correct which will help you in getting a holistic and clear
concept.
Don’t make notes out of books like Laxmikanth which need to be
read cover-to-cover as it is a huge wastage of time and energy. Compile notes
out of weight-losing sources like newspapers, because if you don’t, you will
end with around 350 newspapers before the exam and trust me, you won’t like the
sight of it.
Plan, plan and plan. If 15 minutes of your day is not going into planning,
you are not planning enough. Plan for the next 15 days, for the next three
months and for the doomsday. Then execute your plans as honestly as you can. If
you have to defer your plans for 2-3 consecutive times, know that you are out
of the race and you need to pack your bags and leave. To get a feel of how
tough the competition is, go to any tea-stall in Mukherjee Nagar or Rajinder
Nagar during evenings and look at all the dreamy eyes. More people prepare for
Civil Services each year than the combined population of Kiribati and Maldives.
While taking the exam, if you are completely unsure about all the
four options, leave the question. But if you can confidently eliminate even one
or two options, take the attempt because the probability of getting positive
marks from all such questions combined is quite high. Don’t be overtly safe or
foolhardy. Given the last few years’ cut-off, it would be prudent to attempt
85-95 questions in General Studies.
Be motivated. Study hard. Have faith in yourself and the almighty.
See you in the services-ciao!”
Hope this helps! Now, gear up for the preparation and ace the UPSC
CSE 2018 Exam with Oliveboard Mocks!
