Geography: Scoring but Material Problem

Geography is one area which students normally find tough because of technical nature of this subject and due to non availability of sufficient material, but it have an important place in civil services exam both at pre and mains level. One cannot ignore geography and should try to make this subject as interesting as possible. I will give here strategy to tackle geography of General Studies.

Prelims:

For prelims, Geography covers both Indian and World physical, political, social and economic geography. Map also plays an important role in prelims and Map reading helps one to understand newspaper as well.

What to read??

·    6^th -8^th class NCERT (new one) for basic concepts and one should make notes for these books so that 6^th – 8^th standard NCERT needs not to refer again.

·     9^th-10^th class NCERT for Indian geography

·   11^th class NCERT for Indian & World geography (12^th class NCERT is human geography which is relatively old and not worth reading, it’s better to cover latest Census data and related terms from Census website)

·     Indian Geography by Dr. Khullar

·    For maps, K Siddhartha is must, although it is for optional subject students but it really helped in preparing maps. Buy a good atlas book also like Black Swan or Oxford. Do not spend special time on maps; rather devote 15-30 minutes daily when you want to read something lighter.

·   Chronicle or Wizard special issues for geography should be seen for additional topics.

Mains:

For mains, Geography coves only Indian Geography so one should study Indian Geography only.

What to read??

·    Above books referred for Indian Geography.

·   Current affair plays an important role in Mains so geography related current affairs like India Ocean Dipole, El-Nino, La Nina etc. Read newspaper for latest development in this area.

·    India Year book for some geography topic like Transport, Agriculture etc. should be covered.

·   Latest Census data is must for both prelims and mains; it can appear anytime in the exam. Census is always a favorite area for examiner and should be prepared thoroughly. Census site can be referred to understand the census terms like Birth Rate, Neo Natal Death rate etc.

Geography if understood properly can raise your marks significantly. One should understand the concepts properly and Internet can be a great help in it. There are some questions which appeared in previous mains exam which examiner had picked from Optional paper of Geography. One should not get disturbed after seeing such kinds of question because every person has limited capabilities and no person can cover each & everything in this exam. So one should try to cover as much as possible but leave the area which is beyond your scope.

If somebody is covering the above material properly he/she will be able to cover substantial portion for Geography area in GS paper.

Best of Luck!

Regards,

Deepak Singla

International Affairs & Institutions- Always needs to be updated

International Affairs is one area which i find very interesting to study. One should understand that whole the world is now integrated and accordingly it should be understood as well e.g. Economic relation with one country has repercussion on the political relations as well say USA now wants to develop strategic relationship with India because of growing economy, heavy reliance of India’s defense on foreign technology. This way every country starts its relationship, so while studying International relation with any country one should read following areas:

Ø  History of Relationship

Ø  Economic & Political dependence

Ø  Involvement on cultural aspects

Ø  Science & Technology agreements

Ø  Special regional groups like BRICS, EU etc

Ø  Any rift between two countries

When you will be able to see all the aspects of relation with one country then it becomes very easy to score in International Affairs and understanding on this area becomes clear.

There are always questions on source of studies on International Relations which I am going to describe below:

ü India & the Dynamics of World- Sharma, Goria & Mishra (Pearson Publications) [ A very good book for conceptual clarity with different countries & understanding of special terms]

ü  Ministry of External Affairs site- It covers relation from A-Z countries and one should visit this site for important   countries and new developments relating to that country.

ü  The Hindu or Any other newspaper- It is necessary to keep yourself updated and countries which are more in news have more chances to come in the exam also.

ü The Frontline- Only World Affairs section one should read as this magazine covers international news in wonderful way.

ü Manorma Year Book- This book should be read to cover International Institutions like UN, EU and brief information about them. This book covers all the information about major institutions at one place.

Notes:

Ø  While writing answers on International Affairs, even when one candidate is not aware about particular country and India’s relation with that country he/she can still use some common points like trade relations, cooperation in the field of S&T, education, agriculture etc but it should be presented in a very careful and prudent manner.

Ø  Regular updation is very important for International Relations and one should regular read newspaper to keep him/herself updated.

Ø  India’s Neighbour are always favorite area for the examiner and hence be prepared thoroughly.

Ø  One should read in detail about the India’s foreign policy and changing trends in it since independence.

Ø  Now a days, emerging groups like SAARC, SCO etc are playing a vital role in changing the dynamics of foreign policy of any country and should be focused more to get a better grasp over it.

Best of Luck!

Regards,

Deepak Singla

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.


Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.


Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.


Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.


"Quitters do not win, Winners do not quit"

Strategy for Commerce Paper-2

Paper 2 of commerce is totally theoretical and causes a lot of problem for many candidates due to non availability of good material. One advantage with this paper is that its syllabus overlaps with the Public Administration Paper-1 and thus helps in saving of time and better answer writing.

One important thing to get better marks in paper-2 is WRITING PRACTICE and use of examples from current affairs and corporate life. Let me first pin down source of reading for paper-2.

Organisation Theory & Behaviour

Organisation Theory & Behaviour- B.P. Singh & T.N. Chabra

Organisation Behaviour- L.M. Prasad

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management- C.B.Gupta

Human Resource Management- K. Ashwathapa (Tata McGraw Hill)

Industrial Relations

Industrial Relations- T.N. Chabra & R.K.Suri

Dynamics of Industrial Relations- C.B. Mamoria & Satish Mamoria

Although above books are sufficient to cover the syllabus of UPSC still if you can get the RANKERS NOTES (available in the market) in addition to above books for paper-2, it will be helpful to you.

Notes:

Ø  Use of diagrams can increase the score in paper 2; diagram should be drawn with the use of Pencil only.

Ø  Recent examples from corporate life & current affairs will fetch more marks.

Ø  Writing practice will ensure better content.

Ø  Answer should be given in simple and easy language

Ø  No part of syllabus should be left.

Ø  Help can also be taken from the MBA books, if available

Paper 2 is though theoretical; still more than 170 marks can be easily scored in it. I will advice candidates to put equal effort on both the papers as it is very easy to score more than 350 marks in commerce which can ensure your interview call and good rank in the civil service.

Best of Luck!

Regards,

Deepak Singla

Strategy for Commerce- Paper 1

I think there is sufficient number of candidates opting for commerce as an optional as it is very scoring optional and easy to cover as well, particularly if you are a CA; even for B.Com, M.Com candidates it is not difficult to score in commerce provided sufficient practice has been done for this subject.

One more advantage with this optional is that normally two weeks leave are available during exam for revising the syllabus which is an added advantage as compared with other optionals. Paper 1 consists more of practical questions which if practiced properly can easily take your score above 200. So the key for scoring more marks in paper 1 is PRACTICE. Theory based questions should also be prepared carefully as compulsory questions are theory based only and current affairs related questions are asked now a days.

If you carefully see the syllabus of Paper 1, one can notice that the level of Paper 1 is equivalent to CA (Inter or IPCC) or B.Com (Hons), hence books of that level are sufficient to cover the entire syllabus and one should not read the entire books which i am going to prescribed rather only syllabus provided by UPSC should be covered from those books.

Accounting

Corporate Accounting – Naseem Ahmed (A very good & simple book to cover entire topics, selected topics only)

Accounting Standards- D. S. Rawat (Cover AS 1-20, 22 & 26 in detail & practice numerical also)

Cost Accounting

Cost Accounting; Theory & Problems- Maheshwari & Mittal (Selected topics to cover syllabus of UPSC only)

Auditing

Students’ Guide to Auditing- Aruna Jha (Taxmann) (Selected topics only)

Taxation- Income Tax, Service Tax & VAT

Income Tax book by- V.K. Singhania or Girish Ahuja

                       OR

CA IPCC- Ajay Jain (This book is wonderfully written by Mr. Ajay Jain and I have taken coaching during my CA from this teacher and hence this book should be referred only after you are comfortable with its writing style as it is not explained in detail but its presentation is very good and tax provisions can be easily remembered. So select this book after consultation only, all the above topics are covered by this book)


Following is the link for a Income Tax book by Mr. Bhavin Pathak. This book is written in a wonderful way and one should download for covering Income Tax part from this book.


http://www.caclubindia.com/forum/income-tax-notes-for-ipcc-ay-2012-13-may-2012--190701.asp#.UAzjg7Q2Nkl

Financial Management

Financial Management; Text & Problems- Khan & Jain (ALL CHAPTERS, sufficient to cover the entire syllabus)

Financial Markets & Institutions

Indian Financial System- M.Y. Khan

               OR                                               Selected Topics to cover syllabus only

Financial Institutions & Markets- L.M. Bhole

Above books are sufficient to cover the entire syllabus for paper-1 and one need to practice regularly to get a hold over this paper. One can see its own source as well for the above syllabus as for his/her own comfort like I used by CA books for covering some of the syllabus.

Notes

Ø  While practicing the numerical, one should make all working notes at one place either before or after the main answer.

Ø  Paper is usually lengthy so one should make a habit of drawing lines or format for answer with pen only to save time.

Ø  Clarity in answer should be visible to fetch more marks.

Any clarity or suggestion is always welcome to improve the quality of blog. Soon I will be putting strategy for Paper-2 for commerce as well.

Regards,

Deepak Singla

Be A Deaf Frog!

In our day to day life, when we start some new project or want to achieve something big, people around us start doubting on our capability. This brings down our own morale and we either leave that project immediately or in the mid way despite the necessary capability we have for that project or new idea. Similar was the case with me when I started preparing for civil services. I left my job of Rs. 11 Lack per annum and subtle voices started from the people around me (except my parents & family) that I am doing a big mistake by resigning from such a good job and preparing for this tough exam. One story that always inspired me for believing on my capability is story of a frog which I am going to describe below.

Once there was a race of frogs to reach at a very high point not tried by anyone before. Race started and people hence started shouting that no one can reach there. Most of the frogs were running but after reaching some point some were leaving mid way. Then remaining frogs were still running and shoutings become stronger that still no one can reach there. All frogs except one stop running and still people were shouting that he cannot reach the target, but that frog was indefatigable and finally reached at the final destination.

Can anybody guess what the secret of success of that frog was??

That frog was actually DEAF.  Yes, he was deaf means he was unaware about the doubts of people on his capability and without listening them he was able to reach his target.

Similar thinking I would advice to the candidates to get success in this exam. Be a Deaf Frog!

My Marksheet- CSE-2011

Subjets		Marks
Essay		102
General Studies Paper-1		131
General Studies Paper-2		153
Commerce Paper-1		210
Commerce Paper-2		116
Public Administration Paper-1		116
Public Administration Paper-1		204
Total Written		1032
Interview		180
Total		1212

Q & A Session

Dear Friends,


I have started this Question/Answer session for answering your queries for any particular area. Please feel free to ask your questions so that i can answer them satisfactorily. It will work as a interactive platform for you and other candidates comments can be beneficial for all as well.


Regards,
Deepak Singla

Suggested Readings for Medical Science- DR. Shaleen (AIR-81)

Human Anatomy—B D Chaurasia books of Anatomy (all three volumes); Embryology from I B Singh;

Human Physiology- Ganong; Guyton and A.K.Jain book

Biochemistry-  by U. Satnarayan’s book.

Pathology-  Pathological basis of disease by Robbins and cotran, one can also refer to Harshmohan’s book also.

Pharmacology- K D Tripathi’s book or even Lipincott is very good for memory point of view.

Microbiology- D R Arora’s book. And same author’s book for medical parasitology.

Forensic medicine- Essentials of Forensic medicine and Toxicology by Dr. K S                Narayan Reddy. It is better to go by the tables that have been given in this book as question are asked directly from there and it is advisable to not to miss them.

(Community medicine)Preventive and social medicine- K Park’s book is sufficient enough. There is no need to refer any special book for the programs of Govt. of India as K Park deals with them in good detail and one has to follow a word limit in writing questions.

General Medicine- there are various books for medicine and no one is complete. I would highly recommend reading only those books which you have referred during your graduation years. Like I followed CMDT(no need to buy latest edition), textbook of medicine by S N Chugh, Emergency medicine by S N Chugh. I would recommend making notes on certain medical emergencies like asthma, COPD, Status epilepticus, poisoning cases etc. It is better to avoid reading Harrison as one need to prepare any question optimally and not totally. For Infectious diseases one should refer book from Indian author as presentation of Infectious diseases is a bit different in our country than west so avoid CMDT or Harrision for that.

General Surgery- Manipal’s manual of surgery. For Differential diagnosis part one can refer to clinical surgery by S Das.

Pediatrics-  Essential pediatrics by O P Ghai, paul and bagga. For d/d one can refer to DR. Mayoor K cheda book.

Deramatology- illustrated synopsis of Dermatology and sexually transmitted diseases by Neena Khanna.

Obstetrics and gynecology including family planning- Obstetrics by D C Dutta. And for gynecology either D C Dutta’s book or Shaw’s Gynecology. Practice questions in flow chart format like that has been given in D C dutta as it is the standard format to prepare for answer writing in medical science paper.

I have tried to give a list of books that is minimally necessary and it is advisable to read that part thoroughly so that one can attempt questions optimally and qualitatively.

Wishing you all good luck.

DR. Shaleen                                                      

Rank-81

CSE-2011

Science & Technology: Is it finding like a Higgs Boson?

S & T is surely one area which is irritating most of the candidates. Is it really tough like finding Higgs Boson particle??  I will say it is really not that tough if properly analyzed, so how a candidate should approach to tackle this area and what to read so as to hit on the nail? Even science students find it very tough now a days to cover S&T, so it in one sense provides a level playing field for both humanities & commerce students with science students. Science students should not take this area lightly. I will be covering S&T from both Prelims & Mains point of view.

Prelims:

For prelims, I will be covering that area which exclusively comes in prelims only, remaining part for prelims will be automatically covered in mains syllabus and that area should be prepared for mains & prelims both by a candidate. Now a days, more conceptual based questions are asked so a candidate should understand the concept properly and should go for the application part of S&T like broadband technology, difference between wi-fi & Bluetooth etc.

Biology, Physics & Chemistry is the only addition which forms part of prelims but do not comes in Mains, so I will recommend students to read just Class XI & XII NCERT book on science & technology that will serve the purpose. Even among above, Biology constitutes 95% of the questions in prelims so one should give major attention to Biology only.

Diagrams in biology helps a lot for easy understanding the topic so diagrams should be understood properly.

Mains:

For mains, a candidate should prepare following area as prescribed by the UPSC: (No Need to prepare Biology, Chemistry & Physics)

Ø   Space like ISRO, PSLV, GSLV, Chandrayaan, Cryogenics etc

Ø   Nanotechnology & application in various fields

Ø   Biotechnology & application in various fields, controversies associated with it

Ø   Robotics, types of robots, new robots & uses of robots in various fields

Ø   Communication & Information technology like computers, super computers (K Computer & SAGA-220 appears in Mains 2011), Mobile technology, DTH, IPTV. GSM, CDMA etc.

Ø   Indian Defence like missiles program, new aircrafts, submarines, AWACS etc.

The above is the major syllabus from which questions are regularly asked although no specific area is still limited in the Mains exam. Anything related to development in the field of S&T can be asked in the exam. In Mains both current affairs based and traditional questions are regularly asked by the UPSC.

A candidate should thoroughly prepare on the above mentioned areas with concept clarity and most important on the application & use of S&T in our various facets of life like use in agriculture, medicine, industry etc which UPSC is now mostly interested in asking every year.

Source of Study

Ø  Wizard S&T by Jojo Mathew ( A very good book for covering basics of above topics)

Ø  The Hindu Thursday reporting on S&T

Ø  Times of India (Regular check on website for Science section as TOI covers science section in a better way than other newspapers)

Ø  One Magazine S& T portion (Any one magazine either chronicle, wizard or Civil Service Times can be referred)

Ø  Ministry of Science & Technology ( Regularly visit this site and see in the bottom of this site the blinking item or scroll for new developments in the field of S&T) V. IMP

Ø  ISRO, DRDO & BARC sites ( Again blinking item as there is huge chance of coming them in exam and see these websites for basic understanding or new developments)

For S&T, there is no good readymade material available in the market so one should prepare this area him/herself and should make a separate notebook for new developments. One should not go into too many technical details while preparing this area as examiner expects you to be GS student not S&T student.

One important thing I have noticed in S&T section is that now UPSC is more interested in application part of S&T in our day to day life so one should look around the items he/she is using like microwave, TV, refrigerator, washing machines, mobile phone etc. and should read from internet about these and look for detail about it like LED vs LCD screen, Drum & Spin Washing machine, Trans fat while eating chips, omega-3 fatty acid. This way it is very easy to cover S&T and one surely will be hitting on the nail during the exam.

I think I have covered this area in detail, still if you have any doubt feel free to comment on my blog or suggest for the improvements. I am also reproducing a motivational quote on excellence which is worth reading:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit”- Aristotle

Regards,

Deepak Singla

Strategy for Medical Science- DR. Shaleen (AIR-81)

DR. Shaleen

Vote of Thanks

I sincerely thanks DR. Shaleen for writing for my blog. He is a very intelligent and fun loving person and his views will definitely help the candidates aspiring for medical science as an optional subject. Any student in need of further help for medical science can comment or ask any query, DR. Shaleen will try to answer your queries as well.

Regards,

Deepak Singla

Aspiring and preparing for civil services after becoming a doctor is itself a big challenge and choosing an optional like medical science is a big challenge. Even medical graduates with good scores in their graduation years defer from taking it.

But my experience with MS as optional is different. General impression that I have regarding MS is that this subject is more feared. One who is directed and determined can easily handle this bulky subject.

Through this article I will try to clear doubts that most of students carry in their hearts and minds.

When one decides for civil services as a carrier first question is about choosing optional. And it is why Medical science when most of medical candidates are rejecting it?

Dear friends, before deciding about any optional I would recommend you to choose it on rational grounds and not on herd mentality.

It is a subject that you have studied for 5 years already and you just need to revise it while for any other optional one has to start from scratch. So you will have an advantage of prior preparation. Further if something is asked from here and there you would at least be able to attempt something if you don’t know as you understand the pulse of medical science.

This is a technical subject with objective and perfect answers unlike other humanities where answers tend to vary.

No language bar even if you are not good at English you are not at disadvantaged position in this field.

So it is worth to go for this optional.

Though I am an optimistic person but let’s accept the reality of this exam that it is not possible for everyone to clear it either for this reason or that reason. Sometimes it is the God that favours one so as a rescue plan it is better to be in touch of your own subject as if medical science is not read it is so much volatile subject that most of us tends to forget until and unless one is brilliant enough. I am sure not everyone among us is like that.

Various issues while dealing with MS—

·       Lengthy syllabus.

·       Unmanageable as it is lock and loaded with facts.

·       No compiled up material is available in market.

·       No coaching classes.

·       Problems to answer questions especially the one related with differential diagnosis.

Now I will answer each and every issue in detail and one would find that it can be easily handled despite such roadblocks.

Strategy to prepare MS during 4 month period available b/w prelims and mains.

Once you have decided to go for MS I would suggest you now stop thinking to change your optional. Once decided means now no turning back.

Preparation of medical science has three phases that one has to complete in 4-5 month time period available.

Phase 1- perspective phase

Phase2- retrospective phase

Phase3- perspective again

Phase 1- Time available is up to prelims result declaration (usually 2 months). During this one needs to complete prescribed syllabus. Be specific and stick to the topics. Refer all those standard books that you have read during your graduation years. No need to go for any PG oriented book. Once you have completed this syllabus get ready for a more challenging phase- the phase 2. Purpose of this phase to refresh your memory about the topics that you had studied during 1^st year and might have forgotten. It is like refreshing the text.

Phase2—retospective one is the most challenging phase. One has to prepare previous year papers.

Start solving previous year papers. Begin with the latest one… yes questions they tend to repeat in Medical science (one more reason to choose MS).

Make notes short telegraphic ones as you need to recall only certain key words and rest you can write.

My experience says that one would take 2 days/ paper (actually 4-5hrs per day) to make notes. So if one targets to solve 10 papers it would take 20 days (don’t forget you are under a mission)

By the time you will complete notes making you will find that some questions are repeating and a smart guess can be made for next year paper. (No other optional allows you that flexibility).

Those who are still left with energy and wants to put in more can write a one simulated test. When I wrote one I learned a lot. I would like to share-

·    Unlike papers of humanities there is no word limits prescribed for questions in MS paper but if one tends to write a complete answer one would not be able to complete the paper. So it is better to be smart enough while preparing and restrict your answer roughly to the limit of 250-300 words. Or roughly 100-120 words per 10 marker.

·   Practice diagrams beforehand. No need to waste time in making a very artistic diagram.  Just make it clear enough to be understandable.

·     Wherever possible write in points or flow chart format.

·    For PSM questions one can cite certain examples from newspaper. “The periscope” page of “The Hindu” newspaper is helpful sometimes.

Phase3- this is bit lighter one. Time slot varies according to the number of days available in b/w one’s optional. Revise all your hand written notes first and those areas that one feels uneasy with. Memorize pneumonic that you might have prepared.

Exam day—I call it as D-day. Don’t revise at least 30min before exam. Take a rest. And say this all is well.

Once you enter in examination hall get down to your seat and when question papers are allotted to you immediately start marking the questions that you are going to attempt and write down key words or differential diagnosis that that you are going to write in that question as one tends to forget.

This process must not take more than 10 min. and after that start writing with speed as you have to complete your paper in a limited time frame. Believe me 3 hrs appear like 1hr on that day.

 After you have completed your paper before tying it just go through once whether you have attempted all questions and none is left. It’s a kind of recheck before submitting your answer sheet.

If possible do mention question number and respective page number that is given on the top of answer sheet and if u can’t because of time shortage don’t get tensed as you won’t be peanalised by the examiner for that. They do understand your situation and the level of stress you might be going through.

Anyways just go ahead as you have prepared well with a strategy and practiced well. Don’t forget “all is well and all will be well”.

Meticulous practice and sincere efforts are key to success in this exam.


Wishing you all good luck.


DR. Shaleen
Rank-81
CSE-2011.