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Civil Services Examination is very tough not only in terms of vastness and
effort it demands but also time is a major factor the exam process tales about
an year to complete.To stay motivated for an year and study daily needs lot of
determination and dedication.
First you might have heard many things and opinions about this exam,please

Prelims Book list and Important Links.

Indian polity by laxmikant 5th edition
Vision IAS 2016 Current affairs
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put it all aside while you read this post. Start reading with a fresh mind

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without any prejudices or stereotypes clouding you .Thank you now read on

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This post is Under constant Improvement and Updates. Regarding links ,

feedback, complaints and suggestions kalyan@iksa.in.

Table of Contents

archives
UPSC Topper Ira Singhal Marks

Search

1 Beginners Guide to IAS exam Preparation.

1.1 Notification :
1.2 Education Qualification :

Search this website

Important links and Downloads

1.3 New Age limit :

2 Prelims : Civil service Aptitude Test (CSAT)
2.1 CSAT Paper I (200 marks) 2 hours this is General Studies Paper

UPSC related NCERT,NIOS

books,AIR spotlight news
analysis,Yojana,Kurukshetra,EPW,
Rajyasabha Tv,and all other

2.2 CSAT Paper II- (200 marks) 2 hours CSAT Paper.

2.3 How to Prepare For Prelims:

links at one place.

UPSC Download resources and
Important links

2.4 Suggested Reading for Prelims.

2.4.1 GS paper
2.4.2 CSAT Paper 2:

Prelims 2016 book list

2.4.3 Cut offs

TMH General Studies Paper-I 2016*new

TMH General Studies Paper-2 2016*new

3 Mains Syllabus and CSM 2014 Papers.

Arihanth General Studies Paper-I

3.1 List of Optionals

2016*new

3.2 Essay and GS papers

Indian Polity by Laxmikanth

3.3 English and Compulsory Language paper .

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

A Brief History of Modern India

4 How to Prepare for Mains:

4.1 Choosing an Optional
4.2 So How to Prepare for Optional?
4.3 Optional Strategy Subject Wise:
4.4 Essay:
4.4.1 Essay and GS Strategy :

India's Struggle for Independence

From Plassey to Partition Sekhar
Bandyopadhyay
14000 + Objective Questions - General
Studies
Cracking the CSAT Paper-2
Rajesh Verma Objective Arithmetic

4.5 GS Paper 1
4.5.1 Suggested Book List for GS 1
4.6 GS Paper 2
4.6.1 Suggested Book List for GS 2

For a good Cause

Donate to Akshaya Patra
Donate to Wikipedia

4.7 GS Paper 3
4.7.1 Suggested Book List for GS 3

Else where
Parivarhtan Iphone/Ipad App

4.8 GS Paper 4

Telegram Channel @iasips

4.8.1 Suggested Book List for GS 4

Disclaimer: We do not share

5 Interview test
6 Toppers:
6.1 Toppers Blogs
6.2 Toppers Interviews: their journey struggle & success Mrunal
6.3 Downloads and Miscellaneous
7 Email Updates

Beginners Guide to IAS exam Preparation.

1.Prelims> 2.Mains > 3.Personality test/ Interview.
From first to last this exam is about elimination and filtering of candidates
they try to kick us out at each step its like playing Mario one mistake at any
stage boom back to stage one !

nor encourage sharing of

Copyrighted materials,Epapers,books,etc.

To get an idea numbers are approximate : this year 4,50,000 members wrote
Prelims out of which 17000 are selected to write mains from 17000 only 3000
will be called for interview.From 3000 around 1200 will be selected.
That is the toughness and competition you are going to face,also always
remember your real fight is always with the top 3000 people who clear at all
stages try to be in that group all the time it will help you stay focused,also if
you rest you rust.

Notification :
CIVIL SERVICES EXAM, 2014 ( English / Hindi ) * Last years notification

Education Qualification :
Indian, Graduate any degree no minimum percentage. Read Notification
clearly for all such doubts.

New Age limit :

Source March 2014 Circular
General

before

AFTER

attempt limit

4+2 = 6 years

age limit

30 years

30+2=32 years

OBC

before

AFTER

attempt limit

7+2=9

age limit

33

33+2=35 years

SC /ST

before

AFTER

attempt limit

unlimited

unlimited

age limit

35

35+2=37 years

PH candidate
from
attempt
limit

before

AFTER

7+2=9

PH from

General PH:

General/OBC

30+12=42 years

category

age limit

40

OBC PH: 33+12=45

years

attempt
PH from SC/ST
category

limit
age limit

unlimited

40

unlimited
SC/ST PH: 35+12=47
years

This is not yet fully official but for 2015 notification these will be the ages,Till

then what is written under before is official stand..

Prelims : Civil service Aptitude Test (CSAT)

Preliminary Examination The Examination shall comprise of two compulsory
papers of 200 marks each.
Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple
choice questions).

CSAT Paper I (200 marks) 2 hours this is General

Studies Paper
Current events of national and international importance.
History of India and Indian National Movement.
Indian and World Geography -Physical, Social, Economic Geography of
India and the World.
Indian Polity and Governance -Constitution, Political System, Panchayati
Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Economic and Social Development Sustainable Development, Poverty,
Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector initiatives, etc.
General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate
Change that do not require subject specialisation
General Science.

CSAT Paper II- (200 marks) 2 hours CSAT Paper.

Comprehension Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
Logical reasoning and analytically ability
Decision-making and problem solving
General mental ability
Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.)
(Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency
etc. -Class X level)
English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
Note 1: Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X
level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper II) will be tested through passages
from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the
question paper. This year (2104) these passages were removed, no marks
allotted to this section due to Language controversy.

How to Prepare For Prelims:

Golden Rules According to us
1. Read one book 10 times than reading 10 diff books.

2. Keep the book list short and trust it.

3. The more you practice the better.
4. Prepare for mains prelims is covered automatically. (most part at least)
5. What everyone can attempt you must attempt, Extra questions is your edge.
6. CSAT is king maker, everything is dependent on CSAT(Paper 2)
7. Prepare daily and slowly you cannot read everything in one month even if
you are a genius.
8. Have the Right Mind set.
9. Surround yourself with Doers and Serious people.
10. Finally dont leave any subject or topic. Leave no stone unturned.
11. GS Prelims Anay Diwedi Strategy.
People dont get the momentum till the last minute and as the exam
approaches the tendency to give up this attempt and promising oneself to
prepare better for next attempt is very common, that is a very flawed
approach. So study daily even for 4 hours from now on but every day, this will
help a lot. Time wasted now prove you deadly in the end.

Suggested Reading for Prelims.

GS paper
The Hindu + Opinion Pages of Indian Express + Yojana Magazine is a Must.
Read NCERT books First for all subjects, irrespective of your background,
knowledge levels read them in long run you will understand the utility.
Available as Pdfs.
Polity: Laxmikanth the one and only book you need in all stages. DD Basu is
another favourite of toppers but Laxmikanth is simple and student friendly.
Economy: Sri Ram IAS institute Material, which is available in Xerox shops in
all places. This is most useful to build your basics and 90% of prelims
questions can be comfortably answered. Ramesh Singh is next best alternative
also useful for mains, between these two book and newspapers you economy
for IAS exam is almost done.
Geography: 11th and 12th NCERT and selective study from Spectrum
Geography.
History:
11 and 12 Tamil Nadu NCERT books.
Spectrums Brief History of Modern India, By Rajiv Ahir or Bipan Chandra
If you have time and patience.
Sekhar Bandyopadhyay from Plassey to Partition. [Only if you have time]
Ancient History NCERT selective study. Most people leave out ancient and
modern from preparation due to low output ratio.

Culture: Nitin Singhania Xerox notes or Vision IAS culture material.

Environment and Biodiversity:
NIOS books
Shankar IAS academy Xerox notes.
Science:
7-12 NCERT books
Class

PHYSICS

Chemistry

Biology

4, 13, 14 & 15

5&6

1,2,10; 11 & 12

11 to 16

3 to 6

2, 8, 9 & 10

8 to 12

1 to 4

5,6,7 & 13

10

10, 12 & 13

1 to 5

6 to 11

11

1,5,8

1,14

2 to 5

12

15

14,16

4,5 then 7 to 16

Chapter wise arranged by Murnal.

Do buy this book for practice 14000+ Objective Questions after reading a topic
you can solve questions from this book and check and in case if you miss any
point it will be covered very useful feedback mechanism.

CSAT Paper 2:
Cracking the CSAT Paper 2 : Solved Papers 2014 2011 & 10 Crack Sets
Career launcher previous papers.
These two will be more than enough if you practice perfectly, again who can
define perfection? If you read the above books like you mean it and
Join career launcher test series and write all tests sincerely you will surely
clear prelims 2015.
But most people despite of doing all things mentioned above panic in the exam
or afraid of maths, I was scared to death by maths but doing few hours of
maths practice every day of very basic models from Rajesh Verma book I can
say that it helped me a lot.

Cut offs
Combined for both papers so out of 400 you must get:
category

2011

2012

2013

GEN

198

209

241

OBC

175

190

222

SC

165

185

207

ST

161

181

200

Mains Syllabus and CSM 2014 Papers.

This is the stage 2 of the examination, only those who cleared in prelims are
eligible to write mains and this is the most important stage where almost
everything is decided.
Papers in mains and Max score
Total

2013 Topper

score

Gauravs score

Compulsory English

300

Compulsory Indian Language

300

Essay

250

135

GS1

250

85

GS2

250

63

GS3

250

88

GS4

250

102

Optional.PAPER1

250

134

Optional.PAPER2

250

162

1750

769

Papers in Mains

TOTAL ( Compulsory papers, theyre not counted in

final score)

List of Optionals
Following is the list of optional papers one can choose from, any one subject
can be selected including Literature , Popular optionals are Anthropology,
Public Administration, Geography, Sociology, Literatures, .etc.
Click on the link for respective question paper.
Optional Subjects for Main Examination
Agriculture Paper I

Agriculture Paper II

Animal Husbandary & Veterinary

Animal Husbandary & Veterinary

Science Paper I

Science Paper II

Anthropology Paper I

Anthropology Paper II

Botony Paper I

Botony Paper II

Chemistry Paper I

Chemistry Paper II

Civil Engineering Paper I

Civil Engineering Paper II

Commerce & Accountancy Paper I

Commerce & Accountancy Paper II

Economics Paper I

Economics Paper II

Electrical Engineering Paper I

Electrical Engineering Paper II

Geography Paper I

Geography Paper II

Geology Paper I

Geology Paper II

History Paper I

History Paper II

Law Paper I

Law Paper II

Management Paper I

Management Paper II

Mathematics Paper I

Mathematics Paper II

Mechanical Engineering Paper I

Mechanical Engineering Paper II

Medical Science Paper I

Medical Science Paper II

Philosphy Paper I

Philosphy Paper II

Physics Paper I

Physics Paper II

Political Science & Internation

Political Science & Internation

Relations Paper I

Relations Paper II

Psychology Paper I

Psychology Paper II

Public Administration Paper I

Public Administration Paper II

Sociology Paper I

Sociology Paper II

Statistics Paper I

Statistics Paper II

Zoology Paper I

Zoology Paper II

Literature Subjects for Main Examination

Assamese Paper I

Assamese Paper II

Bengali Paper I

Bengali Paper II

English Paper I

English Paper II

Gujarati Paper I

Gujarati Paper II

Hindi Paper I

Hindi Paper II

Kannada Paper I

Kannada Paper II

Manipuri Paper I

Manipuri Paper II

Maithili Paper I

Maithili Paper II

Malayalam Paper I

Malayalam Paper II

Marathi Paper I

Marathi Paper II

Oriya Paper I

Oriya Paper II

Punjabi Paper I

Punjabi Paper II

Sanskrit Paper I

Sanskrit Paper II

Santali Paper I

Santali Paper II

Sindhi (Arabic) Paper I

Sindhi (Arabic) paper II

Sindhi (Devanagari) Paper I

Sindhi (Devanagari) Paper II

Tamil Paper I

Tamil Paper II

Telugu Paper I

Telugu Paper II

Urdu Paper I

Urdu Paper II

Essay and GS papers

Paper I
General Studies

Paper II
Paper III
Paper IV

English and Compulsory Language paper .

One has to choose one language for compulsory paper .The paper Indian
Language will not, however, be compulsory for candidates hailing from the
States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and
Sikkim.
30% marks in Indian Language and 25% marks in English as minimum
qualifying standards in these qualifying papers.
English Language (Compulsory)
Indian Languages (Compulsory)
Assamese

Bengali

Bodo

Gujarati

Hindi

Kannada

Maithili

Malayalam

Marathi

Nepali

Oriya

Punjabi

Sanskrit

Manipuri

Tamil

Telugu

Urdu

Konkani

Sindhi (Devanagari)

Sindhi (Arabic)

How to Prepare for Mains:

Now as you have seen the previous papers and list of optionals to select from
Decide on one optional ,as per suggestion of toppers choose the one you love
not the one crowd follows or so called scoring ones.
I will copy paste what Gaurav Agrawal said, there is nothing to add or remove
to what he said its just perfect it depends on you how much you will learn
from it.

Choosing an Optional
People often have many criteria to choose the optional. Some of them are

 Scoring optional: People think some optionals are more scoring than
others.. Dont know what to say on this. Every year UPSC changes the
optionals it favours / punishes, so u never know whether the scoring
optional u took may end up in the butchering list of UPSC next year..
Overlap with GS: Pubad le lo, GS ki bhi taiyyari ho jaayegi Nothing could
be more dangerous than this attitude.. coz if we dont like pubad, and still take
it, then we anyways wont be able to study it well enough and not only will we
screw the pubad portion of GS but also additional 500 marks optional. We only
amplify our weakness by this attitude.
I believe an optional must be chosen out of our strength. When I took
economics, many people advised me against it saying economics is technical,
not scoring etc. etc. But I knew economics was my strength doesnt matter if
no one has scored 400/600 in economics so far, I know I would score it (as per
the older marking scheme). When UPSC is giving us 500 marks to play by our
strength, why should we pick anything else? These are our marks and let us
score the maximum out of it. And of course, such a strength can only develop
when we have deep interest and luv for the subject.

So How to Prepare for Optional?

Again reproduced from his site: Stages of Preparation
There are multiple stages of preparation in a subject like Economics.
Stage 1: In this stage, we just focus on understanding what we are reading.
While reading, we must understand the concept fully. We will forget the thing
2 days after we have read it, dont worry. We will not even understand half
the questions which have been asked in previous years, dont worry. We dont
even have a clue of how to write answers in the exam, dont worry. Just
ensure you understand what you are reading and finish the syllabus.
Stage 2: This begins after the syllabus has been finished once. In the second
time, we again focus on understanding what we are reading. This time we
would find, it takes less time to understand all the stuff and most of it seems
familiar once we read. Our retention would increase at this stage. Read, reread, revise the syllabus 2-3 times, ensure that we can recall without any aid
what was said in a given topic / theorem and can reproduce it on paper. At the
end of this stage, we would still not be able to even understand half the
questions in the paper.
Stage 3: Many questions in the eco question paper are not direct i.e. they ll
not ask write abt XX theorem. These questions are indirect and we wont even
know which theorem / model to apply! The aim of this stage is to identify
which model to apply. This can only come if we sit down with previous years
question papers and think and think and discuss with others on what model to
apply for a particular question. by now we have internalised all the stuff, we
can not only reproduce the entire model / theorem on paper but also
understand when and where to apply them. We will be able to answer most
(90-95%) of the questions in previous years question papers now.

Optional Strategy Subject Wise:

Strategy for History by Ms. Surabhi Malik (AIR-51)

Strategy for Geography by Mr. Mangesh Kumar (AIR-4)

Strategy for Economics by Ms Harshika Singh (AIR-8)
Strategy for Medical Science by Dr. Piyush Singla (AIR-84)
Strategy For Electrical Engineering Prince Dhawan
Strategy for Psychology by Ms. Shena Aggarwal (AIR-1)
Strategy for Sociology By Mr. Rajanvir Singh Kapur (AIR-92)
Strategy for Public Administration- Mains Anay Dwivedi
Strategy for Public Administration (Advanced- Unit wise strategy) Prince
Dhawan
Strategy for Public Administration Optional IAS Prem Ranjan Singh
(Rank 62, CSE 2013)
Strategy for Economics Optional Gaurav Agrawal
PubAd Hidden Topics: Lohit Matani (AIR 182, CSE 2013)
History Optional
Psychology Optional Strategy by IAS Ravi Ranjan (AIR 92 CSE 2013)
Geography Optional by IAS Chanchal Rana (AIR 7, CSE 2013)
Management Optional Nagendra Singh (AIR 120, CSE 2013)
Philosophy Optional Dinesh Bishnoi (212 marks optional)
Political Science by Subject Topper Rajat Sen (255 marks, cse 2013)
Political Science Optional Preparation by IAS Himanshu Aggarwal (AIR
28, cse 2013)
Physics Optional by Divyanshu Jha (AIR 9, cse 2013)
Physics, Ethics and Interview by IAS Manish Bansal (AIR 53, cse 2013)

Essay:
After seeing the results of last mains no one can deny that Essay has become a
very crucial paper, more crucial than ever before. CSM 2014 essay paper no
requires a candidate to write two essays around 1200 words each. Regular
reading of books, newspapers and Yojana will help a candidate accumulate lot
of points.
Some are gifted writers but to majority of us that art comes only with rigorous
practices. And writing in the exam hall is a completely different story. Gaurav
Agarwal wrote a post on How to improve Essay Writing for UPSC Mains? .He
also listed his past experience and what mistakes he committed.

Essay and GS Strategy :

Essay strategy Puneet Gulati, AIR 319 with 140 in Essay (2009)
Strategy for GS (Advanced- Unit Wise) by Ms. Rukmani Riar old Syllabus
but useful.
UPSC GS: How to Prepare Gaurav Agrawal

GS Paper 1
Indian Heritage and Culture, History
1. Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature
and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
2. Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century
until the present significant events, personalities, issues
3. The Freedom Struggle its various stages and important contributors
/contributions from different parts of the country.

4. Postindependence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

5. History of the world will include events from 18th century such as industrial
revolution, world wars, redrawal of national boundaries, colonization,
decolonization.
6. Political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism etc. their
forms and effect on the society.
Society.
1. Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
2. Role of women and womens organization, population and associated issues,
3. Poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their
remedies.
4. Effects of globalization on Indian society
5. Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism.
Geography of the World
1. Salient features of worlds physical geography.
2. 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)
3. Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami,
Volcanic activity, cyclone , geographical features and their location
changes in critical geographical features (including waterbodies and
icecaps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Suggested Book List for GS 1

Indian History: From Plassey to Partition by Sekhar
Bandyopadhyay and Modern Indian History Rajiv Ahir or Bipan chandra.
Indian Heritage and Culture: Questions are very in-depth and
sometimes requires PhD .Still Nitin Singhanias Xerox notes is best source so
far along with any institutes material.
Geography of the World: Spectrum Geography is a comprehensive book it is for

mains geography but selective reading will help you in both mains and
Prelims.
Society: NCERT books and Newspapers will do.

GS Paper 2
Constitution
1. Indian Constitution historical underpinnings, evolution, features,
amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
2. Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries
3. Parliament and State Legislatures structure, functioning, conduct of
business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Polity
1. 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.
2. Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms
and institutions.
3. Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the
Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government;
4. Pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the
Polity.
5. Salient features of the Representation of Peoples Act.
6. Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and
responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
7. Statutory, regulatory and various quasijudicial bodies
Social Justice
1. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors
and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
2. Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs,
SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional
and other stakeholders
3. 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.
4. Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
5. Issues relating to poverty and hunger.
Governance

1. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e

governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential;
2. Citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other
measures.
3. Role of civil services in a democracy.
International relations.
1. India and its neighbourhood relations.
2. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India
and/or affecting Indias interests
3. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on
Indias interests, Indian diasporas.
4. Important International institutions, agencies and further structure,
mandate.

Suggested Book List for GS 2

Polity and Constitution parts : Laxmikanth or DD Basu
Vajiram PDF on various schemes.
Insights website compilation will also help Or Vajiram Yellow books.
PRS reports and Blog.
Newspaper is the most important source for social justice and IR.
C.Raja Mohan articles for International relations.

GS Paper 3
Economic Development
1. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources,
growth, development and employment.
2. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
3. Government Budgeting.
4. 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
5. 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 animalrearing.
6. Food processing and related industries in India scope and significance,
location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain
management.
7. Land reforms in India.

8. Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and

their effects on industrial growth.
9. Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
10. Investment models.
Technology
1. Science and Technology developments and their applications and effects in
everyday life
2. Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of
technology and developing new technology.
3. Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology,
biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Bio diversity and Environment
1. Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental
impact assessment
Disaster and disaster management.
Security
1. Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
2. Role of external state and nonstate actors in creating challenges to internal
security.
3. Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of
media and social networking sites in internal security challenges,
basics of cyber security; money laundering and its prevention
4. Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of
organized crime with terrorism
5. Various security forces and agencies and their mandate

Suggested Book List for GS 3

Ramesh Singh for Economy.
Newspapers, Vision IAS printed Material.
Shankar IAS academy notes foe Environment and Bio diversity (read at
prelims thoroughly not directly useful for mains)
Vajiram yellow book for Security.
Insights Compilation for any gaps.

GS Paper 4
This paper will include questions to test the candidates attitude and
approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem
solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with

society. Questions may utilise the case study approach to determine these
aspects. The following broad areas will be covered.
Ethics
Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences
of Ethics in human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics in private and
public relationships.
Human Values lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders,
reformers and administrators; role of family, society and educational
institutions in inculcating values.
Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought
and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service , integrity, impartiality
and nonpartisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy,
tolerance and compassion towards the weakersections.
Emotional intelligenceconcepts, and their utilities and application in
administration and governance.
Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.
1. Public/Civil service values & Ethics in Public administration: Status
and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and
private institutions;
2. laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance;
3. accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral
values in governance;
Ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.
Probity in Governance:
1. Concept of public service;
2. Philosophical basis of governance and probity;
3. Information sharing and transparency in government,
4. Right to Information,
5. Codes of Ethics,
6. Codes of Conduct,
7. Citizens Charters,
8. Work culture,
9. Quality of service delivery,
10. Utilization of public funds,
11. Challenges of corruption.

Case Studies on above issues.

Suggested Book List for GS 4

Any one Institute Printed notes for basics
Ethics Lexicon as you need to know the meaning of the words in the
question paper.
Synergy Class notes Xerox. + Tons of common sense.
Ethics is your personality cant be taught.

Interview test
The candidate will be interviewed by a Board who will have before them a
record of his/her career. He/she will be asked questions on matters of general
interest. The object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the
candidate for a career in public service by a Board.
On a personal note a guy who reached this stage will not read this post. So
more on this section later. If you get a Interview call Go to Delhi, Old Rajendar
Nagar near Karol Bagh Metro, And get some professional help, as institutes
there will bring retired bureaucrats and others who will help you a lot.

Toppers:
Toppers Blogs
Supreet Singh Gulati (2008 IAS Rank-2)
Bijay Ketan Upadhyay (2008 IAS Rank-5)
Shubra Saxena (2009 IAS Topper) Public Admin
Prasanth Reddy (2009 IAS Rank-64)
Prakash Rajpurohit (2010 IAS Rank-2) Maths and Electrical Engg
Anay Dwivedi (2010 IAS Rank-5) Public Admin
Abhijeet Agrawal Rank 24 IAS Physics and Chemistry
Tanvi Sundriyal (2010 IAS Rank-6) Sociology and Public Admin
Garima Mittal (2010 IAS Rank-8) Sociology and Psychology
Rashmita Panda (2010 IAS Rank-13) History and Public Admin
Prabhjot Singh (2010 IAS Rank-16)
Ghanshyam Thori (2010 IAS Rank-25) Geography and Psychology
Rajiv Ranjan Singh (2010 IPS Rank-191) Sociology and Public Admin
Kashish Mittal (2011 IAS Rank-58)
Prince Dhawan (2011 IAS Rank-3) Public Admin and Electrical Engg
Gaurav Agrawal (2013 IAS Rank-1) Economics
Rahul Pandey (AIR-52 CSE 2013) Public Admin

Toppers Interviews: their journey struggle & success

Mrunal
[Toppers Interview] Neha Yadav (CSE-2013/AIR-24): Sociology optional,
Got IFS, ICMR fellowship, Gorakhpur
IAS Topper Rank 1: Gaurav Agrawal, Economics Optional, also cleared IIT,
IIM & IPS
[Toppers Interview] Dinesh Gupta (UPSC-2013/Rank-249) History Optional,
ECE, Chandigarh
[Toppers Interview] Dr.Arpit Jain (UPSC-2013/Rank-194): Anthropology
Optional, Madhya Pradesh
[Toppers Interview] Vinay G.M. (UPSC-2013/Rank 459) Public
Administration 226 marks, B.E.Computer, Shimoga
[Toppers Interview] Rajarshi Raj Varma (UPSC-2013 / Rank-351): First
Attempt, Public Administration, Ranchi, XIM-Bhubaneswar
[Toppers Interview] VP Gautham (UPSC-2013/Rank-138): First attempt, 309
in prelims, Geography optional, IFOS Rank-3, Tamilnadu,
[Toppers Interview] Sakshi Sawhney (IAS-2013/ Rank-6): BA LLB, Second
among girl toppers, Law optional
[Toppers Interview] Neha Jain (IAS-2013/Rank-12): 4 years in IT sector,
400 marks in GS Mains, First Attempt, Sociology optional, Kanpur
[Toppers Interview] Akash (CSE-2013/AIR-63) First Attempt, 297 in
prelims, IFoS ranker, maths optional, IIT Madras from Kerala
[Toppers Interview] Sumit Kumar (CSE-2013/AIR-81): Rohtak Mech
engineer, 4 years IT experience, Mathematics Optional
[Toppers Interview] Ashish Agrawal (CSE-2013/AIR-209) : Chhattisgarh,
B.Tech, Public Administration
[Toppers Interview] Dr. Roman Saini (CSE-2013/AIR-18): First Attempt, 309
in Prelims, ~100 marks GS Mains 1,3,4; Medical Science Optional, AIIMS
[Toppers Interview] Gaurav Gupta (CSE-2013/AIR-117): IIT Kanpur,
History Optional, Technopreneur
[Toppers Interview] Nima Arora (UPSC-2013/AIR-50): B.Tech, Public
Administration, also cleared SSC auditor, BankPO & the ACIO
[Toppers Interview] Shweta Chauhan (CSE-2013/AIR-573): First Attempt,
Geography optional, ACIO, B.Sc, Ghaziabad
[Toppers Interview] Dinesh Bishnoi (CSE-2013/AIR-481): First Attempt,
B.Tech Rajasthan, IBPS ranker shares his ethics case studies & mains
experiance
[Toppers Interview] Parth Gautam Sharma (AIR-294/CSE-2013): B.Com,
Commerce Optional, Madhyapradesh

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Comments
DEBABRATA MISHRA June 15, 2015

helpful
Reply

kalyan June 15, 2015

Thanks
Reply

niyati kumari mishra June 20, 2015

this website is really very helpful thanks to this website

Reply

Gajraj June 29, 2015

is there any possibility of past hindu paepaper from jan to june

Reply

kalyan June 29, 2015

You can access Old papers from Hindu archive, in Todays

paper section you can change the date and access. or you
can access our Suggested articles archive.
Reply

pratyush December 29, 2015

So useful for cse aspirants

Reply

Philo Raj July 15, 2015

Hi..I read the above post.Its every useful.But i am a beginner.I decide to

prepare for IAS exam 2016.Can I follow the above preparation guide for
my studies.Please help me.From when should i start my preparation?
From which topic i should start preparing?
Reply

kalyan July 15, 2015

Yes you can, but start with Ncert books and your optional
subject.Also read News Paper daily , they all play major role.
First see old papers both mains and Prelims it will give you
over all Idea of what kind of questions are coming, what is
the standard and depth UPSC is expecting. Depending on
that you can follow.
Reply

Philo Raj July 15, 2015

Thanks..will start with the ncert books..and i didnt choose the

optional subject yet.
Reply

rishabh August 16, 2015

hi, a good news for students of hindi medium. ramesh singhs economy
book in hindi version is come. 7 th edi, come
buy it from-http://www.amazon.in/gp/product/9339222717?
psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3HKLOB57IFCW2
Reply

shaifali September 10, 2015

M nt able to choose my optional subject.. plzzzz help me.

Reply

kalyan September 10, 2015

hi, Frankly no one can choose it for you , But best suggestion
will be choose the subject you love, If you are engineer and
very good at maths choose it, if You are CA choose
commerce, If you are good in your mother tongue choose it
as literature optional.
If you are not comfortable with any of the above, choose
among sociology-anthropology-geography-pub ad as these
are most popular subjects and availability of material and
coaching is more.
See the syllabus of each optional you short listed, previous
question papers, and talk to any one in service or seniors.
Above all choose the subject you love and are comfortable
in , because you have to be very good in optional to get good
score. Hope this helps
Reply

Veerendra singh October 11, 2015

Coaching is essential for this exam or not??

Reply

NISHANT KUMAR November 19, 2015

Live in Present!!! U will get what U want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply

Durga Shree December 20, 2015

no strategy for agriculture??? Pls someone help .

Reply

rahul January 5, 2016

hii read all the information thanks for the valuable information. i
have only one doubt that in the mains examination the optional
subjects are 2, from which category we have to select the two
subjects,weather one from the optional subjects category and one from
literature category or only one subject from both the categories.plz give
me full information about it as i am new aspirant.
Reply

kalyan January 5, 2016

HI, for mains now there is only one optional. not two
according to new pattern. You can choose as per your
interest, or educational back ground or availability of
coaching etc.

Reply

RS January 23, 2016

hello sir
with a great dilemma as to new news of age limit i am 30 i hve given
2011 and2015 year exam general category 4 attempts exhausted will i
be able to give exam in 2016 i read it in 2-3 places please clarify.
Reply

RS January 26, 2016

hello sir
with a great dilemma as to new news of age limit i am 30 i hve
given 2011 and2015 year exam general category 4 attempts
exhausted will i be able to give exam in 2016 i read it in 2-3
places please clarify
Reply

swaroopa March 5, 2016

most useful ready recknor as well as good guide for the aspirants of
civils
Reply

mariya June 27, 2016

tell me NCERT books

Reply

sandy September 5, 2016

For IAS previous years questions, you can visit

http://www.MCQforum.com
Reply

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