UPSC IAS IPS Strategy Intro2IASFive Part article series on How to approach UPSC Civil Service IAS/IPS Exam: Prelims, Mains and Interview
BooksTips on Notes-making, Standard reference books, Yojana Kurukshetra etc. Explained here
Prelim-Mains-InterviewDetailed Strategy for General Studies, science-tech, yearbook, economy, history, polity, IR-Diplomacy with booklist, free study material given here.
Mains2013Strategy, Booklist, Free Studymaterial for the upcoming Mains 2013
DoubtsBasic doubts regarding Coaching, Working professional, time Management and Non-English medium
BackupSome guidelines for adopting career backup plans incase you can't make it to UPSC
SSC CGL
GK / GAHow to approach General Awareness for Tier-I, explained here with free study material download.
MathsHow to approach Maths, Quantitative Aptitude, Trigonometry, Geometry for Tier I and II? To-the-point strategy n tips given here +free study material
ReasoningGeneral Intelligence and Logical reasoninig for Tier I of SSC-CGL exam: booklist, tips shared here.
EnglishHow to tackle vocabulary, grammar and comprehension for Tier I and II.
SBI PO
GA/Computer/Marketingstrategy booklist for approaching General Awareness, Computer, Marketing, Current Affairs in SBI PO 2013, includes free material as well!
Reasoning (High)strategy booklist for approaching Higher Level Reasoning in SBI PO 2013
English (Descriptive)strategy, free studymaterial, essay list for the SBI PO English MCQ and Descriptive paper! RBI
RBI Officer PrelimsAfter long wait, RBI has notified 98 vacancies for 2013, this article provides strategy
RBI Officer Phase IIRBI Grade "B" Officer Phase II (Descriptive) exam strategy, booklist and free download material is provided here.
RBI AssistantStrategy, booklist, free study material, cutoffs, previous paper for RBI assistant Exam
Others
CAT (IIM)Ragtag strategy on get 90+ percentile in CAT-prometric test.
LIC AAOStrategy for the upcoming LIC Assistant Administrative officers' exam with free studymaterial, jobprofile.
CSIRStudyplan + Free study material for CSIR combined Administrative services (CASE) exam
State PSCHow to approach RAS, MPSC etc explained here
CAPFHow to become an Assistant Commandant in BSF, CISF, CRPF: strategy, booklist, free studymaterial provided here.
SPIPAFor getting admission in SPIPA, Ahmedabad, which provides free coaching for IAS exam.(Gujarat Only)
ACIOAssistant Central Intelligence Officer recruitment: booklist, strategy
UPSC tips
India Yearbookhow to efficiently utilize INDIA Yearbook for UPSC prelims, mains, interview= explained in this 6 part series article.
5 LevelsExplains five types of players in UPSC competition and why daydreamers fail in this exam.
100 DaysWhy you can't succeed with vague strategies in UPSC Prelims, explained here.
Newspaper?How to read The Hindu/Indianexpress quickly and efficiently in less than one hour for Current Affairs?, explained here.
Art of Aptitude?3 Cardinal Rules on How to approach Aptitude section in any competitive exam.
QuotesMotivational and inspirational quotes for competitive exams.
Essay Tips How *not* to write an Essay in UPSC Mains exam, explained here
IRHow to prepare India World + International relations (IR) topic, explained + free download material
StatApproach to Statistics and Graphs portion of General Studies Mains Paper II+free study material
R.T.IHow to file R.T.I application to UPSC? explained here
Analysis
CSAT'12Analysis of the GS-Prelims paper and how it broke the backs of Coaching classes.
GSM-12Analysis of the General Studies (Mains) Paper I and II of 2012 and how they (again) broke the backs of Coaching classes.
Edu Tech
Auto NoteMakerMrunal's Autonotemaker for quickly taking notes out of PDF files and Webarticles (Win XP only)
Hindu ReaderHow to use Feedly (alternative of Google Reader) to efficiently read The Hindu online, for Free+list of important RSS links for UPSC Exam!.
OneNoteLearn to use Microsoft Onenote software to organized your notes on computer, quickly and efficiently!
ArchiveMonthly Archive Index page of everything I've published so far. (In the old articles, ignore advice written before Jan 2012, because UPSC trend has changed a lot.)
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Contact Me
I don’t speculate UPSC cutoffs. Only God, UPSC and Delhi’s coaching classes can do it hahaha. Don’t raise you blood pressure over random people’s online scores, if you had prepared sincerely, you’ll surely pass, just wait till August and prepare for mains in the mean time. :)
Mains 2013 strategy already posted click me More will be posted later, It takes lot of time to wade through the books n pdfs myself. please have some patience.
- I’ve authored more than 800 articles so most of the times whatever information you’re looking, is already covered.
- So, Before asking me any questions via the Contact Form (given below), please hover your mouse over the black colored top menu bar. also check the articles listed on left hand side navigation column.
- If you still donot find the information then use the search box located on top-left corner of this site, to type your queries.
So please Search Before asking questions.
if I don’t reply to your mail, then common reasons are:
- Your question has already been discussed in my old articles.
- Your question is way too ‘broad’ in nature e.g. tell me how to become IAS officer?
- The information you’re seeking, is very trivial in nature and already available on google search. Competitive exams are made for real men and women, I don’t spoonfeed babies for board exams.
- Often, readers contact me to write article on xyz topic of current affairs.All such requests go in my “To-Do” list. I try to cover them one by one.So donot think that I’ve ignored your message.
Fill up the following Form, to send me email.
(This form may not work properly if javascripts are disabled in your browser.)
Some more reasons when I donot reply :
Naive questions like
- if I follow your booklist will i get full marks?
- XYZ topper’s blog gives ABC strategy while you’re giving DEF strategy, which one should I follow?
- XYZ coaching sir (or his website) says read ABC book, while you’re saying ignore ABC book, which advice should I follow?
…well UPSC preparation is like kungfu, everyone has different style, none can canguarantee100% sure success. Use your own head, device your own strategy based on the time and resources available to you, after taking inputs from multiple sources. This isn’t a primary school exam.
Loser Questions: “I don’t have time to make notes. Can I skip XYZ book or topic etc? I’ve Public Administration but can I skip 2nd ARC? Do I need to read India yearbook…etc“…I’ve already given the advice and strategy to deal with these problems, beyond that I don’t have any secret magic formula. Success in competitive exams, requires hardwork, else change the career goal.
- You’re asking about possible removal of optional subjects/ change in pattern. I’ve already posted the R.T.I replies of UPSC regarding those. but UPSC isn’t divulging any information through R.T.I. (matters now pending before CIC). I’m no expert in speculation or rumor bombing.
- I donot involve myself in cut-off or result date predictions. Hard work is in your hand, success is in God’s hand. One exam is over then you prepare for some other exam or next stage of the given exam. Don’t loose your sleep over cut-offs.
- Questions related to “should I join X coaching class or Y test series or Z readymade Postal material from Delhi?” I hold none of them in high regard, my line is very clear “success is possible without coaching, as many toppers have proved in the past.”
Leave a Reply
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dear mrunal, thank you for guiding us..i ve cleared my prelims..this is my 1st attempt..iam confident that you will guide us in the entire journey
kindly check the capcha code of your contact page..it says incorrect code..everytime i type
thank you
Can you share your email id with me
PLS GIVE UR EMAIL ID
sir; will u please sent me the ques. paper of apfc 2004??
it is already given on http://www.mrunal.org/apfc
May i know the number of aspirants who took mains 2011?
mrunal sir i took coaching for both GS and optionals in hyderabad(RC Reddy IAS study circle)
my optionals are public administration and anthropology i can manage anthropology even i can read public administration but some of my friends are telling that we are unable to get more score in public administration so its better to take coaching in DELHI from pavan sir (once again)
i cant afford to stay in delhi and even for coaching he is charging too high
Can u suggest me any thing is it better to attend test series or shall i take coaching once again or shall i prepare on my own
Well, Mr.Om Kasera didnot take coaching for Public Administration and yet secured 17th Rank in 2011.
Dear mrunal,
people here are saying that GS is an ocean and a lot of stuff has to be put in. we are grateful to you for providing us..kindly guide us continuously like before…we are waiting for your articles daily
thank you
Mrunal Sir,
I have been studied till 12th standard in Gujarati medium. So I am interested in taking Gujarati literature as an optional, so plz guide me for it if possible.
Regards,
Jay
hiii sir,
I just started my preparation with optional subjects with mathamatics and public administration. I found lot information regarding prelims,general studies and public administration paper from this web site(mrunal.org),So please suggest some books for mathamatics mains. Thanking you so much by provding very very useful information regarding civil service exam.
hello sir,
i have cleared spipa test and am called for essay n interview part
i have gone through ur essay tips article..but still am finding it difficult to compose essay as till now have never prepared from that point of view..i have read stuff n some fodder for essay but assembling n writing part is difficult..and i also read the topics u mentioned previously asked in upsc..those topics r not typical or predictable;can fill 3-4 pages but hw 2 write much more on that is the problem..
i have just 10-12 days for this..pls help me with the strategy to get through it.
thanking u
hello
sir plz suggest some essay topics for spipa entrance
i’hv cleared the written exam
regards
Sir, I have a query regarding permission of FCCB.
If a business house is a ‘willful defaulter’ and its name and directors names are appearing in the CIBIL website of suit dot cibil dot com. And several banks have filed criminal cases on that company and its directors for fraudulent willful default.
Can that company still get permission to issue FCCB from RBI / Finance Ministry ?
Kindly give some explanation alongwith the answer.
Thanks & regards
VKG
mrunal sir, i am preparing for GPSC(Gujarat) exam
i have books regarding history of india,geography of india,etc but there will be lots of questions on gujarat related as GPSC is a gujarat’s exam
so please guide me which books should i read for gujarat related information such as history of gujarat, geography of gujarat,etc?
Thanks & Regards
Atul
kindly please provide the guidence for optional philosophy for mains exams
hii mrunal…
hope you are doing good……..may GOD BLESS YOU….
all the best ….
my problem is that i dont how to tackle revision of stuff tht i hv already gone thru???
should on a daily basis i must revise something …or i should keep certain days aside in a week for revision….plz help????
suppose if i begin with any new book then
1. shud i read complete book in a single go and then learn whtever i had highlighted after completing tht book and then revise it…….
2.or it shud be done chapterwise ???
3.or otherwise learn things as it comes while reading tht stuff…and do revision…….
PLZ HELP ME BCZ THIS MISMANAGEMENT OF STRATEGY IS CAUSE OF MY FAILURE IN PRELIMS….
thnx in advance……..
it depends on what the topic is.
for example, Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth= chapterwise revision.
some xyz topic of Public Administration, then simultaneous reading of Laxmikanth >Prasad > IGNOU >Mohit and making notes and then doing revision.
thnx mrunal 4 your valuable guidance
HELLO SIR,
SUPREME COURT’S DECISION (M.NAGARAJ V. UNION OF INDIA CASE 2006)THAT THE STATE MUST DEMONSTRATE 1.BACKWARDNESS, 2.INADEQUACY OF REPRESENTATION, 3. MAINTENANCE OF EFFICIENCY BEFORE PROVIDING RESERVATION IN PROMOTIONS IS INEFFICIENT. ?
sir,
i am the constant follower of your articles, and you r doing a great job,,i wnat know about the Public administration about how to study the subject in context with current affairs. yes i know that you have explained it in your article but i am facing some problems like,,,,Development administration i m not able to relate it with current affairs can you provide some example with illustrtion so that i can grab it,,, and other articles,,,,and please it’s my humble request to you please give some Idea about geography also,,thinking that i am a laymen,,,so that things get easy for me.i know that sir its not easy for you to reply each and every mail but please do considered it with topmost priority, i am ver thankfull to you if you do that.I desperatly need your help,,,as there is no other person to guide me about my problems and i think you can help me,,,,Frequent question about the subjet
1) where to study first.
2)how to study and make notes.
3)how to relate it with current affairs
4)which topics are Important.
5)how much time to devote on internet?
thankig you
waiting for you reply…
I know your queries are directed to mrunal and i am very inferior to him in many ways… Since i too had faced similar problems especially with development administration… I will tell you what i did but mrunal himself may not recommend it. I had two books with me banker to the poor by yousuf and another everybody loves a good drought by p.sainath…. After reading a few chapters of these books i began to understand that god forsaken chapter of development dynamics better… Please think about it
u dont have too read the whole book..
I have one query for you… What r u studying for paper 2… It is killing me…. Do you know any test series… Mrunal wouldnt answer since he hates it… But we have to live :-) please let me know and dont curse me if u dont like my suggestion
hi sir
can you guide me regarding csat reading comprehension?
how to improve it?
any good source for csat rc?
thanks
DEAR SIR,
AS MENTIONED IN THE NOTICE ALONG WITH THE ADMIT CARD OF APFC EXAM, THAT IN CASE OF ANY DISCREPANCIES, WE ARE TO REPORT TO THE COMMISSION AT THE EARLIEST BUT DESPITE MY REPEATED ATTEMPTS , I AM UNABLE TO SENT THEM ANY KIND OF INTIMATION.
KINDLY HELP ME in finding a solution to this problem. I WOULD BE REALLY GRATEFUL TO YOU SIR IF MY PROBLEM IS SORTED.
ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO SEEK YOUR OPINION ON MY CASE , WHETHER MY MISTAKE IN ENTERING MY FATHERS NAME INCORRECTLY AS MENTIONED IN THE LETTER BELOW INVITES ANY PUNISHMENT.
THANKING YOU
send a letter to UPSC via spped post that
Send this letter to
[preserve the receipt of speed post]
one can get into trouble for playing mischief like fake SC/ST caste certificate, fake graduation marksheet etc.
But name typing mistake is not that big thing, so don’t worry much and all the best.
dear sir,
It is a relief to hear that once again from you. Earlier during the day as advised by my uncle , i had already send a correspondence citing the mistake in my admit card.
However, i take this opportunity to thank you once again and to appreciate for the yeoman service that you are imparting. Your articles on economics are so lucid and smart that there is no requirement to follow text. Examples cited by you are both witty and incredible, therefore easier to retain it in memory for a longer period.
Though that does not mean that your other articles are dull but when it comes to Economics, you are definitely good. Good as in, one of the best that I have come across.
In anticipation of more illuminating articles from you.
Thank you sir once again
Yours faithfully
shabbir
Hi Mrunal, I have done some exhaustive copy paste of 2nd ARC- 13th report and made it concise…..wish to share it with you as other pub. ad. aspirants might find it useful. Guide me how to upload it or send it to you, as of now i am not able to find a link.
Furthermore, i had emailed u sumtime back…..still din’t get any reply…:(.
Hi Vivek….
I require the material you have compiled. So pl mail it to me at [email protected]
waiting for your reply……….
Dear vivek please send me copy of ur 2nd ARC report to my mail . [email protected]
Plz send to me too.
[email protected]
Plz mail it to me too bro @ [email protected]
Dear Vivek,
If possible, please send it to me as well.. [email protected]
Hi Vivek,
Can you please share the info? EMail Id: [email protected]
I have one suggestion for you. Please upload the document to your Google drive and share it to public. Then paste the URL here which will be accessible to everyone.
greetings.while reading a book i read first country to send mission on space was Usa and the first person to go on Space was Yuri gagrian.
But one thing that hitted my mind was why usa didn’t sent its own countrymen on space,as we all know that there was a coldwar bw USSR and USA
sir , dis year i m writing mains i.e 5th oct .. so it would be grt help if u can convert ur blog’s imprt sectrs like polity , econimy , diplomacy , culture , sc and tech etc ..i.e topics which r imp for mains … as it is difficlt to study it on laptop . word file will help us in taking printout of it .. thank u ..
This is wrt my qualification for asst pf commissioner . I posses essential but not desirable qualification . Will i be considered if i get good score . How do they select the candidates . Do u know about probable cut off ?. Will there be intrvw after the written xam .
Hi Mrunal,
As you may aware, on 22nd Sept 2012, UPSC has notified in it’s new released calendar for exams to be scheduled in 2013 that the mains exam is going to be delayed by a month ie it is to be held on 8th Nov 2013 instead of the usual october session. In case you missed this, here’s the link :
http://www.iaspassion.com/2497-ias-news-Civil-Service-(Preliminary)-Examination–2013-to-be-held-on-May-19–2013.aspx
http://www.upsc.gov.in/exams/exams.htm
I know that at this point we can only speculate. But in the past, whenever UPSC changed the pattern in 1993 and 2008, it adopted the same tactic of delaying the mains examination.
Care to throw any light on this ? What is your view ?
BTW, it’s a noble deed you’re doing here,Keep up the brilliant work :)
Thanks
Yours Sincerely
Bond
Dear mrunal,
thank u for valuable guidence
i have printed all topics from u
once again thanks only ur guidence can help and improve us ( without any coachigs)
IAS mains-2012 aspirant
Sir,
I want UPSC Pre Exam Paper I and II study material in marathi.
Because sir same syllabus in MPSC Pre Exam so How to Buy, perches and download sir plz give guideline.
Pravin
sir pleas guide me for gpsc exam and how can i choose optional subject which usefull in gpsc upsc both
Respected Sir, My opt in UPSC 1. History 2. Gujarati. Now i want to Start My Master Degree In some Subject I have two choice first one is History naturally it will be helpful in UPSC, Second is Pub Administration. As you know Sir UPSC will change there pattern soon some news are likely Pub Admin will be IMP Sub in mains, Now i am confused Which Sub i choose for my master degree His or Pab Ad ….Which one is Good for me ….Plz Help me Sir….
Dear Mrunal,
I am really thankful to you for all your great efforts. I regularly follow all your articles. You made very user friendly and informative site, ideally suiting to IAS aspirants. Earlier there used to the direct links for various subjects/topics at right side. You have removed them and put some flipkart books links, that is ok. But I request to please either you keep those links at same place or give at other place, but don’t remove them. These were really helpful, with those links we could directly jump to respective topic/subject.
So, if there is no technical/business/other issue, then please retain those links at same place or at least give at other place at main page itself.
Thanks
Arvind Mahor
all those links are moved into the top-menu bar (black color): move your cursor to IAS/IPS/UPSC Menu.
sir please upload geology optional 2012 papers ..
thank you
Mrunal Sir,
Just wanted to share little information. Please do make necessary editing for additional information.
What is Aadhar?
A unique Identification number issued by UIDAI to individuals
It is a 12-digit number and not a card
It is for any age
Different for all members of family
It is free of cost
Why Aadhar?
For the purpose of establishing unique identification of every single person
Who is the regulatory body for issuance?
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
How is uniqueness assured?
By the demographic details (residence address information) of the person
His/her biometric information (photograph, iris-scan, fingerprints) is collected which is stored in a centralized database
What aadhar is not?
A compulsory approach
Validity?
For whole life
Where can it be used?
While opening a bank account
applying for passport
booking e-tickets
other places where identity is required
Is there any Haryana Govt. sponsored IAS coaching institute ?
hi mrunal…….
this ques relates to exam strategy section…
why u hv not suggested AIR RADIO DAILY NEWS & SPOTLIGHT NEWS ANALYSIS ANYWHERE……..ALSO THEY HAVE SOME WEEKLY PROGRAMS BY SENIOR DIPLOMATS.. http://www.newsonair.nic.in/
isnt it important frm exam point of view………kindly help as many seniors have suggested about it as extremely important as well……
thanks n all the best for ur preprations…….
hi mrunal, this is vijay, the link for debt-equity ratio is not working and it is redirecting to the new current affairs page, kindly correct this, bye
try this link
http://mrunal.org/2012/03/econ-debt-equity.html
some links r not working, y, hav u removed them r any technical glitch, plz correct them, one of them is index for calculation of wpi and debt to equity ratio
Hi Mrunal,
IBPS 2 is out and this time its online.
I have all my intension to not even crack it but get the placement in Delhi, would really appreciate if you can guide me on the below mentioned doubts that i have :
1) Should i go ahead and start reading economy books of 11th and 12th class or the material available on your site is sufficient ?
2) To get a placement in Delhi, how many marks in minimum do i need to score ?
3) I am planning to pursue a distance MBA from a recognized university, so should i go ahead with this or concentrate on IBPS for now ?…if yes, would admire if you can suggest me some good university as well.
Thank you in advance.
i deal with very few topics of economy. you should start with NCERT+NOS: check http://www.Mrunal.org/economy for free download links.
no idea. ask the question in Bank PO thread of pagalguy forum.
You can do distance MBA from IGNOU, it is recognized Government univ. but doesn’t have much market/vocational value but doesn’t require much preparation either.
Bank/MBA that’s your career choice.
if IBPS is in December then first concentrate on it.
Hi Mrunal,
Want to share something with you… i visited your site a couple of days back for the first time and since then
i try to be regular and try to read all articles that you upload..
Just want to say that you are doing a great job,,,please continue with this wonderful activity.
THANKS
NEED POLITICAL SCIENCE MATERIALS SIR
won’t take much of ur coin=time.no need 2 appreciate u as “god” needs no appreciation(i am not a sycophant).just 2 questions
1.reading polity from Lakshmikant is just fun.but those “fun” r saddened when i see no questions at t back of specific chapter.like let 2day i read chapter on president from it but for questions on t same i hav 2 look into t previous questions papers.although looking at question papers is beneficial but it take time.please suggest any book which give exhaustive questions of IAS category at end of each chapter of polity?just for questions in a serial manner..questions on president-vice president-governor and so on.
2.can u suggest “chapter revision” in “indian economy- ramesh singh” likewise u gave for polity -Lakshmikant..from which chapter should i start,take second,third,fourth….
dear sir,
i got 96 marks in paper-I and 90 marks in paper-II in cpf(ac) exam-2012 which was held on 11/11/2012.can i start preparation for physical test for this exam.
Sir,
Kindly suggest me books for the optional botany & zoology for IFS exam.
Thanks & Regards
RESPECTED SIR ,CAN I REFER SCIENCE REPORTER MAGAZINE FOR SCIENCE PART (PRELIMS 2013)
Sir,
kindly publish the inteview of somebody that has cleared the IFS exam.
Thanks & regards
(VIKRAM)
Hi Mrunal,
I have my exam of IBPS clerical on 16/06/2012.
Please guide me on last minute revision.
Thanks
Dear Sir,
kindly suggest me which manual is better TMH or Pearson’s for general studies preparation?
Pearson is better. But for UPSC none will help in current exam pattern.
I would say go for section wise separate books
hmmm….i m done with CSE ….seriously,i hv given up…i ventured into this without knowing the amount of effort needed to clear CSE….the only thing i want to say in the end is…….I QUIT.
sir..pls give me ur email id…!!
sir,
i am nitin working in a PSU. 2013 will be my second attempt. my two optionals are geography and psychology. i am a science student. i love both the subjects. i have done coaching in both of them. i am jus asking whether IGNOU notes for psychology will be better for me or i should be with coaching notes?
Hi Mrunal,
I want to read all the articles on you websites but I don’t have internet at my room.
Can all these articles be downloaded at one go?
Is it available on google drive?
Hi Mrunal,
I have just ( Few months back ) started to prepare for CSE 2013. Should i prepare exclusively for prelims or should i also prepare my optionals simultaneously?