Once a student reached the interview stage of UPSC Civil Services. The interview board observed that his record was excellent. During a question-and-answer period, one board member asked, ‘How do you keep track of so much information?’ The student replied, ‘Before throwing the newspaper, I used to check if there was any information in it that I didn’t know yet? This habit of mine made me hungry for knowledge, ‘If you dream of becoming a civil service officer, you have to develop a hunger for various information. Because this exam is considered to be the toughest exam in the world. This journey is not limited to a few months. So one should keep the fire burning within oneself from the beginning.
What is this exam?
Civil Services Exams are conducted every year by the Union Public Service Commission. 1000 to 1100 officers have been appointed under Group A. Without discrimination, meritorious students are offered various services on the basis of selection, examination performance and ranking. Like IFS, IAS, IPS, IRS in that order. So, if you are a graduate, you can take this exam up to a maximum of 32 years (37 years for SC ST category and 35 years for OBC).
What is the process?
There are total three stages of UPSC Civil Services Exam – Preliminary Exam, Main Exam and Interview. The preliminary examination consists of two papers, conducted in two shifts on the same day – General Studies (Paper I) and Civil Services Aptitude Test i.e. CSAT (Paper II). After clearing this phase of objective questions, you can sit for the mains exam. In the main exam you have to give total 9 papers. which is descriptive in nature. After selection, one is called for interview and after that selection is done on the basis of merit list. You get service offers based on your score.
If CSE is the goal, understand the specifics first.
UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam-2024 is scheduled to be held on June 16. Civil Services Examinations (CSE), which is a part of Indian Administrative Services, is considered as the gateway to a golden future. But it also counts among the toughest exams in the world. That is why before aiming for this, some aspects should be carefully considered. Our experts are telling
What should be the strategy?
Be prepared to give 3 to 4 years for civil services exam if successful people are to be believed. Because the syllabus of this exam is very wide and deals with many topics. So you should start focusing on it from the first year of graduation itself.
What are the challenges?
– Very detailed syllabus and its preparation.
Every year around 9-10 lakh candidates appear for it. Every year many youngsters from IITs and IIMs come for it.
– Every year the level of this exam is getting tougher. Merely memorizing facts does not help.
There is no formula for exam preparation.
– Even after long preparation nothing can be said about the result.
– The three stages of the exam i.e. preliminary exam, main exam and interview are equally difficult.
– Long exam process is also a test of patience.
Include these things in your strategy:
1- It is important to carefully assess the complete structure of the UPSC exam, so that you know what type of questions you have to solve from which subject in which exam.
2- Incorporate study into your daily routine.
3- Since the range of UPSC subjects is very wide, it is very important to prepare notes for each subject. They make revision easy. You will find many samples of successful students on the internet to know what the notes should look like.
4- Choosing the right test series is very important. Take information from your guide in this. This will tell you in which subject you need to prepare and how much.
5- Watch interviews of successful candidates on the internet. Evaluate yourself.
6- Do time management. Evaluate each hour and what you did in it.
7- Developing writing skills is very important, in mains exam you have to write subjective answers in limited time and your mains exam decides your success or failure.
8 – To get a grip on current affairs, read newspapers regularly for at least an hour and save important editorials and underline the facts therein. This will help you score big in the written exam as well as the interview.
9- Spend minimum time on social media or stay away from it.
10. Keep a positive attitude.
Some legends
– Only students of major colleges are eligible for this exam.
Fact: This exam not only tests your knowledge but also your personality, mentality, skills, critical thinking, analytical ability and service spirit.
– More chances of success through English medium.
Fact: You can choose your own language in this exam. Whichever language you choose, it is important to have clear expression and a good command of it.
Coaching is required for this exam.
Fact: Coaching helps, but coaching is not the only path to success.
You have to prepare for at least 16 hours.
Fact: The entire preparation is a matter of time management, grasping the topics and effective strategies to maintain a balance between your needs and preparation. Studying 15-16 hours daily is not a guarantee.
Big dreams from small towns
If we calculate the average of successful youth for UPSC Civil Services, we will see that youth from remote small towns of India are writing success stories through their hard work. If we look at the successful students of the last 5 years, the highest number of successful students per year was around 110 to 125 from Uttar Pradesh, while Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu were second. In which usually 90 to 95 youths from small districts of each state got success. 60 to 70 youth from Bihar and Andhra appeared for this exam.