UPSC GS: How to Prepare

Posted on December 28, 2013 by THESUPERMANRETURNS

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GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT FROM WHERE AND HOW TO BEGIN

The base development phase has to be strong. This phase includes

studying the basic books and developing the right techniques for things
such as books reading, newspaper / magazine reading, using the
internet, reports reading etc. UPSC questions will not be from this level,
but if we dont get this right, we wont get the subsequent phases right.
The idea is our base should be so strong that when we study the higher
things, we should be able to understand them straightaway. If our base is
not strong, then we would have to keep revisiting it and will waste a lot of
time. A good base means we should not feel the need of ever revisiting
the basic books again.
Basic Books

In this phase we should cover all the basic books. These include:
Bipin Chandra for Indian freedom.
DD Basu for Indian constitution.
Class 11th and 12th old ncert textbooks: 3 in Geography (1 physical, 1
India, 1 economic), 3 in History (Ancient and medieval for the culture,
philosophy part only, and the modern one for modern history)
Class 9th and 10th Science old ncerts (specially the biology part)
We must prepare notes in our own language when we read these books
and not merely underline for reasons mentioned later.
Once we do this strongly, we will also realize we wont need to prepare

much for prelims as well!

Notes Making

Underlining vs Note Making

Some people prefer underlining to note making. However, note making is

preferable for at least 3 strong reasons:
1. In UPSC Mains exams, its the stuff we have internalized which helps.
We may have studied something in some context but in exam we may
apply it in some other context. This kind of cross referencing is very
helpful and can make our answers very powerful. While making notes, we
convert the language of the book into our own language and this process
helps a lot in internalizing stuff.
2. It saves time! This may sound contrary to common sense because
underlining is definitely faster than painstakingly writing stuff in our own
language. True, preparing notes takes lot longer than underlining books.
But because they are in our own language, revising them takes lot lesser
time than revising underlined stuff. In fact, with well prepared notes, it
may be possible to revise your entire syllabus some 5-10 times and each
successive revision will be faster!
3. Notes are customizable. We can frame our own questions which we
think may be asked in UPSC and prepare our notes accordingly. But we
cant do the same for underlined stuff.
Notes on Paper vs Notes on Computer

Try to make notes on computer if your typing speed is even half decent.
Making notes on computer has one very very big advantage over
making notes on paper.It is editable and can be formatted easily. We can delete, format,
append, insert, do anything with notes on computer and yet make it one
clean nice story. For instance, many stories in current affairs develop
over weeks and months. eg. the question on Maldives. No newspaper
story will have a complete picture of it. But the question will only ask the
complete story. So in our notes, we will have to edit bit by bit over time so
that by the exam time we have the entire story in one place. The choice is
yours read n number of newspaper cuttings or physical paper notes,
each containing partial information or read one coherent, complete story
in one place only on computer. This will help us in quick revisions as well.
Online note making will also help us in revising our entire syllabus 5-10
times, so that all the stuff is so well placed in our mind that when we are
solving 25 questions in 3 hours in the exam, we dont take a long time to
recollect and arrange stuff.
We should also get into the habit of making notes for anything and
everything we read. This may include the basic books, the advanced
books, newspapers, magazines, reports etc.
These notes must be organized issue-wise (eg. say Coal energy)
irrespective of the sources we may read from. Thus whether we read
from a book, newspaper, internet or wherever, all our notes on coal
energy should be in one place only. To give an example of what I am
talking, uploading here my note on Energy. Click here to see the note on
energy. This will provide a picture of how to organize the notes (forgive

me for some instances of lack of formatting in the note as they were

added when I had grown lazy).
Newspaper and Magazine Reading

News vs Issues

People in the beginning tend to focus on news and make notes

accordingly. UPSC never asks news it asks issues. For example, MDRTB is an issue, we need to focus on that and not any individual news
item. While reading any news on MDR-TB, we need to connect it to the
key points of the issue. An issue specific reading thus tries to:
1. identify key points with the issue in hand. For eg. in MDR-TB, the key
challenges are the challenges it poses to the public health, why is it
different from normal B, why is it more difficult to handle, what are the
institutional factors which are leading to its spread, what needs to be
done to tackle it, what steps is the government taking.
2. Then when we read any news, we need to connect it to the key points
so identified and not bother about facts and figures. For eg. a news item
on MDR-TB may talk about some places, some drugs, some persons
we need to only worry about our key points and skip all the rest.
Other aspects of newspaper/magazine reading

1. Politics, sports, masala news etc. can be skipped straightaway.

2. Keep an eye on any committee, any law, any rules, any policy, any
supreme court orders etc. These are our bread and butter in upsc

preparation.
3. Hindu has become very very important since last 2 years. Read one
more newspaper at least. Since Hindu is left leaning, so may suggest a
pro-reform newspaper say Indian Express.
4. UPSC is a left leaning exam. So one may read EPW magazine, but
beware of the excessively left leaning rattling. Similarly yojana is a helpful
magazine as well.
5. We should never go in too many details or detailed news/articles can
be straightaway skipped. GS is a generalist exam and reading has to be
kept generalist too. For eg. no need to spend hours in reading and
understanding about what Higgs Boson is. Even if we get a common
mans understanding on Higgs Boson, its good enough. No need to do a
PhD on an issue no use in writing things the examiner doesnt know
about.
Our goal should be to finish one newspaper in max half an hour.
Using Internet And RSS Reader

Using the internet is of vital importance for proper UPSC preparation. The
reason is simple:
Very often the newspaper/magazine/book/report we are reading will
only contain partial information on the issue (say just the committee or bill
name and only 1-2 points). But for our exam we need full information.
Only place today to find complete information is internet.

 Even reading 2 newspapers will never be sufficient. We should scan

everything so that there are no surprises in the exam. This can be done
only on internet.
How to use the internet

1. As mentioned earlier, the moment we find something useful and yet

incomplete in the newspapers/books, we should look up for it on internet.
2. Since newspapers and magazines cant cover everything, we should
use a RSS reader (say feedly on Google Chrome) and subscribe to the
editorials / sections of all major newspapers. It is free and easy. Any new
item will show up with title and one line on your feedly. We can decide to
either read it or skip it. We will find that we would normally skip ~95% of
the items. But remaining 5% are needed.
3. For certain topics like WTO & India, one may create Google alerts.
This way one will get an email everytime something is published on the
net containing keywords such as WTO and India. Other meaningful
alerts may be created.
Report Reading

During our preparation we will need to read multiple committee reports.

Sometimes newspapers talk about certain reports and publish a few of
their recommendations. There is always a temptation to just make our
notes based on that newspaper article. But this is not the right approach
because the newspaper article has not been written for the upsc exam
and the reporter may not have covered all points relevant to us in our

preparation for the exam. So the correct approach is to always look up for
the original report on the internet and read it.
How to read bulky reports

But many reports are bulky. If we read them in detail, it would take an
inordinate amount of time.
A common temptation is to read merely the recommendations part. But
again this is faulty because the recommendations dont contain the
context, discussion which is as important for our exam purpose as the
recommendation itself. We need the context and discussion because only
rarely does UPSC ask enumerate the recommendations Mostly it asks
discuss the recommendations.
So we must read the entire report. But to save on time, we need not
read each part in same detail and concentration. We should put in only
that much effort to read the bulky text of the report so as to get an overall
gist / idea of what is being talked about in that part. This will quicken up
our reading substantially.
We can then highlight the relevant important parts of the report text in
our first reading. (If Adobe doesnt allow you to highlight a pdf, download
Nitroreader) Then in the 2nd reading, we can read only the highlighted
parts and add it to our notes in our own words. The second reading and
note making part would be substantially faster.
We must also search on the internet for any discussions on the report
(because UPSC asks discuss kind of questions).

BEYOND THE BASICS

We reach this stage when we have read all our basic books, made notes
from them and have perfected our newspaper reading and internet using
skills. Now we address our syllabus directly.
Coaching Material

There are handwritten classnotes of various coaching institutes available

in the photocopy shops of rajinder nagar and mukherjee nagar. Notes
from vajiram, insight, sriram (printed material) are good for various parts
of GS. We should read them and in fact for Vajiram and Sriram, I found
them to be better than the actual classes.
ARC and Puncchi Commission Reports

For many topics in 2nd and 3rd paper, 2nd Administrative Reforms
Commissions reports are very good (http://arc.gov.in) along with the Puncchi
Commission reports (http://interstatecouncil.nic.in/ccsr_report.html). Each volume should
be read and notes prepared from them as mentioned earlier. In 2013
mains, at least 5-6 questions were asked directly from ARC and Puncchi
Commission reports.
Bills, Rules, Drafts and Government Actions

Every bill, policy, committee, rules, drafts, governmental action etc. has
to be tracked.
PRS (http://prsindia.org) is a good source for bills.

 Others have to be tracked on internet. PIB website (http://pib.nic.in) is a very

good source for all governmental actions and may be subscribed to in the
RSS reader.
Specific Readings For Various Parts of Syllabus

PAPER-II General Studies- I

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and

Geography of the World and Society.
Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art
Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient
to modern times.

I had history optional, so ancient and medieval culture were easy. Modern
was very difficult and I found material by Insight, Nitin Singhania and 2
pdfs titled Compilation of Indian culture andCompendium on Indian
Culture very useful. Click here and here to download the pdfs. I tried to
memorize all folk songs/dances/drama etc. state-wise i.e. state first and
then the dance.

Modern Indian history from about the middle of

the eighteenth century until the presentsignificant events, personalities, issues
The Freedom Struggle its various stages and

important contributors /contributions from

different parts of the country.

Shekhar Bandopadhyays From Plassey to Partition is by far the best

book. Also read Bipin Chandras book to get a different perspective. Read
both because writing a balanced perspective is very imp.

Post-independence consolidation and

reorganization within the country.

There is a book by Bipin Chandra India since Independence. Very thick

book, but we need to read only 3-4 chapters.

History of the world will include events from 18th

century such as industrial revolution, world
wars, redrawal of national boundaries,
colonization, decolonization, political
philosophies like communism, capitalism,
socialism etc.- their forms and effect on the
society.

Read Insight world history optional class notes first. for colonization, there

was one chapter in old class 9 or 10 history ncert book.

Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of

India.
Role of women and womens organization,
population and associated issues, poverty and
developmental issues, urbanization, their
problems and their remedies.
Effects of globalization on Indian society
Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism
& secularism.

All above is very general. answer writing style matters. everybody knows
everything.

Salient features of worlds physical geography.

Distribution of key natural resources across the
world (including South Asia and the Indian
subcontinent); factors responsible for the location
of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector
industries in various parts of the world (including
India)

Important Geophysical phenomena such as

earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone
etc., geographical features and their locationchanges in critical geographical features
(including waterbodies and ice-caps) and in flora
and fauna and the effects of such changes.

NCERT class 11 n 12 books + insight academy + vajiram notes + follow

main themes like recent IPCC report, IPSO report, IMD website for
cyclone mechanism. In 2013 mains, the cyclone naming question was
directly from IMD website. Click here to download cyclone pdf of imd.

PAPER-III
General Studies- II: Governance, Constitution,
Polity, Social Justice and International relations.
Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings,
evolution, features, amendments, significant
provisions and basic structure.
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and
the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the
federal structure, devolution of powers and
finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Separation of powers between various organs

dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.
Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme
with that of other countries
Parliament and State Legislatures structure,
functioning, conduct of business, powers &
privileges and issues arising out of these.
Structure, organization and functioning of the
Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and
Departments of the Government; pressure groups
and formal/informal associations and their role
in the Polity.
Salient features of the Representation of Peoples
Act.
Appointment to various Constitutional posts,
powers, functions and responsibilities of various
Constitutional Bodies.
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial
bodies
Government policies and interventions for
development in various sectors and issues arising

out of their design and implementation.

Development processes and the development
industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups
and associations, donors, charities, institutional
and other stakeholders.

For all the polity, read DD Basu or Laximakanth thoroughly. Read 2nd
ARC relevant reports and Puncchi Commission Reports. These reports
directly cover most of the topics.

Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the

population by the Centre and States and the
performance of these schemes; mechanisms,
laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the
protection and betterment of these vulnerable
sections.
Issues relating to development and management
of Social Sector/Services relating to Health,
Education, Human Resources.
Issues relating to poverty and hunger.

Vajiram came out with an online pdf on various schemes (Click here to

download), its printed copy would be available on photocopy shops in

Rajinder Nagar. Handwritten classnotes by the same institutions were
also helpful. Newspapers, pib etc. will come in handy here. CAG reports
have very good analysis on various schemes as well which can be found
on internet.

Important aspects of governance, transparency

and accountability, e-governance- applications,
models, successes, limitations, and potential;
citizens charters, transparency & accountability
and institutional and other measures.
Role of civil services in a democracy.

These topics are well covered in 2nd ARC reports.

India and its neighborhood- relations.

Bilateral, regional and global groupings and
agreements involving India and/or affecting
Indias interests
Effect of policies and politics of developed and
developing countries on Indias interests, Indian
diaspora.
Important International institutions, agencies

and fora- their structure, mandate.

IR has to be newspapers n internet based.

PAPER-IV
General Studies-III: Technology, Economic
Development, Bio diversity, Environment,
Security and Disaster Management.
Economy section has to come from budget,
economic survey, 12th 5 yr plan, newsppr n intnt.
Coaching hand written material may also help in
some topics.
Indian Economy and issues relating to planning,
mobilization of resources, growth, development
and employment.
Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
Government Budgeting.
govt budgeting has to come from 2nd ARC report.
Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of
the country, different types of irrigation and

irrigation systems storage, transport and

marketing of agricultural produce and issues and
related constraints; e-technology in the aid of
farmers
agriculture there was State of Indian
Agriculture report tabled in parliament in
March 2012.
Issues related to direct and indirect farm
subsidies and minimum support prices; Public
Distribution System- objectives, functioning,
limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks
and food security; Technology missions;
economics of animal-rearing.
Food processing and related industries in Indiascope and significance, location, upstream and
downstream requirements, supply chain
management.
Land reforms in India.
Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes
in industrial policy and their effects on industrial
growth.

Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports,

Railways etc.
Investment models.

All the above issues are well covered in newspapers, internet and
editorials etc. Just keep an eye for anything relevant. + I had economics
optional, so never really prepared above specifically for GS.

Science and Technology- developments and their

applications and effects in everyday life
Achievements of Indians in science & technology;
indigenization of technology and developing new
technology.
Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers,
robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and
issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Conservation, environmental pollution and
degradation, environmental impact assessment

S&T: Mostly adhoc preparation. coaching classes material is relied upon

in the final month to boost confidence but it doesnt really help in the
exam.

Disaster and disaster management.

Disaster: 2nd ARC report and CAG report on disaster preparedness

Linkages between development and spread of

extremism.

2nd ARC report: 5th schedule, PESA, FRA, 6th schedule topics are imp.
here

Role of external state and non-state actors in

creating challenges to internal security.
Challenges to internal security through
communication networks, role of media and
social networking sites in internal security
challenges, basics of cyber security; moneylaundering and its prevention
Security challenges and their management in
border areas; linkages of organized crime with
terrorism
Various Security forces and agencies and their

mandate

Security: coaching material and newspapers etc.

PAPER-V
General Studies- IV: Ethics, Integrity, and
Aptitude

Basic material has to be 2nd ARC report #4 and also Vajiram and Insight
handwritten notes. For moral thinkers, attitude, emotional intelligence
topics, refer to Sriram printed notes