How to Prepare for CSE (UPSC)

An Article I wrote recently for the "Saaf Kotha" on "How to prepare for Civil Services"!!!

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is conducted by the Union Public Service commission (UPSC) every year to fill the vacancies in the civil services of the country. It is conducted in three stages viz. Preliminary (Objective), Main (subjective) and Personal Interview. One can refer to the notification, issued by UPSC, either in the last week of February or the first week of March every year, for the conditions of eligibility and other specific information.

So the million dollar question is about how to prepare for the examination. I believe the first and the most important requirement is the desire to succeed amalgamated with the willingness to work hard and the conviction that one can succeed. After one is mentally prepared the subject related preparations begin.

The clear understanding of the syllabus is a fundamental requirement which must be followed by a pragmatic plan for each section. While planning one needs to take all aspects of one’s life into consideration like leisure time, hobbies, sports and other important activities as well as commitments. When one actually starts studying, the plan may not always fit in with the realities. So a plan has to be updated regularly which does not obviously mean bringing in laxity. The management of whatever time one has is of utmost importance. The goals set must be SMART i.e Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound.

Now, let us see, in brief, what each stage of the examination encompasses and how those can be prepared. In the Preliminary stage there are two papers carrying 200 marks each. Paper I i.e General Studies does not need any special approach for this stage, it has to be combined with the CSE(Main) preparation although many people with commercial or other interests may claim otherwise. In this paper no pattern of specific marks for specified topic has been observed in recent years. Hence coverage of all areas of the syllabus with only basic understanding and conceptual clarity rather than intensive study is required but it must not be overstretched. Aspirants must be guided by the previous year’s question papers. The Paper II includes topics like Comprehension, Data interpretation, General Mental ability, Reasoning, Quantitative aptitude, Interpersonal ability etc. Believe me this paper is the easiest among those that UPSC offers. It can be easily prepared with any standard book or a set of books for any management aptitude test. If one practises a set of good quality questions that provide exposure to most types and levels that can be asked, the sailing becomes smooth.

The Main Examination has nine papers, two of them Paper A (One Indian Language) and Paper B (English),300 Marks each, are qualifying in nature. The other papers (250 Marks each) are: Paper I Essay (one essay), Paper II General Studies One (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society), Paper III General Studies Two (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations), Paper IV General Studies Three (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management), Paper V General Studies Four (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude), Papers VI and VII are of one optional subject to be chosen from a given list.

It is clear from the above that the balance has shifted towards General Studies. The High school Textbooks esp. of the NCERT, should be the starting point. Sections on Indian polity and Economy are usually current affairs related wherein only a macro level understanding along with crystal clarity of concepts and processes will suffice. The Indian history section emphasizes only on British India (starting from the battle of Plassey ) with all its political, social, economic and cultural aspects. A deep level understanding is needed here. The World history covers the important events beginning from the Industrial Revolution which can be covered by a thorough reading of the Old NCERT textbooks of Class IX and X ( The story of Civilization I and II ). The section on Science & Technology is concerned mainly with the everyday life and new developments wherein environmental issues and current events need special emphasis.

The optional subject requires an understanding of the level of undergraduate honors paper. Although different subjects require different approach, it can be said that one should start from the Class XI and XII textbooks of the subject and then move on to other study materials.

All traditional parts of the General Studies are influenced by the current Affairs hence regular reading of a national level newspaper, preferably ‘The Hindu’, is a must. This has to be supplemented with magazines like Yojana, Kurukshetra, some other magazines and the ‘India Yearbook’ ( of the Publication Division, GoI ). In all these, social issues should be given more importance.

A question that often disturbs aspirants is whether coaching is necessary. I believe that there are individual differences and an absolute answer may not be correct. Some people do need coaching to keep themselves on track. On the other hand self study provides one the opportunity to schedule one’s preparation while keeping one’s originality and creativity intact. What is more important is one, or a group of people, who can motivate and inspire an aspirant at the depressing moments and can act as a guide or guides. It can be the parents, the siblings, a group of friends or anyone else including teachers in a coaching centre. Team work with like minded friends can sometimes be very beneficial.

The next important issue is of the amount of time one needs to devote everyday. My experience says that it depends on how much you need to gain confidence and how much time is available with you. Although the amount of time needed is important, I think consistency of preparation is more important.

To conclude I would say, one must follow an analytical approach and focus on the interdisciplinary influences of every topic. The previous year’s question papers and Mock questions are sine qua non for success .But one must remember that UPSC has almost always provided better questions than any mock test. Finally the conceptual understanding and current affairs are the two pillars that keeps an aspirant standing.

Enjoy Learning; All the Best !!

Bikram Kairi

The BIT that i will miss...

13th of July 2005,the day I first stepped into the campus of BIT Mesra. The first thing that caught my eyes were the beautiful and numerous trees inside the campus. My childhood was spent in the shadows of nature,among the lush green tea plants,fast flowing hilly rivers,beautiful forests, the cloudy sky of the North Eastern India and the lovely rain they brought to me.I would always think of the rain as a gift of love from the beautiful and dynamic clouds.It was natural for me to fall in love with the trees, the shrubs and the animal life in BIT.Circa 2009.My days in BIT are almost over.Looking back to my life in BIT , I feel like waiting here and lead the same life till the world ends.It was a fascinating life,full of moments ,both good and bad , that I will cherish the whole of my life.Sitting somewhere with friends , whispering the sweet nothings,thinking of things that may never be realised......life was really great. I am feeling short of words and expressions to to put my emotions down here.That I suppose is the weakness of languages and my incapability to use the number of tools provided by the them.Whatever it be,I would say one thing, My life in BIT was really enriching. With such fascinating people around,you cannot help but get enriched.I feel the pulse of real India,with all its diversity, when my friends tell me about their places and their cultures.I always felt that without diversity the world would be a boring place and BIT provided me with the proofs.Friends from the Andaman Islands to the Kashmir valley.... I could not have asked for better.

As the time to leave approaches , a question has started to bother me. What things or which friends will I miss after I leave BIT? No doubt I will miss my friends and the whole of 2K5, a cool ,intelligent,fakait and versatile batch.Many of the people in 2K5 were not so close but I have a sense of attachment to all of them, a feeling that , I am sure, will grow better and deeper with time .If I start writing about my friends and how much I will miss them,may be I will end up writing a novel.What I will miss the most is the togetherness that we felt in BIT.
Have I found the answer to my question ? Partially ,I should say.What else will I miss?
I will miss the campus of BIT.The trees, the shrubs,the barking dogs in the nearby villages,the rivers,the roads and everything else that makes up BIT.I am a lover of serenity.Sometimes in these four years I walked among the trees , watched the Mynahs,counted their number and when it came out to be odd I would look for another because in our place they say odd numbers signify bad luck.(Although I do not believe).I would watch the squirrels cracking their nuts among the sal trees.Once I saw a Mynah being chased by a squirrel,it was weired but soon I could understand that it was their way of having fun.I would observe cows,most of which are white(I don't know why?).In contrast the goats were mostly black.The pigs that roamed in BIT's campus would remind me of a dear friend whom we called PIG.

But BIT at night is more exciting.I walk the deserted roads at night and hear the music played by the insects.Some numbers I am familiar with (I heard them in my fruit orchard back home),but some are new and had caught my attention when I heard them for the first time.I could hear crickets making their usual shrill sounds and I knew that crickets spoke the same dialect everywhere.Other insects are as much lovely.I would listen to them for long and would try to figure out what they were up to. Every night they had a different song for me.I wish I were an expert entomologist. Sometimes I would not listen to them for months but whenever I came back I always found them singing for me.

I missed two things in BIT , the croaking frogs and the fireflies. In our place they say frogs do not croak, they sing to placate the rain god and ask him for rain.After the rain its the time for thanksgiving so they continue even after it rains.Fireflies illuminate the night.When I was a child I would catch them and release them, play with them but I never harmed them.I have always played with them at night.(hiding from my parents of course).Now when I go home I stand in the middle of a swarm of fireflies and it feels like a get together of old friends.

At home I have another kind of animals ,that enchants me.In the tea garden I hear the dogs barking at night with the jackals trying to over shout them.An old man near my house would tell me exciting stories from the animal world,ancient stories and the folktales from the region.He would tell me why the dogs are in constant clash with jackals.In summer evenings I sit with him under a tree and in winter near a fire.He is a great storyteller.Back in BIT I listen to the barking dogs and think of the dogs in my Tea garden and the jackals that fight with them.But there are no jackals to fight the dogs here. Whenever I hear the dogs it reminds me of Margery Facklam who said, " We give dogs time we can spare,and love we can spare.In return dogs give us their all.It is the best deal man has ever made". Hats off to dogs.

Then there are trees.BIT is their kingdom.I cannot resist the urge to quote Joyce Kilmer when I talk of trees. He wrote:

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of Robbins in her hair ;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only god can make a tree.

At night when I go out, the trees wave me welcome,they try to embrace me and easily get animated as if a friend had come to visit them.The beautiful music that the leaves produce when they dance with the wind ,always mesmerises me.I always listen to them and feel grateful especially to the Banyan tree outside my hostel which produces excellent scores when wind blows.I call it the A.R Rahman of tree kingdom in BIT.When there are no wind ,the trees are silent like a sleeping child and I watch them like a dear friend.But now I am leaving, I see them waving me goodbye with their leafy arms,wishing that I should fare well in life.When I see them standing still I feel as if they are conveying their sorrow on the departure of so many friends.

On rainy days I look up to the sky and talk to the clouds.I always try to find why Kalidasa called them the Meghdoot and I always get my answer.Without clouds ,life would be difficult.In Jharkhand they are less in amount than in my place but yes, they are as lovely anywhere.Sometimes I feel as if they have come from my place ,bringing some lovely messages for me.At other times I think of the clouds that rule the sky in my land and imagine that these are messengers sent by them to enquire about my well being.There are less rains here but I still feel the same excitement and happiness when it rains.Sometimes I feel that the clouds hovering over BIT are on their way to a distant land and has just stopped by to talk to me, to make me happy and send my message to the clouds ,trees rivers and every other thing at my home. While I get lost in these thoughts I think of Kalidasa and imagine how he might have felt about the clouds centuries ago. To modify R.N Tagore(with apology) I would say "clouds come floating into my life,no longer to carry rain or usher storm but to add color to my sunrise sky."

Finally I would miss the stars of the night sky in BIT.Every time there is a power cut I talk to the stars.The same Orion ,the Ursa major, the Ursa minor, and a lot of other constellations that I know of ,and can recognise.Each constellation has a different story.From millions of light years away , they are watching us entangled in the cycle of birth , death and the life in between.Some stars may no longer exist but their stories galore. When I was at home I would watch them everyday, now I do not have that regularity but still I love them.They look back at me with a smile and say ' hey friend we are still here'. When I am sad and look at them ,they console me.They assure me that they will always be there to talk to me where ever I go.But I will miss talking to them from the roof my hostel.I will miss looking at them and thinking of the black holes in their galaxy,and the massive heat around the accretion discs from the lonely corner of my hostel roof.

The BIT at night is a different world.At 2 A.M if you get out you will see a new world.A world without the sirens,a world without the loud music, a world without lots of people around,a world without littiwallas,juicewallas,fruitwallas,CP ,ICs and OCs,a world without the buses,cars,bikes and cycles,a world without the dhabas,a world without many more things that we sometimes want to be away from.But it is a world with chirping nocturnal birds,a world with the singing insects and barking dogs,a world with the sleeping security guards,a world that is not at all less interesting than the day world.It is happening,varied, attractive,beautiful and serene.On the fool moon night it is heavenly.
At last I think I should remember Robert Frost and say:
The woods are lovely dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.