Today I stand by my window looking at the stars. They appear brighter and more beautiful tonight. Sometimes things and situations around you make you feel "Is this for real?" And that is exactly how I feel today. A mix of varied feelings. A wave of emotions running down me. But it’s true. The biggest truth of my life. AIR 36 Civil Services Examination :))

Even before I could let the feeling sink in, there were questions, queries and doubts from other IAS aspirants as to how to crack the toughest exam of the country that too in the very first attempt :) I am actually enthralled at the enthusiasm of these many people who really wish to do something for the common and greater good. In fact today I am here to realise my dream of bringing about a change. A change for the betterment of the lives of those who have been unheard till date. Through this blog my only aim is to help all those people who have similar intentions in life and I would be really happy if this helps them to get a step further in this noble endeavour :)

Before talking about the strategies, books and tips there is something I want to tell all of you which is in fact the most important thing all of us need to realise in life. Before we all take up any challenge in life be it this exam or any other challenge in life I believe there are three things which are the pillars of any successful life and once we all possess these no task in this world would appear difficult.

The foremost thing is to feel good about yourself. Some call it self confidence others call it trusting your capabilities. All mean the same. This is the key to all the happiness in life.

Secondly, be humble. Humility is the most prized possession anybody can have. The right attitude towards life and people is the opening door to success in life. All other qualities like honesty, integrity, sincerity, etc emanate from humility itself.

And the third thing is commitment and dedication towards the goal of your life. A never give up attitude and the desire to reach your goal against all odds is a major factor behind any successful person :)

Now, coming to the examination. The very fact that it is a long procedure demanding an equally long preparation time. As in what I personally felt is if one devotes an year of dedicated preparation, it's enough to get through this examination (as per my personal experience).

Strategy for the Preliminary Examination:-

This paper consists of two papers.

Paper 1

• 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 specialization and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization.

Paper 2

• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical 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)

Books, references and sources for paper 1

i)     M Laxmikant for polity

ii)    NCERT of class 11 and 12 for Indian history, geography, political science and economics

iii)   Indian economy by Ramesh Singh

iv)   Vajiram and Ravi notes and yellow books for environment and development schemes and        policies

v)    India's struggle for independence by Bipin Chandra

vi)   Certificate of physical geography by G Cheong

vii)  The Hindu newspaper

viii) Chronicle magazine

ix)   Yojna 

x)    Facets of Indian Culture( spectrum)

Paper 2

No special book as such needed for this paper. The best strategy is to practise test papers preferably Vajiram and career launcher test papers. In fact doing a test paper every alternate day from July in a fixed period of 2 hours would suffice.

Strategy for mains examination

The General studies papers 1 to 4 need a detailed and focussed study.

Paper 1- 

General Studies-I 250 Marks (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.

Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues

The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.

Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

History of the world will include events from 18^th 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.

Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

Role of women and women's 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.

Salient features of world's physical geography.

Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent); 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 location- changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Sources- The books would remain common for Indian history, geography and culture..apart from that the books to be referred are-

i) India after Independence ( bipin chandra)

ii)ncert books of 11 and 12 on sociology

iii) ncert books on world history of class 9 and 10

iv) newspapers for general topics

Paper 2

General Studies -II: 250 Marks (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 People's 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

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.

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.

India and its neighborhood- relations.

Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora.

Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.

Sources-  For polity Laxmikant and DD basu can be referred..for development schemes sites can be referred such as the site of Press information bureau..www.pib.nic.in..

For International relations the classnotes of vajiram are pretty effective ..also newspapers and magazines would be helpful for this topic..

Other general topics to be studied from the internet, newspapers and magazines..

Paper 3

General Studies -III 250 Marks (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management)

Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management.

Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and

employment.

Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

Government Budgeting.

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

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 India- scope 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.

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

Disaster and disaster management.

Linkages between development and spread of extremism.

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; money-laundering 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

Sources- For science and technology, magazines like chronicle and Science reporter would suffice..apart from than than yellow books of vajiram are helpful too..the thursday special on science and technology in the Hindu..Environmental and related topics to be done from internet ..disaster management can be referred from ndmindia.nic.in...security issues and challenges , agencies to be done from internet and yellow books of vajiram.

Paper 4

General Studies -IV 250 Marks (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude)

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 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 non-partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker-sections.

Emotional intelligence-concepts, and their utilities and application in administration and governance.

Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world.

Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration: Status and problems; ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance; strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance;

ethical issues in international relations and funding; corporate governance.

Probity in Governance: Concept of public service; Philosophical basis of governance and probity; Information

sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen's

Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public funds, challenges of corruption.

Case Studies on above issues.

Sources- This paper does not require any book reading as such...the special issues of chronicle on these topics are enough..also for thinkers magazines and internet are helpful..for case studies..practice of answer writing is needed..apart from that this paper needs original thoughts and innovative thinking.

General studies papers need writing practice..since one needs to write around 5000 words in a span of 3 hours..one should develop the habit of writing fast and to the point. It is important to practise test papers in order to get into the habit of writing fast and presenting effective answers. Understanding the question and answering it in a consolidated manner is what goes in favour of certain candidates.And since the weightage of GS has increased now..it becomes all the more important.

Interview preparation

This is a personality test wherein the board accesses the overall personality of the candidate. Knowledge is not important here. What they really check here is the approach of the candidate towards any question. It’s absolutely alright to say "Sorry I do not know" to any question instead of faking or making wild guesses. All that they want is confidence, humility, honesty and integrity in a candidate. They appreciate originality and innovative thoughts. A candidate needs to be well aware and alert of all the things going around him. And as per me the most important thing is to smile and look pleasant. They prefer candidates who look happy, calm and relaxed J.

Interview preparation needs nothing more than developing the confidence to speak. To present one's ideas in an effective manner and to make them believe that he or she is a suitable candidate for the post. It’s all about how relaxed and confident you appear to them. And this can’t be done in a month’s time. So start now, talk to people, be aware of things around you, get into the habit of putting your views in front of people but with humility J

  I guess this is all I need to tell all you people out there who aspire to become civil servants in future because I am no specialist but have tried my best to share all that has helped me to achieve my goal. Just remember “the zeal to get into services and the passion of serving your nation is the single biggest motivating factor one can have to crack this examination” and as the title says

Follow your dreams...they know the way!!!