To those readers with Public Administration/ Management as their optional subject in UPSC/RAS/PPSC/KAS etc. here is a good opportunity: CSIR Administrative Officer Gr-I
- Scheme of exam
- CSIR CASE Paper I
- Paper II: CCS+HR+Management+PubAD
- Unwanted Tips
- Appendix: Free CSIR/CASE Study Material (Download Links)
- Previous papers and Cut offs
Scheme of exam
- Any graduate can apply Click me for Age limit-Syllabus
- Last date of application: 15 January 2013: Click ME to apply
- Negative marking=Yes (Minus 0.25 marks per wrong question)
- Descriptive paper or Essay =No.
Notification says, CSIR *may* fix separate minimum cut-off marks for each paper. Anyways let’s check the topicwise booklist, strategy
CSIR CASE Paper I
Reasoning (20 Qs)
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Maths (20 Qs)
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You may also consult NCERT Class 7 to 10 Mathematics textbooks for clearing basic concepts. They can be downloaded for free, using http://www.ncert.nic.in/
Constitution of India (20 Qs)
Medium | Book |
English | Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth |
Hindi | Bharat Ki Rajyavyavastha by M.Laxmikanth |
Two reasons why you should religiously mugup M.Laxmikanth:
How to efficiently read this book, has been explained here in a separate article: CLICK ME |
After you’ve done reading Laxmikanth, solve all the MCQ questions given at the end of that book.
General Awareness (40 Qs)
Subtopic | Source |
General Science | NCERT Science Textbook Class 7 to 10 |
Scientific Research |
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Geography |
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Economics |
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General Polity | Lolz again mentioned. Anyways same Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth |
Current Events | Newspaper. (Hindu or Indian Express).Monthly Current Affairs from Competitionmaster.com (Start from Jan 2012) |
Please note:
- The CSIR notification doesn’t explicitly mention “History”. However just to be safe, also prepare History from NCERT Textbook because indirectly it is General Awareness.
- Download links for NCERT and NIOS material given @bottom of this article.
- Newspaper= The Hindu OR IndianExpress (use any one). Don’t waste time in Dainik Bhaskar, Times of India etc. How to use newspaper for current affairs preparation =explained in separate article click me.
- Newspaper = long term investment (for profile and opinion based questions in interview in all exams be it Bank or MBA.) So don’t think that newspaper reading is meant for IAS exam only.
Paper I: Part B English (50Qs)
Subtopic | Source |
Comprehension | Practice. Download old papers of IBPS, UGC etc. |
Active, passive direct indirect etc |
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Preposition, fill in the blanks | |
Synonym, antonyms | |
Sentence correction | |
Punctuation, idioms, phrases |
Also follow the discussions on Pagalguy forum’s verbal section: http://www.pagalguy.com/forums/verbal-ability/
Paper II: CCS+Mgmt+HR + PubAD+CCS
This paper has 150 marks, 150 Qs, 150 minutes.
Overview:
topic | No. of Qs | Source |
Central Civil Service (CCS) Rules, Manuals etc. | 60 |
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Human Resource Management (HR) related | 40 |
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Management (MBA) related | 25 |
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Public Administration | 25 |
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Total | 150 |
Now let’s check the topicwise approach
Topic #1: Central Civil Service (CCS)
This topic is related with actual / real-life working of an officer in Central Civil Services.I’ve compiled the topicwise PDF files (links @bottom).
Fundamental Rules (FRs) and Supplementary Rules (SRs)
- These topics are related with “personnel matters” e.g. leave, promotion, disciplinary action etc matter applicable to officers in Central Service.
- You’ve to do selective reading of only those topics/information that can be asked from Multi-Choice Question format. For example: The leave travel concession (LTC) is admissible to the Central Govt. employees while on study leave.
- But No need to mugup minute details, dates, names, numbers.
General Financial Rules
- Given in CCS ZIP file @bottom.
- This deals with budget and Expenditure related matters in ministries and departments.
- From that PDF file, prepare Chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8.
- Again no need to go in minute details. Most of the content given in that PDF file is not ‘exam-worhty’.
- Just prepare stuff that can be asked in MCQ format. for example what items go in Capital account, what items go in Revenue account and so on.
- Also prepare Budget formulation topic from IGNOU Public Administration material (given @bottom).
Manual of Office Procedure (15 Qs)
- Given in CCS ZIP file @bottom.
- This topic deals with how to actually work in a Government office=how to draft letters, what to do with “daks”, record-keeping, filing, inspection etc.
- Same principle: Just get brief overview of Exam-worthy information. No need to do Ph.D For example
Important |
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Useless |
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Donot take this lightly, because CSIR notification explicitly mentions that 15 questions will come from this topic. This concludes how to approach CCS.
Topic #2: HRM (40qs)
This topic is to be prepared from selective study of IGNOU BA and MA Public Administration booklet codes EPA-01, MPA 013, 014 etc. I’ve compiled the IGNOU PDF files those selective topics. Download link given @bottom (HRM_CSIR.zip file). Only 2 topics missing
- Collaboration, Team Working & Networking;
- Facilities & Infrastructure Management
How to approach HRM for CISR?
- HRM topic might feel daunting and boring. Because they talk about lot of abstract stuff.
- BUT the concepts and principles related to motivation, communication, leadership, recruitment and promotion = very easy to frame MCQs from them.
- So prepare them thoroughly from the given PDF files. (without getting bogged down by the abstract and philosophical stuff).
- When you search HRM on egyankosh.ac.in, it throws up truckload of results. They’ve special courses of PG diploma in HRM etc. But those booklets go in way too much detail.
- On the other hand MA Public Administration (MPA-014) has covered HRM in very condensed form, therefore I’ve compiled the PDFs mostly from MPA-014 (and not the PGDHRM course).
- But if you’ve time (and mood) you may download PGDHRM booklets manually from egyankosh.ac.in
Management/ IT related (25 Qs)
The best way to approach = via selective reading of IGNOU’s MBA booklets. Goto this link: School of Management Studies (http://www.egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/9
Search and download the respective PDF files according to the syllabus.
Management/ IT topiclist from official CSIR notification:
ERP Application & Operations’ Management,Business Process Reengineering, Functional architecture of ERP, What are the ERP packages being used now? Compiling functional requirements, UML Diagrams, ERP Solution architecture, Enterprise application implementation projects: Rationale for ERP, Process Flow Diagrams, Decision making, Analytics, Record keeping, Integrating Business Rules, Electronic Workflows, Management reporting, Business intelligence, Performance Metrics, GUI, Web services, Collaboration & networking, Integration interoperability configuration management, Cloud Computing, Software Reuse, management of risks, software Security, Recovery and failsafe management, Knowledge management, User Engagement, Change Management, Life cycle approaches, Software Audit, Reliability, manageability, availability, TQM, Business application areas of an organization including accounting and finance, HR, logistics & supply chain, client & stakeholder relationship management
^Some of these topics may not to explicitly mentioned in IGNOU coursebooklet titles so even if you search, you won’t find it. (because egyankosh seach engine is not optimized to scan PDF content.) So better consult some friends from MBA and Computer (BCA/MCA) course then search and/or borrow their books for selective study.
Public Administration including R.T.I Act (25 Qs)
Essential booklist
- Selective topics from IGNOU (free download link given @bottom.)
- + Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth
How to approach?
There is lot of overlapping and synergy between Constitution of India topic from paper I (20 Qs) and Public Administration topic from Paper II (25Qs). Besides, nature of this topic= very easy to grasp the concepts and tick answers accurately (if you revise often).
Topic | Preparation source |
Executive, Parliament, Judiciary – structure, functions, work processes | Relevant topics from Laxmikanth’s Polity book. |
Cabinet Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office, Central Secretariat | IGNOU zip file given @bottom |
Ministries and Departments, Machinery of Planning | |
Planning Commission and the National Development Council | Chapter 44, 45 Laxmikanth’s Polity Book.IGNOU zip file given @bottom |
Union-State Administrative, legislative and financial relations | Chapter 13 Laxmikanth’s Polity Book. |
Role of the Finance Commission, | Chapter 37 Laxmikanth’s Polity Book. |
Governor, Chief Minister, Council of Ministers, | Chapter 24, 25 and 26 Laxmikanth’s Polity Book. |
Chief Secretary, State Secretariat, Directorates | IGNOU zip file given @bottom |
Parliament control of public expenditure, | Chapter 22 Laxmikanth’s Polity book |
Role of Finance Ministry | IGNOU zip file given @bottom |
Panchayati Raj, Urban Local Government, | Chapter 30 and 31 Laxmikanth’s Polity book |
Values in Public Service, | Lolz. Ethics, participation etc. either use egyankosh or just skip the damn topic. |
Ministries and Departments, | Laxmikanth’s PubAd Book |
Corporations, Companies, Boards | IGNOU @bottom + this articlehttps://mrunal.org/2012/04/economy-different-types-of-companies.html |
Executive, Legislature and Judicial control over administration | Scattered around in IGNOU + Laxmikanth. |
Citizen’s Charters, Right to Information, Social Audit, |
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Delegated legislation |
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Administrative Tribunals |
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Side Note
Those CSIR aspirants, who’re simultaneously preparing for UPSC /State PSC (RAS, Punjab etc) with Public Administration optional subject:
- Prepare chapter 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 from M.Laxmikanth’s book on Public Administration AND solve the mock MCQ questions given at the end of those chapters.
Some unwanted advice, warnings etc.
- When we talk of IAS, CAT, IBPS= these exams are held at regular interval, hence there is lot of information, experience-sharing and material from reputed book publisher (Tata Macgrawhill, Pearson, Arihant, S.Chand etc).
- But Exams like RBI, APFC, CSIR = Diwali time for some moneyminded people. They just assemble topics from here and there, come out with some “Readymade guidebook/Material” for Rs.2000, 5000 or 6000/– (depending on how rare the exam is and how desperate the public is.) don’t waste your precious money on such things. Always prefer authentic sources and standard reference books. If you believe there is some single magical guidebook to crack CSIR exam then you’re living in a fairyworld.
- Better prepare your own notes from CCS. (we are talking about 60 marks here: That means 40% of Paper II is made up of CCS topic.)
- for NCERT and M.Laxmikanth: no need to maintain notes as such, just revise them often.
- You may use Mrunal’s Autonotemaker to quickly prepare notes out of PDF Files (provided that you’ve Microsoft XP Operating System).
- HR, MBA topics don’t stay in long term memory= frequent revision necessary.
- Current affairs preparation beyond a level= diminishing rate of returns.
- And most importantly, don’t push your luck by ticking doubtful questions, just to cross some imaginary cutoffs, else you’ll lose in negative marking.
Appendix: Free CSIR/CASE Study Material (Download Links)
General Awareness: NCERTs/NIOS
All of them available under Mrunal.org/download
Download Links: CCS, HRM, PubAD (english Medium)
Name of the Topic | Server (use any one) | Zip FileSize | |
Server#1: Google Drive | Server #2: Dropbox | ||
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CLICK ME | Click ME | ~3MB |
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CLICK ME | ~40MB | |
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CLICK ME | ~30MB |
Technical details
- These are zip files and they contain PDF files inside them
- If you’re having trouble downloading zip files, then use a free software called 7-zip (click me)
- If you cannot open PDF files, use a free software called FOXIT PDF reader (click me)
- If Dropbox download links don’t work, that means your office/hostel’s firewall is blocking it. Use www.hidemyass.com and copypaste download links in it.
Previous papers and Cut offs
(although I’m filing R.T.I to get previous papers and cutoffs but) there are three reasons why they won’t be of much help:
- In 2009’s recruitment round, they did not have negative marking system.
- In 2009’s recruitment round, they did not have HR and MBA topics, only Public Administration and in that too, the Public Administration syllabus was very broad -almost identical to the erstwhile Civil Service (preliminary) Public Administration paper.
- In 2009, They had descriptive paper on letter writing and comprehension.
excellent materials are available, good to see the comments
tell me the date of examination for csir examination
sir,
i have done pdgba, and i want to apply for this, so i want to ask, can i apply for all the three post, if yes than what about fee, do i need to deposit seprate fee for each post .???
my pic is not getting uploaded, before making payment when the form preview appears on the screen, it shows that photo not uploaded, i m using firefox browser, help me
Date of CSIR CASE 2013 EXAMINATION ?????
24th feb
Is the date of exam confirmed???Where is it mentioned???
yes it is confirmed….we will be among invigilators….best of luck
So, could you tell me that both the papers will be held in same day or the paper 2 will be held for those who qualify paper 1. Just like CGL exam??
I hope u can answer my query……….
sir wat s goin 2 be the cut off???will der b individual cut off???
regards,
meghna
Sir, I am facing problem with payment of fee. I’ve got SBI debit card.
Does it work ?
SIR, FINAL YEAR B.TECH(ECE) STUDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR CASE 2013 OR NOT??? PLEASE RPLY ME…ITS REALLY URGENT… LAST DATE IS 15/01/2013…WAITING FOR THE RPLY…
SIR,WHAT IS THE CUTOFF IN CSIR PREVIOUS EXAM?
sir u r really doing a great job..your planning for preparing the exam is really very helpful to me..thanks a lot sir..
please suggest me a book which contain whole study material for csir case examinatin 2013.
sir,
i have done pdgba, and i want to apply for this, so i want to ask, can i apply for all the three post, if yes than what about fee, do i need to deposit seprate fee for each post …
Hi Mrunal,
My age is 28.5 years(gen), am I eligible for this post.
waiting for your reply..
Thanks
P.S- Your work is really exceptional..
AGE LIMIT: Upper age limit is 28 years as on the last date of submission of online application 31-12-2012. Upper age limit is relaxable for SC/ST [5years] / OBC [3years] /PH/EX-Serviceman [5years] and certain other categories as per govt. of India instructions. For CSIR departmental candidates there is no age limit.
sir, i want to select central zone…but there vacancies are comparatively fewer. so what are the things we have to take care in mind while selecting zone whether no. of vacancies or willing place …plz rply !
Could you please let me knoe which books should I refer for the post CSIR CASE 2013 for the paper -II
Pls send me the replu on my email Id:- jkushwaha4@gmail.com
Ajay kushwaha
plz give some study material for Hindi medium candidate specially for paper-2
plz help me out in submitting the application- Am not able to pay money through hdfc net banking – getting the message ‘Unable to reach destination’. using ie browser. plz let me know if any one faced same problem
me too….facing same problem.
@Abhishek,Reddy and others: While hdfc error is coming even I have faced the same. Kindly use SBI internet banking. it don;t show any problem. I have submitted by using SBI internet banking
i got addicted to this site ……
get addicted to the site :)
Wonderfully Organized!
When I was wondering whom to ask or where to find a planned pathway to prepare for this exam mrunal.org helped me a lot.
U and your guidance is always a motivation for a guy like me who prefer self study rather than wasting chunks of money on coaching classes.
Keep it up Sir!
Thanks a lot for such a vital and organized information.
It will help me a lot for preparing this exam.
Keep going!
CSIR CASE 2013 date could be 24.02.2013
what is the expected date for csir case exam?
mrunal,
are these osts are Gazetted post from csir?
non-gazetted
Sir I couldn’t log on to csir.res.in as it says chrome couldnot find the destination, I have even tried explorer and firefox but threy r also not opening the website, tried even at night but still not working
Dear sir,
Thanks for the such valuable support.
Regards,
Satish
thanks for valuble information
any one know confirm exam date.pls reply
any one know 24 feb is Confirm date ans pls
yes dear
having problems in paying with credit card. not accepting the sbi credit card number. plzzzzzzzzzz help
………