A Journey To Be A Civil Services

Good & Bad are the two sides of a single coin. In our country, we find social evils that can never be ended until human thinking is polished; the fragments continues to work. In our society, to maintain peace, it's been necessary to channelize law & order with great administrative set-up. The goverment makes policies for public welfare & the administrators take those policies to the public systematically, for it requires a disciplined management.

Why to join Civil Service:

The craze for joining Civil Services, in India, is  increasing day by day. This is India's biggest & toughest examination taking UPSC ( Union Public Service Commission) every year across the country. A large number of students appear for this exam but very few of them clear it. This is the highest paying & most powerful job in the country. It provides privileges & high- ranking to the selected candidates. That's why this service is quite different to all other services in India.

Categories of the Civil Service:

This exam is divided into different categories: -

1. All India Civil Services IAS

• Indian Administrative Service
• Indian Police Service 
• Indian Forest Service 
• 
  

2. Group A Services Or Central Services

• Indian Audit & Account Service
• Indian Civil Account Service
• Indian Corporate law Service
• Indian Defense Account Service
• Indian Defense Estate Service
• Indian Foreign Service
• Indian Information Service
• Indian Ordnance Factory Service
• Indian Postal Service
• Indian Railway Account Service
• Indian Railway Personnel Service
• Indian Railway Traffic Service
• Indian Revenue Service
• Indian Trade Service & Railway Protection Force
• 
  

3. Group B Services Or State Services

• Armed Forces Civil Services
• DANICS
• DANIPS
• Pondicherry Civil Services
• Pondicherry Police Services
• 
  

Eligibility:

A candidate holding a graduation degree in any stream from a recognized university is eligible to apply. The candidates must be a citizen of India for IAS & IPS. For other services, the candidate must belong either to India or Bhutan or Nepal. Minimum age criteria for general category is 21 & maximum is 32. For OBC, it is 35 & 37 for SC/ST. Candidates from general category can appear for this exam only six times. For OBC, it is nine times & no attempt limit for SC/ST. 

Exam Pattern:

The UPSC conducts the Civil Service Examination in three phases:

1. Preliminary Examination
2. Main Examination
3. Personality Test (Interview)
4. 
   

Preliminary Examination:

The very first stage of this exam is prelims examination & is of multiple choice questions. It has two papers- General studies & Aptitude section. 

For General Studies, the candidate will get questions on History of India & Indian National Movement, Indian polity and Governance- constitution, Panchayati Raj, Public policy, Rights issues, Indian & world geography, General issues on Environment,  Ecology & Biodiversity & climate change, General Science, Current events of National & International level.

For the Aptitude section, students will get questions on comprehension skills, logical reasoning, interpersonal skills including communication skills, decision making & problem solving, general mental ability, English language comprehension skills of matric level, basic arithmetic of matric level. It is mandatory for all candidates to appear in both papers of prelims.

Mains Examination:

The Mains, having many obstacles, is considered to be the hardcore stage of this testing & people are very much worried about how to tackle it down & qualify for the next. It's like an ocean for a swimmer. All parts of this particular stage are in subjective mode. This stage will consist of nine papers out of which two are of qualifying nature. The merit will be counted for papers one to seven & personality test.

Primarily, the candidates have to select the first paper on one of the Indian languages of 300 marks & second will of 300 marks also on English language; both are of qualifying nature. The third paper will be on essay writing of 250 marks. The fourth paper will be on General Studies like Indian heritage, culture,history & geography of the world & society. 

The fifth paper will be on Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations of 250 marks. The sixth paper will be on Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management of 250 also.

The seventh paper will be on Ethics & Integrity; the marks will be of 250 marks. The Eighth & Ninth paper will be written on an optional subject which is chosen by the candidate.This stage takes four to five days to be held. 

Personality Test(Interview):

Finally, the candidates who qualify the mains will be called for a Personality Test (Interview).

Strategy:

As this exam is India's toughest exam, it creates a lot of frustration while preparing. The real examination starts with patience & continues with this exam. A smart strategy may tackle the phobia of disqualifying in the IAS exam. 

NCERT books from 6 to 12 are primary sources. Secondly, the candidates need to study recommended books.For Indian history, the candidates can opt for Bipin Chandra 's India after independence & a struggle for independence 1857 onwards.Ramesh Singh's book on Indian Economy & Economic Survey is sufficient. 

For Indian Polity, M Laxmikhant. Nitin Singhania's book on Indian Art & Culture is mostly recommended, in extra sourcing, the candidates can read the books from class 11 & 12. For geography, NCERT's are sufficient but Majid Hussain's book on Indian Geography can be read as a reference book. For Environment & Ecology, Shankar IAS has a comprehensive approach & mostly recommended. 

Now the question is which newspaper is best for this particular exam? I recommend you to study The Hindu. Especially nowadays, this paper is designed as per candidate's needs on UPSC CSE. As far as the essay part is concerned, many articles are taken directly from this paper. This newspaper is available in metro cities. The candidates can read Indian Express in case The Hindu is not available in the rural market.

Never leave hope in struggle. The journey begins with a lil failure while preparation. The person with challenging ability is suitable for this respective post. Make a smart time table & study accordingly. No other mantra left to be discussed.