Friends and fellow aspirants,
This post will be very specific as to how I prepared for GS and Essay.
Fellow aspirants, read on...
Friends, stay away... unless you wish to move to the former category or never want to read my posts again. No, it is not to create any suspense or generate any interest. Plain and simple, stay away...
Even though I promised I will be objective from this post on wards, that seems to be a difficult task.
Probably I will be, soon. For this time, I will try to capture it as a journey.
Yesterday, one of my friend told me that, after the results come out, every ranker writes as if she/he has done everything in the world. Hundreds of books, all government reports, two or more newspapers, many journals.
If you are expecting anything different from me, sorry. My whole purpose is to give you as many pointers as I can and in no way to limit your intellectual journey. yes, civil service examination is one and take it like one.
Before I start with my resource list, few things about me which ultimately decided that list.
1. I love books and am an avid reader, but with a built in fault. I cannot read a book twice. So I have read different books on same topics. You may choose not to, and save money and effort.
2. I was supported by a software engineer wife, who let me buy all the books I wanted (not needed). So I have one book which contained
original writings of Marx and Weber which cost me around Rs.2000/-
I bought original books and was only to a very limited extend dependent on xerox copies.
I know this sounds crazy. You can choose to buy xerox, not buy crazy books, and be more focused on the syllabus or..., you can get married.
3. I had a broadband internet connection with unlimited download. That meant hundreds of book downloads from all those websites that you will find now down due to the PIPA/SOPA debate in US. Still if you are smart, you will find that lot of classic resources are there on the net to download.
4. I am a resource hunter, which means I type the questions directly on to google and then browse all those links in which the questions are answered. Sometimes I end up looking even in the 19th or 20th page of Google results.
5. I had AC in my room, which meant cool, comfortable and enjoyable reading experience during the scorching summers of Delhi. Yes, money had a lot to do with my success. You can probably go to the extend and say I bought this rank. With the kind of facilities I had I guess many of you would end up with better ranks in shorter time span.
6. I had a membership in
Noida Public Library, from where I used to issue all kind of exotic books (read again, I said exotic, not erotic :) ) from there. Many, I could not read though.
7. I have a maniac friend, Arjun NSK, who is in US, and would call me almost every month and discuss for more than 3 hours on anything I learnt new, on things we had disagreements over, or just to quench my thirst to establish an intellectual supremacy over him. That helped me sharpen my thoughts, always reminded me that there is always a counter-point and that there are sharper people in this world, who have simply chosen to ignore UPSC and its annual circus.
8. I used to write down my own solutions to the problems that we are facing. I used to write these solutions to different authorities, from Nandan Nilekani to Sheila Dikshit to Election Commissioner. I have put these ideas in my answers in GS and also had mentioned this is as a hobby in my personality sheet. I know, outrageous... Panel also felt the same, and asked me to explain, even before I had settled down on my seat.
So by now you would know, the links would be many, book list exhaustive.
I am not asking you to read all. Neither am I asking you to read only this.
I am only trying to give you some pointers.
Explore...CSE will only be one of the many milestones in your journey... OK, it is high time non-aspirants.. How many time should I ask you to stay away from this blog.
So here comes the resource list.
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Newspapers : The Hindu and Indian Express.Hindu as you all know is mandatory. Many people read only Hindu and secure good ranks. For me it was more of a question of inculcating right attitude and having a balanced view. Indian Express gives a counter argument to that of Hindu's and in an equally convincing way. Both are independent publishing houses and we can expect unbiased views. Unbiased, but not neutral as both have their own definite perspectives. If this does not convince you, there was an analysis by some website showing that this year more than 40% questions in GS were from Hindu while 20% from Indian Express.
I used to read both the newspapers in the morning, and then cut down all the relevant articles and keep. On weekends i used to segregate them in to different topics. Later when I neared mains, my wife pasted all these articles on to rough note books, topic wise, so that it becomes easy to read and finish. Trust me you just want to flip pages during that time.
Current Affairs and GK.
- PIB Release : I had subscribed to them. Used to make notes from these daily, or if there any back log on weekends. I cannot say many questions came from this. But certainly helps you feel that you are covering most of the government discussions.
- GK Today : Wonderful resource base with occasional quizzes to test your level of preparation.
- India Current Affairs : I did read occasionally from here during the initial stages of my preparation.
- Daily News Updates from Career launcher : Only for enrolled candidates. But they give the daily news in capsule pdfs. Easy to read. Used to go through once. Never made notes or revised.
- Yojana and Kurukshetra : Though I have every issue of these two magazines, I have read only one or two articles from each issue. Not more... Now you can also access them online.
- India Year Book : I had gone through most of the chapters before the prelims. A very cursory reading and never revised. Did not read for mains. Check if you can get this year's online.
- Wizard Current Affairs - Used to check the topic index and see for any topic of which I had never heard of. Used to read those. Helps. .
- Current Affairs Q&A by Chronicle - I found this to be a very book as it is written in question answer format and helped me understand the issue.
- Current Affairs by Unique Publishers. - Used it for selective reading.
- Vajiram Current Affairs Xerox - A very random reading on the way to Exam Hall. Got one question on Bihar Courts Act :)
History of Modern India.
Usually we limit our history books to only one and then read again and again to remember the facts and dates. But by going through previous year question papers, you will realize that their choices of questions have become widely varied, asking the most direct question and also the most indirect question. So I had read history from two three sources and even referred a British author book available at
Questia Online Book Store. According to him, only a dozen violent people were killed in Jalianwala incident (which itself was a non-incident according to the author) and the subsequent deaths happened due to rioting in Punjab. I also read a lot about Jinnah (no-where to be found in our books even though he dominated the Indian political scene for 3 decades).
- History of Modern India by Bipan Chandra: It is the same old NCERT book. I would suggest you at least go through.
- New NCERT Text : I did not read this, though I had this with me.
- A Brief History of Modern India by Spectrum : A very good resource. There was a direct question from this book this time.
- ISC History by Maity and Banerjee : A decent book. Easy to read as it is made for Class XII students. One question in CSE 2010 directly came from this.
- Made two line notes on freedom fighters from different states who are forgotten in the mainstream history. Especially of North-Eastern States, Jharkhand, Orissa, Southern States etc. As our Mainstream history is dominated by Western and Northern freedom fighters. Also made notes on prominent Women.
- I also had other books like India's Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra, India after Independence by Bipan Chandra, Women Pioneers in India's Renaissance by Sushila Nayar etc, which I hope to read in the future ;)
Indian Culture
This I find is the most ignored part of Civil Service Preparation as it is a dry topic and a vast ocean at the same time. But I would suggest to read through at least a book as questions are sure going to come from this topic. You can also see videos of the art forms in youtube. A recent addition to the resource base here is
Indian Diplomacy on Facebook.
- Facts of Indian Culture by Spectrum: This is a very good book. Gives a very sound basics of all art forms, festivals etc and also is given in an interesting way (as far as possible)
- Cultural India by Jawahar Publishers. Went through in bits and pieces.
- Cursory Outline of Indian Culture and Cultural Forms
- Please try to search on Culture of North-East India as well as they are not given due importance in the books.
Constitution of India and Indian Polity
- Spectrum's Constitution of India and Indian Polity : A very good book. Read most of the chapters.
- Indian Polity by Laxmikanth : Again a very book. Read cover to cover.
- Our constitution by Subhash Kashyap : A good book. Read a few chapters.
- For important bills pending/passed/amended : PRS India - Bill Track.
- For recent and proposed constitutional amendments : PRS India - Constitutional Amendments
- I also had other books like D.D.Basu, P.M.Bakshi, Shibani Kinkar Chaube etc. with me. Not very sure of reading them though.. :)
Geography of India
Oooooooh !!! Geography is something I am yet to come to terms with and look at my luck, no question from Geography in CSE-2011. So Money and Luck. What more I could have asked for. In hindsight, I should have taken a lottery. I referred to NCERT books only, and that too somehow completed a reading once during the course of preparation. Never went back to that dreaded zone.
Environmental Issues
This topic has gained in importance in recent years and we do not have a standard resource base as of yet. I tried to maximize my information from net. Made notes on most of international conferences, protocols etc.
Economic Issues.
As India is becoming an economic super power, UPSC's interest in economy also increases. So be prepared on this topic. Best resources are all available for free. :)
- NCERT - Macroeconomics : Must read for a non-economic background student. Clarifies the basics.
- NCERT - Indian Economic Development
- Economic Survey - Must read. It is not just an authentic survey of state of economy. It also explains various economic terms, debates on economic concerns, provides possible solutions and gives an indication on future direction of the economy. Forget everything else, questions are coming direct from this. Don't miss the boxes and the new chapters added.
- Economic Perspective of C.P.Chandrasekhar - A weekly opinion column in The Hindu.
- Economic and Business articles in Indian Express. India Explained column which is in Q&A format more often than not deals with economic issues.
- Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani. - If you wonder despite all the convincing arguments in 'The Hindu' why the government is moving forward with the so called 'neo-liberal' policies, then this is a must read. Used to read while travelling in metro. Directly got two questions from this book.
- Professor Simply Simple by Tata Mutual Fund : Click toh karke dekh lo.
Social Issues
Paper II
What we normally do not emphasize enough on paper II, is the importance of international relations. There are three chapters out of five from this particular domain constituting more than 180 marks. Do not merge them in to one. Each one is a domain in itself and give them the due respect.
India and the World.
- I have India's Foreign Policy Since Independence by V.P.Dutt. Yet to open :)
India's Economic Interaction with the World
International Affairs and Institutions
- Institute for Defense Study and Analysis: A very good resource. Do keep in touch with the articles here. You might find many of them asked in the paper. Independent think thank.
- International Organisations by Spectrum : Selective reading.
- The Hindu Editorials.
Developments in the Field of Science and Technology, IT and Space.
- Science and Technology by Spectrum: I went through selectively. Good book though.
- Science Reporter: A must read. Questions coming directly from this, like the one on International Year of Chemistry.
- Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances: Just browse through mixer grinders and cameras and other appliances in you free time. ( What, you still have free time ??? )
Statistical Analysis, Graphs and Diagrams.
Never do the mistake of attempting statistics first. Keep 10-20 minutes for them in the end and do it only then. Other wise you would not realise where your 40 minutes went.
- Statistical Analysis by Spectrum
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I know and you know, I am not rank 1 or any thing, and there are 100s of candidates who might have secured their result with lesser resource and much little effort. That would make my effort to result ratio look very bad and might make me look even dumb. But I have to be honest with you I guess. I enjoyed reading every new article, and every new book.
Also some times I feel it was plain luck. Just the day before the mains exam I was watching DD News and they had 5 minute bit on different flags used during F1 races. Can you imagine, that was 14 marks. So keep your eyes and ears open. Treat each and everything as a source and never be afraid to debate occasionally. How well you can debate will shape how well you can answer.
Ultimately, it is about you conveying what you know and what you feel. So don't be afraid to express or debate.
I hope I was able to give some pointers for your preparation.
Explore...
CSE will only be one of the many milestones in your journey...
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