- CSAT-2014: IR defense Compared to other exams
- CSAT 2014: Difficulty level of IR/Defense questions
- CSAT-2015: How to approach IR/Defense?
CSAT-2014: IR defense Compared to other exams
other exams | CSAT-2014 |
---|---|
CSAT-2013, 2012, 2011- they had stopped asking international relations, events and defense related topics. | resumed asking |
CAPF, CDS exam: usually 8-10% of the MCQs come from this area | 4% |
in CDS-2014
|
|
CSAT 2014: Difficulty level of IR/Defense questions
Arab Spring |
|
Regions In News |
|
BRICS summit |
|
AGNI-4 |
|
CSAT-2015: How to approach IR/Defense?
This is UPSC’s “doubt-bluff-Back-breaking moveTM” to deter senior players and coaching classes from gaining competitive advantage over new players- because for last 3 years, UPSC did not ask IR/Defense GK so, they’d have stopped focusing in it.
Anyways, if UPSC wants to revive IR/defense then you’ve to prepare. Standard approach is following:
- Notes making from TheHindu
- Mrunal’s defense compilation– old article from 2012-13, but basics of weapons and missile development still relevant.
- Augmenting those notes, using competitive magazines like Civil service times, Pratiyogita etc. for factoids.
Q1: IR- Arab Spring
Recently, a series of uprisings of people referred to as ‘Arab Spring’ originally started from
- Egypt
- Lebanon
- Syria
- Tunisia
Arab Spring is a misnomer used by the media to describe the uprising that the self-immolation of Mohammad Bouazizi unleashed in Tunisia on December 18, 2010 in protest against police corruption and ill-treatment. (ref:Hindu)
Therefore, answer (D). Topic was in news, in May 2014, when Tunisia ended the state of emergency.
Q2: IR- BRICS summits
With reference to a grouping of countries known as BRICS, consider the following statements:
- The First Summit of BRICS was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2009.
- South Africa was the last to join the BRICS grouping.
Which of the statements given above is / are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Peu Ghosh, International Relations, 3rd Ed. Page 471-72
- Statement #1 wrong because first summit held in Yekarterinburg, Russia in 2009
- Statement #2 is right. South Africa was admitted as a BRIC nation on 24/12/2010, after being invited by China and other BRIC nations. The capital “S” in BRICS now stands for South Africa…..There can be further expansion of BRICS and there is proposed inclusion of Mexico and South Korea.
- Therefore, Answer B only 2 correct.
- Topic was in news, July 2014, because 6th BRICS summit held in Brazil.
Q3: IR- Regions in News
Region often in news | Country |
---|---|
1. Chechnya | Russian Federation |
2. Darfur | Mali |
3. Swat Valley | Iraq |
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Answer is (a) 1 only because
- Darfur : Sudan
- Swat Valley: Pakistan
- Therefore, 2 and 3 wrong. By elimination, Answer has to be A.
Q4: Defense- Agni-IV
Which reference to Agni-IV Missile, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- It is a surface-to-surface missile.
- It is fuelled by liquid propellant only.
- It can deliver one-tonne nuclear warheads about 7500 km away.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
News appeared in January 2014
1. It is a surface-to-surface missile. | Yes, correct |
2. It is fuelled by liquid propellant only. | No, it has two-stage solid propulsion. |
3. It can deliver one-tonne nuclear warheads about 7500 km away. | No, only 4000 kms |
Therefore, answer (A) only 1.
Nice, I did silly mistake of selecting option c in Agni missile question. Mrunal, i was confused in range. Because somewhere i read that India is developing advanced version Agni6 which would have range of 6000 km +. Well this is the competition.
Its about agni4 not 6!.
gave paper at home…..paper 1-86, paper-162.5 according to shankar ias key…….giving prelims in 2016, now in third year of engineering…..plz suggest how to improve score in paper 1 and how to prepare for mains exam considering i have 2.5 years from now.
Hello,bro ,i am also in 3rd year of engineering and wantto give exam in 2016 .Can we prepare together?
Btw ,i really appreciate your prepararion that you got this much score at this preparation stage?how didi you did it?
hello.. I am also in 3rd year of engineering & preparing for exam in 2016 .. so, if u don’t mind can we prepare together ?
arab spring wala question dirctly from cds 2013 paper first..insted of arab spring they given’which one among folwng initiated process of “Fourth Wave of Demographic Transition’
Exam comparatively tough. Can you please suggest me how to improve our writing style. Can you tell me the approximate cut off ?
writing tips… checkout study plan and Guidence
I’m getting 120 in Paper 1 and to my utter dismay, only 105 in paper 2. Lost concentration in the second half. In the paper1, I over-attempted, 70 are correct out of all the 100 attempted. In the second, I didn’t retain the necessary focus.
ur through boss…225 is a good score….
whats ur score natasha?
Just remember that Agni I had a Range of 700 Km. Rest all the Agni Missiles till date have a range of the variant number multiplied by 1000. Eg. Agni 2 (2000km), Agni 3(3000km) and so on.
Dear mrunal , please tell about IB recruitment in any article if possible
thanks sir ji ..you are doing good job .
Do the question on Arctic Council falls under IR?
I have r c tiwari book geography its good for geography?
yes, especially for the human geography part, but relevant only if you have geography as your optional. otherwise not required.
Hello sir, I’m self preparing. Attempted CSAT 2014. Im getting only 26 correct ans out f 100 in CSAT 1.. im belongs to obc.. can I able to go for Mains? .. plz suggest me.. what should I to do..this z my 1st attempt.
It was biggest mistake for me. Attempted 3 out of 4 but only one Qs was right. Very much frustrating.
mRUNAL sIR .. is it worth buying CrackIAS notes for mains 2014 … is their claim of 81 questions from their notes only, factually correct or not.
Thanks in Advance !! :-)
sir/mam NCRT History, Science & Geography me kon se chapter jyada pdhne chaiye ? means most important chapter kon se h? pls reply…
I will be giving cse pre in 2015.self preparing.till now hv cmpleted core syllabus of history,polity and geo.which sub should i approach next.pls suggest me book for geo after ncert.
Hello,
I am preparing Upsc exam for 2015.
My optional is geography .can anyone tell me how to plan for study or which Subject can I complete first .
Thank u
thanks very much sir
Sir thanks for ur dedicated efforts. It helped me a lot in prelims. M preparing for mains now. CAN U PLZZZ START POSTING ARTICLES FOR MAINS PREPARATIONS INSTEAD of ANSWERKEY.
PLZ . I NEED UR GUIDANCE TOO.THANKS
sc category 190 marks kya pre clear ho jayega please tell me
Sir m preparing for 2015upsc exam,and i have all the study materials for prelims,i read hindu newspaper also, but apart from tat which magzine should i subscribe for?and sociology is my optional so which books should i refer?….
Hi,
I am preparing for UPSC 2015.
My optional subject is Sociology. I am currently working at MNC. In order to crack UPSC what should be my agenda so that i can effectively appear in exam both prelims and mains.
Hi, Can anyone tell study plan & books for Public Administration in Mains exam.
sir u r excellent thanks
How to prepare pre exam of upsc?
please reply me.
How to improve my writng skills could any1 suggest me plzz
Bhai itna tension mat le pehle complete ur engineering.
Nahi to subject back laag jaenge.
SIR I NEED MODEL ANSWER PAPER HOW TO WRITE THE ANSWER FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIP WILL YOU PLEASE HELP ME