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As candidates make up mind to appear in Civil Services Examination, there are lots of queries in minds and almost all aspirants lay siege to various issues like Exam-Plan, Preparation-Plan, books and study-material to choose, picking optional subject, choice of coaching institutes and so many other issues that matters a lot in success.
Instead of keeping it up to you, toss these to experts and throw it open to get it resolved.
You will find that you are not alone; there are many facing similar problems/issues that need to be resolved at the earliest so that these don’t impact your preparation.
Come out and discuss openly about all the questions that surround your mind so that you can get a piece of advice and what other candidates like you feel and what their opinion is about the same.

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General Studies  Plan of Examination  IAS Toppers  Coaching Institute  Optional Subject  Books & Study Material  Preparation Tips 

Sir, now i am in last year engg. i want to start my ias preparations....but i am very confuzed about mediam of ans selection .... i am comfortable with MARATHI mediam so can i select marathi language for essay paper and two optional papers?? please guide me.

First, we would like to inform you that the format for Main Examination has been changed and now, you need to pick only one optional subject. Coming to your query- Civil Services Examination is a tough competition and requires conceptual clarity and deep understanding to tackle it effectively. In such a situation, it is always prudent to keep that medium of writing examination with which you are comfortable and can express effectively. You can pick Marathi as medium of writing examination if you feel confident with it. ... Read More


dear sir i am confuse to choose subject for cse main exam.how many subject are chose and which is best. i am a btech 3rd year student

The scheme for Main Examination has just been modified and now, you have to pick only ‘One’ optional subject from the list of optional subjects available. It is a strategic decision and require a little search and analysis and it is difficult to attach ‘the best’ tag with any optional subject. Each one of the optional subjects is good, scoring and almost all produce results. Your aptitudes and interest in the subject are the most important factors while...... Read More


sir does preparing for the mains make you ready to attempt the prelims paper because both the syllabus except for paper 2 seem similar to me . and please do suggest books for prelims paper 2

Oh yes, there are a lot of topics in Preliminary as well as Main Examination syllabus that are common and when you prepare for Civil Services Examination with Main Examination orientation, you cover almost whole of Paper I syllabus for Preliminary Examination. For Paper II (Preliminary Examination) you need to learn some mathematical/reasoning/linguistic skills. You should practice more rather than studying extensively as this is pure mind-game where common sense and presence of mind are the most important tools. List of Books Paper I & II (Preliminary Examination)... Read More


sir , I have chosen English literature as my optional subject so can you please suggest me the books covering the syllabus for this subject . and are the books prescribed by you sufficient to prepare for the mains

In recent years, the craze for Literature of English Language has been on rise and many candidates have achieved success with Literature of English Language as an optional subject. We are sharing with you the books suggested by Ajay Prakash (AIR 9, CSE 2010) which should be of great help.     Worldview Editions (Published by Bookland, Kamla Nagar)     Norton Critical Editions     Delhi University Open School/Correspondence Course Notes     Wikipedia     Sparknotes.com ... Read More


Dear Sir, I am preparing for civil service exam, i am very much confused between Hindi lit and public Ad, as 2012 result showing very poor for pub ad. which subject is more scoring

Your observation about Public Administration is absolutely correct and the recent CSE 2012 result does not paint a rosy picture for Public Administration candidates. On the other hand, the literature of languages continues to produce wonderful results and Literature of Hindi Language is the most popular among these. Follow the trend, Literature of Hindi Language is a better bet and in single optional subject regime, it should retain its glory.... Read More


Sir.I am doing engineering currently in 2nd year of the said course.I want to become an IAS officier.So, my question is what should be the ample time to start preparing for the exam and what should be the books that I should start from?

For an effective preparation, you need to have wide knowledge base and conceptual clarity helps in tackling question papers confidently. To begin with, you should pick NCERT books for laying strong foundation that will help you as you advance with your study-plan.... Read More


Sir,I am a first year degree student studying FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH.I would like to know what are the optional subjects that i can chose to prepare for my exams.

As per new format for Civil Services (Main) Examination now, you need to pick only one optional subject and the significance of General Studies has enlarged. As you have enough time to prepare, first, you should look at General Studies related requirements. Let some fresh trends emerge as in only one optional subject regime that would give you a lot of fresh insights about optional subject selection.... Read More


SIR , i want to have geography as an optional for cse2014, i want to join coaching institutes for geography in delhi , pls guide me, thx in advance, sir , i also wanted to join GS coaching the fees are soaring high , and also i wanted to know how do the institutes manage to complete GS in 4-5 months . will those 7-8 classes per topic provide sufficient guidance,, pls reply early sir

For preparing Geography, there are many coaching institutes in Delhi rendering services. Anyone among Alternative Learning Service (ALS), Alok Ranjan IAS or Ensemble can be considered. For General Studies, almost all coaching institutes have raised there fee after new format for Main Examination has come in force. There may not be absolute 100 per cent addition in General Studies syllabus but, coaching fee has almost doubled. Many Coaching institutes of repute have devised strategies to cover the complete syllabus in limited period of time and they deliver what they commit. It is not the number of classes/hours spent on one topic; you should be concerned about the quality and how effectively they fulfil their obligation.... Read More


sir cse me graduation ke kitne marks jaruri ho h.

There is no such condition for minimum graduation marks for applying for Civil Services Examination.... Read More


I JUST START PREPARING FOR civil services FROM TODAY......I WAS IN LAST YEAR ENGINEERING FROM engg university(MECHANICAL)...................WHICH POSTAL COURSE OR CORRESPONDANCE COURSE SHOULD I CHOOSE TO STUDY NOW................ i will join classes after graduation but now i want just i little idea about civil services exam....please suggest

As you are in final year of your engineering, there is no need to join any coaching institute right now. Most of the contemporary things you will read now would be stale when you actually decide to take the plunge. As you have just started the preparation, first understand the complete exam-plan and related requirements at each stage of the examination. With the recent changes, Civil Services Examination has entered in a new phase and for an effective preparation...... Read More


i wanted to know abt new rules regarding csat exam from this year onwards?

In the recent changes, there are certain changes that has come for Main Examination (written & Interview) but, absolutely no change in Preliminary Examination scheme. Preliminary Examination scheme was changed two years back with CSE 2011 and it continues to be same for CSE 2013.   Also read: Preliminary Examination Prelims ...... Read More


how many optional subjects we can choose? can i select a hindi language in exam without doing a degree with hindi language? i m confused in language selection for medium of answer? the language which i select is compulsory for me to speak in that language in interview or i can use any language for interview?

As per the new pattern for Main Examination, you need to pick one optional subject. There is no restriction in picking any literature of language as optional subject and you can pick Literature of Hindi Language as optional if you wish so. UPSC issues Corrigendum Notice about certai...... Read More


wht will be cut off of ias pre 2013?

A difficult question to answer and for last so many weeks we have been suggesting candidates not to look at these info. A lot of people are expecting very high cut-off keeping in mind the level of papers this time and candidate’s preparedness for encountering such papers. Again, based on answer keys from some coaching institutes, many candidates have formed opinion and based on vague ideas about the cut-off, information is being circulated. One should keep prepar...... Read More


Dear Sir, I want to start my IAS preparations now itself! I have passed 12th grade and have also cracked the medical entrance exam NEET.No one in my family has any previous experiances in this preparation.I'm ready to give it all! So please guide me!

It is nice to spot a determined youngster eyeing career in ‘Civil Services’. Your brilliance is being reflected in your result and you have to just remain on track. In current environment, you have so much information and awareness about this examination so; it does not matter if you don’t have anyone around. Just have a look at the success of Vandana (AIR 8, CSE 2012) to get ...... Read More


i have completed my 12th this year. I am a humanities student. I has history and political science. I want to select a subject for civil services mains and want to do graduation in that subject only. But i am confused betwen history and geography. Which one would be better?

You should pick subject for graduation based on aptitude. As you wish to keep your graduation subject as your optional subject, all the shortlisted subjects are good and have strong relevance with the Civil Services Examination preparation. As such, among History and Geography, keeping in mind your future plans, History can be considered as an option. Still, we would suggest to take that subject which you like the most and are ready to go an extra mile when it comes to Civil Services Examination preparation. ... Read More



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