@Those who cleared Prelims-2013, UPSC Has uploaded the Detailed application form (DAF) for the Mains 2013.
upscdaf.nic.in/daf_csm_2013/mainmenu.php
One important change / development is (as per DAF instruction Page 13, point number 28):
- In Mains 2013, instead of separate Question Paper and answer book, a consolidated Question Paper-cum-Answerbook, having space below each part/sub part of a question shall be provided to them for writing the answers.
- Candidates shall be required to attempt answer to the part/sub-part of a question strictly within the pre-defined space.
- Any attempt outside the pre-defined space shall not be evaluated.
In other words,
- You’ve to be extra cautious before writing the answers, any scratching of lines/paragraphs for correction, will only reduce the space.
- You will not get any extra supplementary answersheets, if you run out of space.
- You cannot bring the question paper home and going by the previous trend: UPSC doesn’t immediately upload mains question papers on their website and won’t disclose them under R.T.I saying “exam process” is not yet over: Meaning those who’re not appearing in Mains 2013, you will have to wait for few months before you get to see the official Mains questions, particularly for the fabled ethics paper . But there are good people, who’ll appear in Mains-2013 and reveal the questions in online comments/forums, based on their memory. So all is not lost (unlike CAT, where candidates are legally prohibited from revealing official questions in forums/websites/books.)
on an unrelated note: with respect to some comments made earlier by readers: yes I’m alive and working on food processing: supply chain-upstream-downstream article series. It’ll start very soon :)
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In any competitive exam, another man’s problem is always an advantage for you.
Bingo David Bowie…you can be a hero just for one day. LOL
This is a good thing. My law professor at IIM used to give a paper in this format. It reduces the chances for people writing gaseous stuff in the paper, doing lot of cutting while writing the answers, wasting paper.
not able to open the form on upsc site. can anyone help?
Try early morning around 5-6 A.M
It is showing error 404. Is it in my case only?
Try early morning around 5-6 A.M
done & thx
Unable to open the DAF for mains 2013,is someone else also facing the same problem? Any alternative, please suggest.
yeah that UPSC page goes down due to heavy traffic. Try again later. or goto following page: http://upscdaf.nic.in/
sir, very good change
Sir this change is poor & illogical. We need to organise against this. Will hamper writing in opinion forming questions.
Im totally with u. Lets not apper in the mains this time as a portest. :D
Cn anybody tell what is the size of the envelope to be send,or it is upon our discretion?
sir,
i am a first timer and wished to clarify certain doubts regarding the mains DAF.
1. For % marks in class 10th, there is a rule in icse exam to calculate % using score in best 5 subjects out of 6. should i use the same process or should i use marks of all 6 subjects to calculate %?
2. Are all the subjects studied in class 10th and 12th to be entered? Space seems to be a constraint in the form.
3. I am emplyoed and have had a transfer as well. so should i enter each place of posting? Space seems to be a constraint in the form.
i would be obliged for the clarification.
u should calculate percentage taking all 6 subjects since we have to send copies….. yah they wont be calculating that…. but why take that chance and also it would be precautionary…. percentage won’t matter in the interview
thank you sir
sir, if we choose literature as our language do v have to write paper1-7 in that particular language???????? ( am choosing hindi literature and would like to write other papers than hindi in English is that possible as per new notification?) Page no.13 it is not clear U PLSSSSSSSSSSS HELP MEEEEEEEEE
U can write the literature in the prescribed script (as Hindi in Devnagari)and simultaneously opt English as medium for other papers.
Does anybody have an idea as to how much space is allotted for each question. Basically how many words does upsc wants us to fit in a single page?
looks like effect of government fiscal deficit…dec mein xam nahi jung pe ja rahe hain
what may be the best optional to suit the conditions??
I think, for optionals, they will still provide extra paper and answersheets.
Specially with Optionals like Medical Science, where in almost most of the questions, we need to draw
diagrams.
Another thing, they are giving plenty of options in optional paper.
Now , more papers are going to be wasted.
Not a good move, if they are handling optionals in the same way.
It is good to write the answers of those question who are better known by someone and to write unknown answers latter.
LORD CURZON, BE READY FOR SLEEPLESS NIGHTS. WE CAN NOW FILE ONLINE RTI
LINK:- http://www.rtionline.gov.in/
DOES IT MEAN that …………..
In the Two links known to us for question-answer-combined-booklet (one for economics question paper and the second for RPSC question paper) –
Point 1 – Even if they are providing the space under a question – STILL THE WORD LIMIT IS SPECIFIED AGAINST THE QUESTION
Point 2 – The space provided under a question is ROUGHLY TWO TIMES the space required for the specified word limit (for example if word limit is 30 words and one writes around 10 words in one line needing 3 lines for 30 words, then the space is provided for 6 lines)
Point 3 – The space provided is LINED (divided in lines) instead of COMPLETELY BLANK space
Question 1 – Does it mean that ALMOST ignoring the word limit one should target to FINISH the answer WITHIN THE SPACE PROVIDED (meaning MUCH MORE words if one INTENDS to write more)
Question 2 – Does UPSC mean that drawing the Diagrams, Graphs, Tables etc are just NOT GOOD PRACTICES and that UPSC wants mature answers written in text-only forms (like news-paper editorials) instead of the class 8 type answers containing diagrams etc
Question 3 – So, How does it make sense to SPECIFY word-limits even after providing LIMITED SPACE to answer the question.
Excellent insight..just hope UPSC wl spare a second thought on such a sensitive issue.OTHERWIS THEY WILL JUST PROVE THEIR VINDICTIVE ATTITUDE AFTER PARLIAMENT EPISODE…
you are expecting too much from UPSC it seems. Sample paper for what? Why are you guys so much concerned over such trivial matters i fail to understand…
Just focus on your preparation, knowledge and writing skills. Rest everything does not matter. Space will be adequate to convey your knowledge and information. So dont spend sleepless nights over this. Anyhow, there is no need to draw diagrams in GS papers as examiners want to check your knowledge and not so much power of expression.
As far as optional subject is concerned, there also you will get upto 6 page space for each long answer question and 3 page space for every short note. It is more than enough to draw diagrams etc along with adequate information.
Please concentrate on larger issues.
Hi Astrokid,
Thanks for the suggestions and it seems the matter was intended to be posted for some other question as some thoughts are not Directly related to the doubts put in my post.
But still all your suggestions are relevant. Just adding one more line to your suggestions – It is actually relevant to think over the format of the question-answer sheet “Now” as it would help the aspirants in Practising the answer-writing.
Putting the still-uncleared doubt, in simple terms –
Word limit is specified 250 words but in the space provided one thinks that due to his small-AND-thin-but-with-readable-letters handwriting he would be able to write 400 words in that space. What should he opt for ? – (1) still writing 250 words in around 25 lines out of 40 (or say 35 or 45) lines provided and leaving last 8-10 lines blank (it may also give an impression to the evaluator that not-suffecient-matter is written) or (2) writing 400 words and making the full utilization of the space provided.
So one has to make his mind Now, for his answer-writing approach.
Appreciating the valued-effort put from your side, in answering the doubts.
@Mrunal, I would request you too, to please share your thoughts on this matter.
@iStartNow, the word limit for the answer will depend on your knowledge depth. In case you know a lot about the topic asked, then you can opt for small font size handwriting and overstretch the word limit as far as possible in the limited space. But in case one is not sure about the exact answer, then just stick to the word limit.
And honestly, no UPSC examiner will penalise the candidate for exceeding the word limit. So just write as much as you can in the space available. Moreover, it should look tidy and not crumbled up and should not overflow on to the borders of the next question.
If at all you need to practice anything “now”, then focus on your exactness of expression. There is no scope for any introduction or conclusion. While writing answer, no need to repeat the language of the question. Most times, we make the mistake of explaining the question to the examiner in first paragraph. It is not required in case of limited space. Just straight away dive into the answer. If you dont want to write point-wise, then make neat paragraphs.
Believe me, it is a blessing in disguise as no elaboration or explanation is required of the points mentioned by you in the answer. You just need to remember the key points. So basically, UPSC will not be judging your answer depth now onwards, but whether you know the key points related to the answer.
Say, for example, pros and cons of multiple brand retail. Now in answer, you just need to write the key points without getting into their individual explanation as both space and time require so. So in a way, one does not need to study topics in detail but more so the points related to those topics. So as per me this reduces the work for a candidate as he/she does not need to get into too much of understanding of issues. Ofcourse, if they ask a conceptual question then the approach may need to change. But by and large, one has to just remember key points and neatly copy paste the same.
So i would say you should make point-wise or heading wise notes in a register. Alternatively, another recommended approach is to analyse all answers under the heading of psychological (individual),social, economic, political, environmental, international, national, geographical etc and write in similar format in exams.
well said :)
Yes, don’t know how UPSC expects everyone write in a common confined space when each candidate is so different.I have known people whose inborn handwriting and space guts are not so well perceived but all are doing equally good than others who are well versed with such skills. Especially in time crunch during exams, this move will additionally costs marks to such people.
Don’t know if UPSC has discovered this as a modern doctrine for producing some magical civil servants ?
And for RTI, if any body is pushing. Do let us know .
somehow in my DAF my permanent home state is scroll up to Manipur instead of Uttrakhand and I summited it online, I got to know this mistake in print out hard copy….what should I do now, although I thinking about correcting in hard copy and also write a letter to UPSC
HELLO MRUNAL SIR,
i just submitted DAF online… everything is fine ..except my email id appears in capital letters… will it create a problem ? Plz reply…
Certainly not. Don’t worry!
Does writing your Home address change your address ? or does it remain the sam e? Why should then an email address chane due to capital letters ?
Does writing your Home address in capitals change your home address ? or does it remain the sam e? Why should then an email address change due to capital letters????
Hi Mrunal,
you are going to do world history Jack sparrow series (i.e, detailed notes) or the pdf uploads are final?
Hi, Mrunal Sir and friends, I have two queries regarding DAF form for Civil Services Mains:
Number 1= > I was probationary officer in a nationalised bank.
In the DAF form they are asking ” if u ever employed then select the type of job 1.) Permanent 2.) Temporary 3.) Ad Hoc . What should I write ? (remember I was on probation)
Number 2 => They are also asking whether u selected/applied for UPSC recruitment (including civil services) then we should write the details for that. Several times a person applied for the UPSC exams but doesn’t appear and not remember the details. How can we fill up that column ?
1-Write Permanent.. Probationary positions are considered permanent job
2-they are just considered about your attempts, if you appeared for exam.. mention number of attempts.. if you dont remember the roll number.. you can simply right zero there.. its mentioned in the instructions.. you can cross verify..
*considered about=interested in
*right=Write
:-p sleepy
Thank you for the reply. :)
About second query:
They have already asked about no.of attempts (of civil services) in a separate entry in the same module, but they are asking about other “UPSC EXAMS” in a separate entry at the last.
UPSC conducted so many exams!!!
And one more thing they have written SELECTED/APPLIED.
1. Sir, i want to know that can i submit OBC certificate issued in Dec 2010 or have to submit a fresh OBC certificate.
2. what to write in “To” in case of employement if i m still in service
not older than one year before the date of notification
dont worry you all UPSC soon shall be releasing a sample paper for it so wait for a month and till then we should start discussing some imp concepts or qns or policy or area for the exams instead of these things
what u say guys
@Abhishek, you are expecting too much from UPSC it seems. Sample paper for what? Why are you guys so much concerned over such trivial matters i fail to understand…
Just focus on your preparation, knowledge and writing skills. Rest everything does not matter. Space will be adequate to convey your knowledge and information. So dont spend sleepless nights over this. Anyhow, there is no need to draw diagrams in GS papers as examiners want to check your knowledge and not so much power of expression.
As far as optional subject is concerned, there also you will get upto 6 page space for each long answer question and 3 page space for every short note. It is more than enough to draw diagrams etc along with adequate information.
Please concentrate on larger issues.
more and more practice help in new pattern
there is a option in form : If your Father is in service,indicate the post held by him (If retired,indicate the post held by him at the time of his retirement)*
does that specificaly mean father was in civil services or in general any government post.
somehow in my DAF my permanent home state is scroll up to Manipur instead of Uttrakhand and I summited it online, I got to know this mistake in print out hard copy….what should I do now, although I thinking about correcting in hard copy and also write a letter to UPSC
go to dholpura house along with relevant documents and a candle(for mombati march). jai hind…
UPSC says the age and educational qualifications copies can be attested by gazetted officers or certified by the candidates themselves as correct.
Does this mean that I can sign on the copy and certify it by myself without going to any gazetted officer?
yup
thanks
Wat abt caste certificate…is attestation necessary..or self certification will do
Hi
Can anyone describe the process of central recruitment fee stamp thing.Is it means to take the hard copy of form to post office to get stamp on central recruitment fee stamp and form,so called cancellation of stamp.
it also means that we cant write in big and distanced letters