Cut Off Marks for CSE-2011

Hye everybody, this info has been released by the UPSC in an RTI. Hopefully this will help in calculating your own chances in 2012. Good luck!

बस यूं ही ....

नहीं आता  कलम लिखना ,

नहीं  आता ग़ज़ल  कहना ,

मगर मत जान ये लेना, 

मै  हूँ  पागल  औ  दीवाना ,

कदम  मै  एक  रखूगा ,

कदम  तुम   एक  रख  देना ,

वही  सज  जाएगी महफ़िल ,

और  फिर,

ग़ज़ल  मै  एक  लिख   दूंगा ,

मसूरी वादियों में फिर, 

ग़ज़ल  तुम  एक  लिख  देना ................:)

just to give few words to my eagerness to go to Mussorie for training.

My strategy of Preparation for MAINS

Mains in the part of CSE, which is most crucial for your success. Because 2000/2300 marks are allocated to the different MAINS papers. So you should go will full preparation in the MAINS. Also within it, since GS is very difficult in scoring, as its syllabus is so vast, the two optionals become most important. Though Essay and GS also play a very crucial role. The simple funda is that try to give your best shot, with highest attention to two optionals, then GS, then Essay. Whether you should take coaching or not, that is your personal matter depending on your capacity and requirement.

FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION:-

One of the most important subject for CSE aspirants..not just from the examination point of view, but also later on. There is a lot of material available for this subject, but don't follow too many books. First you might not having that much time and second, their revision will become difficult. So study one topic from a maximum of two books to gain comprehensive knowledge about that topic. Then note making in long or point form is also essential as it will help in quick revision. Conceptual clarity in this subject is very important to write good quality answers. I did coaching from Mohanty sir, and made notes simultaneously. Some books for Pub Adm are:-
Paper I:-
New Horizons in Public Administration by Mohit Bhattacharya (good one to start with though I didn't couldn't read it)
Administrative Thinkers by Parsad and Parsad
Public Administration by Phadia and Phadia
Public Administration by Polinaidu (selective reading)
Public Administration by Sharma and Sadana(i didn't read it)
Public Administration by Awasthi and Maheshwari(i didn't read it)
Coaching notes of any good teacher in Public Admns
+others

Paper II:-
Indian Administration by Phadia and Phadia(selective reading)
Indian Public Administration by Arora and Goyal (selective reading)
Indian Polity by Laxmikant
Indian Constitution by D.D.Basu (or Subash Kashyap)
Coaching notes of any good teacher in Public Admns
+others

Questions in Paper II are more from current issues like for 2010-2011 the CAG, Civil Society, CVC, etc. Hence you should always be very updated with the current political development in India. This will also improve your score in GS. For this the importance of Newspaper reading is highlighted. Editorials of The Hindu are are quite good for the same purpose.

FOR GEOGRAPHY:-

It is also a huge subject, and if taken with Pub Admn it may substantially increasing the burden. But still a very good one and forms a natural combination with Pub Adm. One thing the new comers should keep in mind is that their papers in the MAINS falls back to back. Hence there is no time for revision and it may affect your output. So think before you chose this combination. Then few books for geog are
Paper I:-
G.C.Liong (good one to start with though I didn't couldn't read it)
Physical Geography by Savindra Singh
Physical Geography by Rupa Made Simple Series
Economic and Social Geography by Rupa Made Simple Series
Human Geography by Majid Hussain(selective reading)
Coaching notes are then must to complete the syllabus.

Paper II:-
Indian Geography by Khullar (this was the only book i read for paper II)
Coaching notes are then must to complete the syllabus.

Atlas:-
Oxford Student Atlas (for India)
Oxfor School Atlas (for world)
Orient Longmann/Blackswann
TTK School Atlas
Keep 3-4 Atlas as any atlas is not perfect and u will for sure seek the guidance of more than one of them.


There are many other books which people follow which are listed below. But i followed none, hence I have no idea about them. This was because just to read any particular section i was determined not to go through an entire book. Rather I followed my coaching notes. U should also take classnotes from any coaching, rather then going through so many books for different parts of Geography. But then many people who prepare self, may be they should see some depending on their needs. The books are (Paper I and Paper II combined):-

P. Dayal for Geomorphology
D.S.Lal for Climatology
Savindra Singh for Environmental Geography
Ramchandran for Settlement Geography
Chang and Puri for RDP(Regional Development and Planning)
Sudipta Adhikari for Cultural Geography
Chandana for Population Geography
Majid Hussain for Geographical thought
C.B.Mamaria for commercial geog of india
Keith Stow (not sure about the name ) for oceanography and another for economic geog
etc.

FOR GENERAL STUDIES (GS):-

For Mains GS very deep knowledge is required in different areas. Hence try to read the books very thoughtfully and after that their revision is also required. You can also make your notes for the last minute cramming. But the syllabus of GS is very vast, hence it is very difficult to cover all the areas. As a result we are not able to attempt many questions asked in the MAINS paper. Also in comparison to the two optional papers its weight is quite less and keeping in mind that subjects have a specified syllabus, it is always advisable not to spend too much time in GS preparation. Though newspaper reading should always be done with utmost devotion throughout the year.

Modern India:-

Our Freedom Struggle by Bipin Chandra + others

Indian Culture:-

Spectrum Series book on Indian Culture

Indian Geography:-

Follow the books specified for PRELIMS

Indian Polity and Constitution:-

Follow the books specified for PRELIMS

Statistical Analysis:-

Spectrum series book on Statistical Analysis

Current National Issues:-

India and the World:-

India's Economic Interaction with the world:-

Science and Technology:-

International Affairs and Institutions:-

For the above 5 topics, newspapers, magazine and internet are the most important sources. Follow the list of newspapers and magazines which I have specified for PRELIMS. Read the editorial and op-ed pages of THE HINDU thoroughly. Selective study of India Year Book should also be done for the above mentioned topics.

General Tips:-

1. Test series of GS is a must for those who are appearing for the mains for the first time, and that too with full preparation and sincerity.

2. Writing skills play a great role in enhancing your score, so pay due attention to it.
3. Note making will help a lot in the last time for revision.

My strategy of preparation for PRELIMS

Hi, Friends.

Prelims is just a small milestone in a very long journey which we intend to cover. Though it is only of qualifying nature, but one need's to prepare extensively for that. For the preparation of that will be carried forward to the Mains and further ahead as well. While preparing for Prelims, one should also keep in mind the Mains-GS paper. Specially those subjects and areas which are common in Prelims and Mains-GS, should be studied thoroughly during the Prelims. For eg. Modern History, Indian Geography, Polity, Economics, Current affairs etc.

For PAPER-I (General Studies)

The preparation for Civil Services Examination (CSE) generally starts with the preparation for GS  itself as many of us tend to take some extra time in choosing our optionals while our preparation is going on. To start with, NCERT books of different subjects are good. Then one can switch to other specific books. Following is the list of books which I followed + others one should read :-

History:-          

Modern India-NCERT Class XII by Bipin Chandra (old edition) (start with this book then switch to the following)                          

India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra + others (for Modern India)

Medieval and Ancient India-NCERT Books

Spectrum Series books are also good .

You can also refer to any coaching notes of history.

In History your major focus should be on the Modern India, therefore read the first two books thoroughly. But in Prelims few questions are also asked from the Ancient and Medieval India. Hence it is also imperative to go through them, but do not put much very strenuous efforts in them. In the latter two parts give special focus to Indus Valley Civilisation, Ashoka, Buddhism and Jainism, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals and socio-cultural developments of both ages.

Geography:-

NCERT Class XI, XII- 2 books each. These 4 books cover physical geog. and Indian geog.

G.C.Leong 

Spectrum Series Book

If still not satisfied you can go for selective study of Khullar's book on Indian Geography.

For world geog. photostates of NCERTs 'Land and People' can be used.

ATLAS are must for Indian and World mapping related questions. Go for OXFORD Atlas. There are two-one is good for the world and one is for India. Get both of them as one atlas would not be sufficient. Try to use the atlas as maximum as you could. They are very good and helpful in learning.

Finally if still not satisfied u can get notes of some coaching, but I don't think that u would need them.

Indian Polity:-

Indian Polity by Laxmikant is the best and only required book for polity. You don't need anything beyond this. Read it 2-3-4 or 5 times. :)

But still if some future IAS is not satisfied with my suggestions :) and want to study Constitution you can go for:- 

Our Constitution by D.D.Basu (this is better)

or Our Constitution by Subash Kashyap (not as good as there are few mistakes, but if you already have bought it, it's fine.)

There is one more book by Mr. Bakshi but I would not suggest you to buy it.

Economics:-

NCERTs Class XI and XII can be studies to form a base, but they won't help too much.

Then go for classnotes of any good coaching or teachers. This will help you in figuring out what to study in economy and then will impart you the knowledge of basic economics terms and development.

Indian Economy by Uma Kapila is a good book to read after you have acquired the basics.

Another one by Dutt and Sundaram is also quite famous.

Generally people are not very comfortable with economics, hence after getting the basics of this subject, start reading the Business section of any newspaper daily. Unlike above three subjects, the questions in Economics are more from current scenario, hence keeping oneself updated about Indian and world economic issues is very vital. You should be aware of new treaties, economic terms etc coming in papers, magazines etc.

Science:-

Nowadays the questions from Basic Sciences like Physics, Chemistry and Biology are decreasing constantly. And their place is being taken by questions of Science and Technology like Missiles, Green Technology, Satellites, New age devices, newly developed technology etc. which we come across by reading the newspapers and magazines. If you don't have science background then it will be good if you go through Basic Sciences by some coaching notes or GK books. Then you will be able to understand the science and tech questions more easily. For everybody, there are no fixed books for this section. Hence you will have to update yourself through internet, newspaper, magazines etc. Any special editions of Science and Tech magazines should be keenly followed. 

          

Newspapers:-

Any one newspaper should always be followed with significantly high consistency. 

THE HINDU, the best one and my first and last preference.

INDIAN EXPRESS, is the second newspaper which I would advice you to follow. 

TIMES OF INDIA, is only for entertainment and doing away your boredom :) For civil services aspirants in particular, this is the last newspaper to follow. Once you clear CSE, you can happily read TOI.

If you are switching to THE HINDU for the first time, it would not look too good, but hang on and after few days you will start liking it. But still if anybody does not like it and is already addicted to TOI then TOI it is :) 

The areas questions from Economy, National and International affairs, Science and Tech etc are very well covered in THE HINDU.

P.S.

For the very fresh aspirants, Editorial and Op-Ed pages are the most important pages of THE HINDU :) Give 1-2 hours to newspaper daily.

Magazines:-

Now, there are many good magazines around there, so no problem if different students follow different ones according to their different tastes. 

Yojana- compulsory for all. Should be finished in 3-4 hours, at max for the freshers in a day.

Kurukshetra-it is also a very thin magazine but optional.

Any one from the following should be followed on monthly basis

Chronicle

Competition Wizard

Civil Services Times (CST)

Pratiyogita Darpan PD

Competition Success Review (CSR)
Frontline (follow it for MAINS and INTERVIEW preparation)

and many more are there.....

You should follow 2 magazines, one Yojana and other anyone which you want. I followed Chronicle. Also it is not important to stick to any particular monthly magazine, though its good to maintain continuity. 

There are some yearbooks like Manorama, CSR, CST, PD etc. but they will only consume your time. Instead buy INDIA YEAR BOOK(Govt. of India) which is published every year around March. You should read this one both for Prelims and Mains. Even in this book go for selective study. Though I also liked PD year book. Other special editions of different magazines can also be followed depending on your requirement.

General tips:-

1. For traditional subjects like History, Geography, Polity etc. read same topic from at least two books and not more than three books.

2. Then read the best book as many times as you can. Remember that 'its better to read one book 5 times, than reading 5 books one time each'. 

3. Try to cover as maximum as you can in Prelims GS.

4. I did self preparation but took coaching in Economics only because it was what I wanted. Similarly you decide what is good for you based on your requirement and abilities. Don't just follow others.
5. While reading newspapers and magazines, it is essential that you read only the relevant articles. Otherwise you will waste too much time in reading less important articles. Here, your own experience and understanding will guide you in deciding what to read.

PAPER-II

Last  year (2011), when CAST was introduced for the first time, I made extensive preparation for Paper-II even though I had no problems with English and Aptitude as I have always been an English medium Science and Engg. student. It included going through Arun Sharma's books on Quantitative Aptitude and others, Wren and Martin for English grammer, couple of practice books by different pulishers etc. But this year (2012) I didn't do a single thing and still scored better than last year.

The crux is that students with English medium need not bother about English stuff too much. The students with Engg. or science background need not bother about aptitude too much. Whereas other student will have to make proportional   efforts in the weak areas be it English, Aptitude, Problem Solving, Decision making or any other. But too much efforts should not be done in memorizing mathematical fundas and short tricks etc as the experience shows that such type of questions are not at all asked. PRACTICE is the key for everybody, especially the Hindi medium students and those who are weak in Quantitative Aptitude. So buy few books on CSAT and keep on practicing throughout the year whenever you find time.

My IAS Interview

I got AIR-316 in Civil Services Examination-2011. The journey to civil services was never easy but always challenging and exciting. It offered me many valuable lessons to keep in my mind for the whole life. We all have to make some sort of compromises and even sacrifice many things in order to achieve something, which we cherish so much. Being an IAS was one such dream for me. But then what is that success which is not nourished by sacrifices? 

Well, my interview was on 23 April 2012, morning half. I reached there about 1 hour before the reporting time. After the formalities and document verification, we were made to sit and wait in the hall. I was simply passing my time by watching other candidates. Occasionally, I was also flipping the pages of the newspapers lying on the table. Finally after a long wait of 2 hours, I was escorted towards the interview chamber.  The interview panel was that of Mr. K.K. Paul. I will use the symbol CH for Chairman (Mr. K.K.Paul). There were 4 other members including a lady member. I will designate them by the symbols M1, M2, M3, M4 (lady). CH sir was more serous of them all, rarely giving a smile.

CH: What is your roll number?

Me: Sir, this....

CH: Date of Birth?

Me: Sir, 15 August.......this

CH: (Smiling) so you were born on a very great day?

Me: (Smiling) yes sir (other members were also sporting smile on their faces)

CH: So, your hobby is stamp collection. What stamp collection is known as?

Me: Sir, Philately.

CH: What is the oldest stamp that you have?

Me: (After long thinking) Sir, it is a 10 paise stamp which was released many decades back....emm...after independence  (I was not confident in this answer as I was not able to recall the year, but when I came back home I saw that those stamp at that time didn’t bear year of release, hence I was foxed.)...

CH: (interrupting) After 1957?

Me: (Puzzeled)..emm,,,yes sir, I think it was after 1957.

CH: Why 1957 is famous in philately.....?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, I don’t know.

CH:  .........or for that matter any reason?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, I am unable to recall. (I was beginning to lose confidence by now as the starting was not that good.)

CH: OK..(He was not looking very satisfied). In 1957 government of India shifted from the Ana system to decimal system.

Me: (Nodding) thankyou sir.

CH: Do you know what is the happiness index?

Me: Sir, it the index which measures the happiness level of the people of a country.

CH: So how it is calculated?

Me: I don’t know exactly sir.

CH: If you leave this interview hall with very good feelings, what will be your happiness index?

Me: (Smiling) sir, it will be very high.

CH: How HDI is calculated?

Me: Sir, it is calculated by taking an average of three components like literacy level.....emm education....per capita income....(I couldn't recall the one component L)

CH: Why then we haven’t adopted happiness index instead of HDI?

Me: Sir, I think HDI is a much broad index and it include happiness index in itself. Hence it is also a reflective of happiness level of the people.

CH: Which country has adopted happiness index?

Me: Sir, Bhutan.

CH: (Nodding.....now he was looking little satisfied and passes it to the M1)

M1 was more friendly than the CH.

M1: Recently a bill is in the parliament...the Pensions Bill...can you tell what are its provisions?

Me- (Thinking) I m sorry sir, I don’t know.

M1: Do you know what is a Param computer?

Me: Sir, It is a super computer, which can perform very fast calculations, hence can be used in many places like defence, research etc...........like SAGA 220 which was developed by DRDO..(Actaully it was developed by ISRO L )

M1: Can they be used in remote sensing?

Me: Yes sir, they can be used, because in remote sensing huge amount of data has to be processed and analysed.

M1: OK..how can it be used in the Agriculture?

Me: Sir, in Agriculture, they can be used for weather monitoring, crops monitoring, giving warnings etc, so that farmers can be provided early and timely information. Hence they can play a great role in increasing agriculture production.

M1: OK....(and passes the baton to M2. He looked satisfied with my answers.)

M2 was also a little bit extra serious, but his questions were simple.

M2: What is the difference between DRDO and ISRO?

Me: Sir, they are the two most important institutes in the field of Defence and Space research. DRDO looks after the defence of the country while ISRO manages the department of Space....

M2- (Interrupting)...so why do we need two bodies for them....can’t a single body do it?

Me: Sir, both the departments are very large and critical for our country, hence if one institute looks after one department, they can give specific attention. (he looks satisfied now)

M2: You are from Allahabad, so what places are there near Allahabad?

Me: Sir, there is the most famous Sangam...other places are Anand Bhavan, Alfred park  etc.....in the vicinity of Allahabad there is chitrakoot at the border of uttar Pradesh and madhaya Pradesh.

M: Hmm (and passes on to M3)

M3 was more happy with himself and was enjoying in imparting knowledge not only to me but to the entire panel.

M3: As we were discussing about Allahabad.....what is the name of your college?

Me: Sir, it is NIT Allahabad.

M3: So it seems that its name has been changed? When did it was changed?

Me: Sir, earlier it was a Regional Engineering College....and in 2002 it was made a National Institute of Technology...

M3: .....(interrupts) what is this MNNIT then?

Me: Sir, It stands for Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology.  Earler it was called Motilal Nehru Regional Engg College and now it is called motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology.

M3: So this motilal name was from earlier time?

Me: Yes sir, actually it was the name given to it by Jawaharlal Nehru after Motilal Nehru who lived in Allahabad for a long time and made it his home.

M3: What are other educational institutes in Allahabad?

Me: Sir, IIIT, Medical college, Allahabad University etc.

M3: ok...so why IIIT is famous for?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, it is also a very good technical college of India, but it gives degree only in computer science and IT.

M3: (With a victorious smile) no no it is something to do with nobel prizes.

Me: (After mechanical thinking) Sorry sir, I don’t know.

M3: (Highly delighted)...it is the only college of the city ...infact one of the few colleges in the entire country which attracts nobel laureates......there is somethings special about it (and kept on imparting this knowledge to the entire panel)

Me: Thank you sir.

M3: Recently some person from allahabad was in news...who was it?

Me: (after thinking) sir very recently?

M3: Yes, very recently (smiling)

Me: (Again thinking) sorry sir, I am unable to recall.

M3: (Highly delighted again).there is a girl from Allahabad who has won this years pantaloons famina miss India.

Me: Oh..thank you sir.

M3 satisfied with himself...and passes the baton to the lady member. She was very cheerful and always had an encouraging smile on her face which helped me in my interview.

M4: Rajesh what are these 2G, 3G, LTE etc, which are so famous nowadays?

Me: Mam they are the generations of telecommunications which are being used recently. For example 2G means second generation of telecommunications, 3G means third generation of telecommunications. 4G has also been launched in India very recently.

M4: What are the advantages of 4G over 3G?

Me: Mam, the most important is the speed of operation, in 4G it will be about 20mpbs where as in 3G it was only 2mbps. Hence it means that downloading, video chatting, video conferencing etc will be much faster in 4G.

M4: You mean data streaming will be very fast.....

Me: Yes mam...(actually this was the term I slipped and used ‘speed of operation’ instead....she did notice it)

M4: What is so special about the 2G? which was also in the news for so long?

Me: Mam in 2G, there was a significant amount of spectrum which was sold by the government at very low prices, hence it resulted in to huge loss of revenue to the government.

M4: No no ...what is the special thing about 2G...you know..which was in the media for quite a long time?

Me: (Thinking), I don’t know mam.

M4: It was that it helped in transmission of voice and data...(bla bla bla.....i was not getting what she was saying....she was actually trying to know the technical speciality of 2G, but maybe I misunderstood the question...but still she looked satisfied with my answers)

M4: Rajesh what do you do in your leisure time?

Me: Mam I do read novels, I also read and write poems.

M4: You also write poems?

Me: Yes mam...(with a broad smile)

M4: What type of poem you generally write?

Me: Mam I write poems which are rich in Veer ras and Karunya ras.

M4: (Delighted and admiringly)..Karunya ras!!! Good!!

(She happily handed it over to CH, I was more happy then her by now.)

CH: (With a little smile)There are increasing news about eve teasing in the northern states in comparison to the southern states...what do you think is the reason?

Me: Sir, I think the level of education has to do a lot with this. The literacy rate in northern states is less in comparison with the southern states....

CH: ....but even the well educated people are also indulging in these activities?

Me: (Thinking) Sir, I think administration has not taken sufficient steps towards this direction.....

CH: (Interrupts...seems little annoyed) .......do you think we should deploy a policeman with every female members on the road?

Me: (In a damage controlling mode) no sir, what I feel is that if strong punishment is given to somebody involved in this act, then it will act as reminder to the other people, hence it may play a great role in checking this problem.

CH: (Nodding)...OK rajesh....(he looks towards other members for confirmation)...your interview is over you can go.

Me: Thank you Sir!