UPSC General Studies

The UPSC Civil Service Examination requires an effective ‘strategy plus smart work’. Civil Service Examination needs more than just preparation and a crystal clear plan. Most aspirants remain confused with their strategy. They keep on piling up different books from different sources and end up making the biggest mistake.

Apart from Indian History, World History, and Physical Geography, Indian society and social justice has also been given a significant place in GS Paper -1 of UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam. Indian society and social justice could appear an easy section for those aspirants who have taken Sociology subject as their optional but for others this portion might appear a bit cumbersome and hence could pose difficulties in fetching marks. Before jumping to the strategy for Indian society and social justice it is important to understand the UPSC syllabus of Indian Society.

History for UPSC prelims is perhaps one subject that enchants an aspirant easily. This is the reason that every student starts the journey of preparation from this subject. The subject is also chosen as optional by most of the aspirants. The reason might be the lucidity of subject and its story like nature that attracts almost every individual. But question still remains that why should a civil servant be familiar with this subject? The answer is that our perspective on state, society and life can be made better through analyzing past events in history. This is one of the main reasons why history for UPSC has become an important and compulsory subject in primary and higher secondary education as well as for general studies not just in India but around the world.

The one exam that expects you to know almost everything under the sun is obviously the UPSC civil services exam. The UPSC wants all candidates to have knowledge of all possible spheres be it humanities or science-based subjects. Inclusion of subject like science and technology in UPSC, the commission has ensured that only those people are eligible for the highest post who have sound knowledge in almost every area.

In Civil Services Exam the one subject that give jitters to most of the aspirants is Economy. The subject is quite important and significant from exam point of view. The confusion always looms pertaining to concepts, theories and questions. The reason for this could be the lack of reliable and good resource and dynamism of the subject. Candidates are doubtful about the approach and study materials for Economics section of IAS Prelims and Mains. Most of the time candidates are in the dilemma regarding the right books and resources that will cover the entire UPSC syllabus of economy from prelims and mains point of view.

Since past few years, some drastic changes have been seen in the UPSC Civil Services Exam. The one visible change that has been witnessed is putting higher weight age on the subject of Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity in its examination syllabus. Environment and ecology as optional subject is quite dynamic in nature. Because of this fact there is scarcity of right resource and book in the market pertaining to subject. The absence of concrete study material and probability of unpredictability in questions asked can put any aspirant in an uncomfortable position.

Civil Services Aptitude Test or CSAT is officially regarded as the General Studies-II paper in UPSC Prelims exam. Although the nature of paper is qualifying, students must need to have a pre-planned strategy to ace this paper. As this paper needs only to score more than 33% or 66 marks out of 200 marks in UPSC Prelims paper hence it is required to have a thorough knowledge of the weightage of each topic or section and subsequent preparation tips can help you sail through it smoothly.

Current affairs are truly the most critical aspect of your Civil services preparation. We can analyze Current issues from the point of view of preliminary and the mains.

So on an average 15%-18% of the questions come from Indian Polity. Because of the significance of weight age given in the exam, Polity as a subject becomes even more important in the preparation process.

History of India can be divided into 3 sections – Ancient, Medieval and Modern. A significant weightage has been given to History over the years.