update: August-07-2013: this is an old article written for 2012’s exam. New article for 2013’s Exam has been published separately on following link:
Please click ME. Again repeating: article given below is outdated (then why don’t I delete it?) Because ACIO-2012 toppers/buddies use this page’s commenting system as their hangout-place. If I delete this article the comments will also be deleted. That’s why I’m not deleting this outdated article.
- Readymade guidebooks for ACIO exam
- How to approach the Objective paper of ACIO exam?
- Difference between GK and GS
- The books
- Topicwise Preparation for ACIO Exam
- General Knowledge
- Aptitude and English
- English Grammar and Vocabulary
- Aptitude
- Essay
- Structure of the Exam
Many a times, sincere candidates fail in Government job exams because
- Relying on readymade guidebooks by “jholachhap publication”.
- They underestimate the level of competition and hence their preparation is not upto the mark. [although personally they may be believing that they’ve studied hard.]
Know that whether it is IAS exam or Bank clerk’s exam, competition is always tough and life is always cruel [thanks to our population]. Hence, The only way to make life easier, is studying harder and harder.
Readymade guidebooks for ACIO exam
As I keep saying: DONOT USE any readymade book such as “ACIO/APFC/CPF guidebook by XYZ bogus publisher. ”
Reasons:
- They merely copy paste few chapters from here and there, donot provide you comprehensive information / theory on any topic.
- Secondly, many candidates simultaneously prepare for SSC, LIC, CPF, IBPS and similar exams, so they’re really good both in GK as well as aptitude. You prepare from some ‘jholaachhap” book then you loose in the competition.
How to approach the Objective paper of ACIO exam?
I’m grateful to the good friend CSL180 for providing the inputs on previous papers of ACIO exam.
From the previous trend, it seems ACIO is more about GK than GS.
Difference between GK and GS
| General Knowledge | General Studies |
| Kaun banega crorepati kinda things. Mere knowledge of facts. “Who, Where and When” type of questions. | encompassing much more than GK, deals with important things of life- science, Constitution, History – why this and why that – so you need not only the knowledge of facts but understanding of events. |
| Who invented Telescope? | How does Telescope work? |
- In, CPF (assistant commandant) or UPSC (IAS/IPS etc.)- the questions are less related to GK and more related to GS.
- Usually the Class I and II officers’ recruitment exams have more GS than GK but for god knows why, ACIO paper almost entirely made up of GK questions only.
- For example “NABARD was setup under which five year plan?”,
- “OPEC was established in which year?”
- May be because ACIO exam isn’t conducted by UPSC and the Old professors who setup the ACIO papers, haven’t grown out of the 90s era yet.
- Anyhow, the moral of the story is, you shouldn’t prepare for ACIO exam, the same way you prepare for UPSC, CPF or APFC. This one requires similar books but different approach.
The books
 |
I DONOT recommend Manorama Yearbook for GK, because
Therefore instead of Manorama, I recommend another book |
Topicwise Preparation for ACIO Exam
The NCERT can be freely (and legally) downloaded using this link Click ME.
The NCERTs contain GK information scattered throughout their chapters, Besides they’ve colorful photos and text, so they’re interesting to read.
General Knowledge
| What is asked in previous papers? | Recommended Book | |
| History | Xyz temple was built by which king? Xyz war was fought by which two sides? |
|
| Geography | Nothing from Physical Geography (Theory, atmosphere etc) Only “xyz place is famous for what?” “xyz thing is located at where?” That type of GK questions from Geography- both India and World. |
|
| Science | Who invented this and that? |
|
| Polity | Only GK For example “which article of Constitution contains provision for Constitutional amendments? |
|
| Culture | Location of Temples and fairs. |
|
| Stupid Current Affairs |
(ya, UPSC stopped asking such stupid things in Civil service exam but ACIO paper setter uncle-ji hasn’t learned the lesson yet, may the almighty give them some wisdom.) |
|
| Economy | Trivial questions like when was RBI established and when was NABARD established etc. I would expect similar GK from Current affairs based Economy. |
Current affairs material already suggested above. + Manohar Pandey |
Aptitude and English
The trivial GK is limitless, but brain’s memory has limits, so how do you improve your score?
Obviously, you’ve to score huge in English Grammar and Aptitude.
There are aspirants in this “competition business” for 2-3 years, trying for Bank, LIC, CPF, SSC and similar jobs, and they’ve impeccable command over English grammar/Reading comprehension and aptitude.
So if you make any excuse ki “meraa English thik nahi hai” or “meraa maths kamjor hai”, then you’re digging your own grave. Toppers donot fall from sky, they’re among you, but they’re just studying harder and not wasting time in giving such excuses or doing cut off speculation. So, If your maths/english is not good, then study hard and improve it. Know that every master was once an amateur.
English Grammar and Vocabulary
Sentence correction, Sentence arrangement, Reading comprehension, synonym, antonym, fill in the blanks etc.etc.etc.
Study approach and booklist is same, as given in earlier APFC exam article: Click ME.
Aptitude
Since you’ve applied for ACIO exam, I assume that your end goal is Government job of some kind.
So even if you fail in ACIO, you’d continue pursuing similar competitive exams such as IBPS, SSC, LIC, CPF etc.Therefore, I would suggest the aptitude books that can be used for all such exams.
  |
For ACIO exam, prepare upto level 1 exercises only from each each chapter. Ideally you should do all the sums from all the chapters, Including the Non-Verbal portion i.e. figure based questions.
And most importantly, no one can master aptitude by reading the solved sums alone. You’ve calculate them by your hand. |
Sidenote:
- If you’re running out of time, you may use IBPS Manual by Disha Publication
instead of the book #1 and Book #2 given above. But that’s like firefighting and such shortcuts are luck dependent, hence should not be used in normal case.
Essay
The ACIO 2012’s notification specifically mentions that
ACIO-II/Exe contains two papers namely
Paper I (Objective type) and
Paper II (Descriptive type on English language only).
The total duration for both the Papers is 1 hour and 40 minutes.
- It means you’ll have to write Essay in English (Paper II).
So how to approach this essay?
First read this article on how to write an essay: Click ME - Second, go through this book “A book of Essays by Spectrum Publication
This book has around 100 essays on various themes and topics, so you get enough fodder material for writing essays on conventional topics.
Apart from that daily newspaper reading: Either The Hindu or Indian Express.
How to read newspapers? Already explained in earlier article: Click ME.
![[Studyplan] CDS Maths Paper: Number System, Quadratic Equations, Surds, Indices, Linear Equation (Part 1 of 3) for UPSC Combined Defense service exam](https://mrunal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/icon-plan-500x383.png){kind=icon}
![[Studyplan] MPPSC Mains GS1 and GS2: Priority Revision topics](https://mrunal.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/i-mppsc-500x383.png)
waiting list published after joining or after training?
any idea about training i hear some people are disqualified in trainuing is it true or not?
repoprting on 1 april,got call letter on 11 march.
yar pls tell us ,where r u from?
from bhopal
hi SK, when was ur verification over? Mine got over 10 days back. When can i expect my letter??
i got letter within one month after verification,so you can also get letter soon…
At whch place u hv to join kc?
Sorry question to SK..
Rs.60000 or 3 months salary whichever is higher.
Rs.60,000 or 3 months salary whichever is higher
Got d appointment letter today frnzz!!!
hello amith where are you from
hi amith, when did ur verification get over? After how many days of verification can we expect letter? Plz let us know..
i know 5 guys who got letter and all are from south region.
@ sun > i dont know when they will publish exactly. you should call them and ask your query. cuz i guess this whole joining or training process of all batches will take almost 1 year.
can any body plz tell when joining letter will be issued to those who selected in acio 2
Anyone 4m Delhi got appointment letter?
Or verified..
my verification is still going on.
Yes i got vrified mid feb,but havn’t recvd joing ltr yet….
neer from which university u r passed out??
Hello Sir..wat type of quetions are asked in Physics and Electronic portions? Please give a brief on that also.
anyone from bhopal whose joining date is 1-april?………..please write here.
Anyone have answers for IB acio 2013???
anybody else got letter?? when second batch will start any idea??
One of my friend in IB said joining letters will come batch-wise. And all will be properly informed. So no point in missing your appointment letters. All I can say is guys keep patience.
Hey guys I got the Joining letter! Joining on 17th june.
hi ms congrats! Are you reporting in shivpuri or in delhi?
hi ms plz tell me your rool no.
got joining letter..2nd batch 17th june…any one else frm j and k..who have to reort on 17th june…
congrats naresh :) when your verification was completed??
my verification was completed in march ending
thanks for info buddy…
hi any body from north India got letter or any other info…….. my verifcn was in 6th feb….
yes i recieve joining letter..joining date 17th june
hi naresh what is your rool no.
why do u want my roll no…
ye dhekhna chata hu ki letter roll no . se bheje ja rahe hai ya merit se
my roll no is 17001683
arrey akkal ke dushman! you are gonna be a IB officer and you’re giving out your roll no. in public????? if all ib officers are as stupid as you, god save my country!!
mr sinha what if he gave his roll no?? what wrong with it? roll no dene se kaun kya bigad lega ya kaun si info leak hogi. he tried to help others. dont try to be smartass. i think you are more stupid than all ppl in this country.
another guy living in hyderabad got letter
it would be highly appretiatble if anyone go to headquaters in delhi and ask them whats going on as they are very cooperative.
if i would be living in delhi i will definatly visit the headquaters
smbdy plz take initiative
hi mrunal.. please help me out
Whats gonna come in physics and electronics in the exam( 24th march).??
i am doing physics from TMH Manual for civil Services and from Lucent General Science…
Is that enough??
and what they gonna ask in electronics.?? do u hav any idea..
whats goin on!! when our turn will come?
how was the letter sent? Ordinary/registered/speed/any other posts? Wat if no one is available at home when the postman comes?
it will come by speed post as other said who received their letter. i dont know know what happen if no one will be at home. i guess after 2 months 2nd batch candidates will start gettin their letter.
letter after 2 months?? people already said 2nd and 3rd batches are going by 6th and 15th
if 2nd & 3rd are batch going to start on 6th and 15th then ppl might start getting their appointment letter. lets see for next 10 days then we’ll come to know. i really wish you were right but lets see whats gonna happen. keep updating..
u dont worry about that u will get joining letter( one via post and another via proper official channel).
got call letter march19th to report april 1st shivpuri. from tamilnadu.
is local police also demand character certificate during verification procedure???
ok..let me clarify some issues..
1.joing in batches of 120 .so depending on the batch size ur turn might come after a year..mine came on 14th januray for the batch of 2011.
2. bond amt is 60000 rs only. and yes bond is 5 years.
3. training is completely residential ..2 months in shivpuri and than in delhi and than mountaineering somewhere in UK (dont get ur hopes up its uttarakhand) however it might happen to be 3 months too if they added something or if delhi doesnt have enough space.
4.mobile phone with camra or bluetooth will not be allowed inside “madhavrao sindhiya palace” i.e. ur traing facility.
5. salary will not be paid for atleast 2 months.
6.no laptops or other wifi devices are permitted inside.
7. no family members permitted inside.
8.after training 4 year posting in either J&K or northeast.
9 if u r in northeast u can take ur family there but if u get J&K no family residence permitted there
10. mostly quarters allotted in police line
11. u must not tell anyone that u work in IB
12. u might get posted in naxalite area depending on ur language skills.
13. in 8 years u will be promoted to acio -1
14. after that in 7 years u will be in the grade of DCIO however vacancies are low so u will not get the post but ur salary will be equivalent to his.
15. its a tough job. rewards are 0 ,recognition is 0 but if u really want to serve the nation and have a tendency to know dirty little secrets of what is supposed to be the underbelly of India “that is bharat” and u like being alone ..than gentleman u have ur dream job.
most importantly …people who are concerned abt NOC and other things ..there is one simple rule in IB or in any other intelligence services..if u are a good worker …they will never let u go..if u r a kamchor central gov employee u will be gone in a second.
and anybody who thinks they will get ample time to study further …”dream on”
regards
“2011 selection “
and u must be fit to work in high altitude.. however in district civil hospitlas they wont really bother to actully see if u r fit or not..please get proper checkup and be fit to serve at high altitudes. no point in risking ur life unnessecerily.
THANKS SINGH for such important info. i wanna know do they give leave during training? how much leave we can take in a year?
is this job is desk job or field job?>
ur saying that in IB rewards and recognisation is 0 but it’s far better than ur excise dept.90% of their employees r corrupt and useless.have u ever serve in IB,i know the people’s like u who had very cheap mentality and always think how to demoralise people’s.
all my candidates who r seleted in IB don’t listen to him,because it’s a very reputed job and u it’s a honour to serve ur country with a platform like this.and what i think is that this “MR SINGH” is not selected anywhere and he is waiting for the list of additional candidates of IB(ACIO-II) si that he can get the chance my demoralising u all,so don’t get caught in his tricks and keep ur head raised,because u all r choosen one.
hi mr singh
aap abhi kahan ho training main ya place of posting main
are u married if yess then will they allow u to keep ur spouce
i m at neither. i did not join as my joing for inspector in central excise was at hand ..but i knw they wont allow u to keep spouse in training and if u r posted in J & K apart from this ..
u can take family anywhere u want.. and one more thing ..at the time of joining they will ask u to sign a waiver form ..which will take away all ur fundamental rights as an Indian citizen.
this is what i knw.. how is the job for females or if females are shown some leniency are things i m not aware of. so no comments. regards.
can u tell me what exam we have to write for inspector in central exercise ?
is recruitment done through ssc cgl exam ? for this post
frnds, today is march 21st. is it too late to expect letter for april 1st joining? Verification over 2 wks back but no letter yet. Anyone has got letter for 2nd or 3rd batches?
you cant be so sure about your verification buddy! they have visited me 1 month back and today i got to know they visited my college yesterday.even they haven’t visited my siblings yet.
ya buddy, they started verification by feb 2 at present address. Then at home & siblings and previous work places.. Took more than 1 month.. Dunno if they’ve done for my college..
what did they asked at your siblings homes?? i mean what questions??
very much normal and basic questions.. Some questions about me, themselves and their partners.. Like wat they do for a living..
okay thanx buddy :)
any new news???????
next lot will start gettling appo letters from 1 may one IB official told me.
let see, i hope your info would be correct..
Smbdy pls tell me wht is the training schedule at shivpuri as well as duration of stay there…if anyndy know abt the full details of training pls tell …for acio2
Sari preparation and strategy dhari reh gai,
physics bola tha to un logo ne semiconductor bhar dia 90+ questions on physics and electronics, rest on bull shit.
I knew bull shit though.
As the syllabus of ACIO II was not published in detail it was difficult to prepare for the examination. Maximum almost 80+ questions were from physics only of upto +2 level. 4 or 5 questions on maths and one of GA. No question from English/Comprehension. Maths questions was of Determination, derivatives and integral only. Very disappointing paper.
You must have noted that this year the exam was for Wireless Tech., so there is a point in how they have framed the Q.Paper ( but the questions were mostly direct or a direct application of a formula). But they did not specify this in their Ad.
hi
any body from lucknow who got the letter? plz reply..
what could be the expected cutoff of recently held IB ACIO(Tech/Wireless technology) EXAM on MARCH 24 2013 for all the categories
i want all selected candidates to read this,because some people’s r
spreading rumours,so read this specially “MR SINGH”
mr singh is saying that in IB rewards and recognisation is 0 but it’s far better than ur excise dept.90% of their employees r corrupt and useless.have u ever serve in IB,i know the people’s like u who had very cheap mentality and always think how to demoralise people’s.
all my candidates who r seleted in IB don’t listen to him,because it’s a very reputed job and u it’s a honour to serve ur country with a platform like this.and what i think is that this “MR SINGH” is not selected anywhere and he is waiting for the list of additional candidates of IB(ACIO-II) si that he can get the chance my demoralising u all,so don’t get caught in his tricks and keep ur head raised,because u all r choosen one
hello himanshu
do you work for IB
no,i’m not but i know each and everything about IB,i can’t discuss it here.
hi himanshu i attended for the ib acio tech 2013..and i got approx 70 marks im frm general category will i qualify fr the exam
also what is the cut off mark for 2012 ib tech exam..iam am graduate from ece..but while applying i selected soft engg..will it causes any problem…i completed 10+3(diploma)+3(btech)
am also waiting for waiting list but i dont want to play cheif tricks all the best for selected canididates this is a gud job. if your not selected this year try to next year
is local police also demand character certificate during verification procedure???