FAQ ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT

I am working and not finding enough time to prepare. Tell me the proper time management and right strategy.
The time management is a real problem for most of the aspirants. When you are working, on working days you have to study atleast 3-4 hours per day. You have to stick to it on holidays, you have to study atleast 10-12 hours. In these preparatory period you have to forego some entertainment. you have to follow some time table and lead a disciplined life. Each and every minute is to be used properly. should not waste even a single minute. Always carry a book on notes with you Wherever you go. If you are a travelling person, read it in a bus. If you have to wait for some one in the office, use that time also. Even office break hours should be utilized effectively.

What strategy should I follow? Should I focus more on my optionals to get good rank?
Please don't fall in this trap especially during your mains. During the prelims it pays to divide more time to your optional due to the following reasons.

The high weightage of the optionals (300 marks) compared to the GS, which is of 150 marks.
The exhaustive nature of the GS syllabus as compared to the well-defined syllabus of the optional.
During mains one should devote equal time to both the optionals as well as GS.

It is evident that success in IAS it needs hard work. I am keen to know what kind of marathon is needed to sit for long hours.
You are right. It is really a marathon race for the aspirant. The reality of the Civil Services Exam is not known to many of us. It is also mystery for most of the Indians

If you read our section "SECRET OF SUCCESS" , which will give the reality also.

The UPSC receives about 3 lakh applications for the Preliminary and only 50% of them appear in the exam. Among this lot 25% of them will be really serious about the exam. !0% of them are really hard working serious contenders. Total number of posts are around 400 only. Among this 80 seats( It varies from year to year) are IAS. Now, you can realize the competition

Out of 1.5 lakh Prelims aspirants, around 4000 are selected for the mains. Out of this lot only 800 are selected for the Interview. From this only 400 are recommended for the Services. Then the services are allocated based on the rank and their preference given during the Main Exam.

This above facts must have given a fair idea about the selection procedure invoved in the Civil Services.
So Civil Services Exam is a running race with different hurdles. One has to cross all these to get in to IAS
One has to put hard work and extra hard work. From the date of notification, it is 18 months process to get the final out put. This is applicable only for those who clears the exam in one attempt. If the success postponed in one year means, another one year hard work. One has to maintain the tempo of hard work and patience till the SUCCESS is achieved.

I want to know that what is the optimal time required for preparing for CSE?
There is no optimal time for the preparation of the Civil Service Exams (CSE). Every individual has his /her talent, limitations and other barriers. There are students who have the capacity to read a subject within a short period. The same subject needs more time for other students. The time frame is also a subjective one. As the study/reading has different connotations, there is qualitative and quantitative study involved in the Civil Services preparations.

If you go through the previous years' questions and answers, it will give an idea about your standing in the subject. If you follow the strategy given by us on our website, which will also give a measurable scale about your capability and where you stand. So the time frame for the preparations varies from individual to individual. Thus, you are the best judge to decide on the time frame for your study.

There are instances of students preparing for hours together for two to three years and still failing in the exam. But there are others who used to study for 6 to 8 hours a day for just one year and are successful. This is because of their own talent, basic knowledge, intelligent study, proper strategy, reading appropriate books and other factors. However, the factor which comes above everything is hard work in the right direction.

I am MCA from NIT, my age is-24 and now working in WIPRO tech. Generally I have to work for 12 hrs a day. But I am very much serious to join civil services. I can give utmost 3 hrs for preparation every day. Please give your feedback whether this much time is sufficient? Kindly suggest how much time, in your opinion is required to crack IAS?
Success in CSE depends on so many factors. If your basic education is really good, three hours per day is also good. At the same time, you have to capitalize on your holidays, or whatever little free time you have at your disposal. Once you have decided to crack civil services, you have to forego so many other forms of entertainment, which normally attract you at this stage. If you use your working days 3 hours and holidays fully, it is enough in the first instance. But you have to take at least one month leave before prelims and three months leave before mains. Get hold of proper and standard books for all the subjects and put in hard work. It will yield definite results.

There are about 90% aspirants, who prepare 24 hours of the day. The Civil Services competition is a running race, not a university exam. Keep this in mind and work for it. One cannot give an exact answer to how many hours of preparation is needed for this exam. It varies from individual to individual and optional to optional and scores of other factors. Luck of course, too, has its own role to play.

What Should be the time allocation for prelims of both G.S and optional.

One should calculate the total time availability at his/her disposal. Working persons should do the calculation for both the working days and holidays.

One should not study for too many hours continuously at one go. This will reduce the memory power also. The human brain also get tired after some mental work. When a person start preparing/studying a subject, the memory shoots up from the base to the maximum in few minutes. This memory plateau remains in the top form for an hour.( It varies from person to person). Then it starts to recede. If there is a break after the MENTAL FATIGUE the mind gets ready to accept new items. So, intelligent students would mix the subjects to break the monotony. Every individual has some SUPER MEMORY time in a day and this time should be used for the most important subjects, which needs to be discovered by the person only. One should devote more time ( double than GS)to the optional as it contributes 2/3 of the total marks. One more thing, one can not improve the GS drastically in short period of time.

How to read newspapers and Magazine to take maximum advantage in the least time.

Most of the aspirants are confused about the newspaper reading and other magazines. It is really an art. It has to be practiced. Very important is what to read and what not to read. Other important item is, what is really a news, and what not. Civil Services aspirants are not journalists to get the real news

To solve this problem go through the article "HOW TO READ A NEWSPAPER" and "HOW TO GLANCE THROUGH A NEWSPAPER" in the book.

Regarding the memory point of view you can take small notes, but the same thing should not take more than 30-40 minutes in a day. To recollect the same before the exams, you can follow some competitive magazine, which are exclusively meant for the Civil Services Exams. There are books on current affairs also published ( Normally released just before the exam) by various publishing houses in India targeting the Civil Services Prelims and Mains.

I would like to know how to go about reading newspapers for general studies? Please suggest me what to read and what are the sections I should concentrate on?

1. One Should concentrate on the main page, editorial and Open page.
2. One should be careful in selecting and reading News items.
3. During the preparation one should not waste too much time on Newspapers.
4. Every National Newspaper has its own way of putting stories. An experienced reader can differentiate between the news worthy and non news worthy stories.

I want to know whether the age limit will be reduced. If so then what happens to the old students
The age reduction is being debated at different levels. It may happen or may not happen. But there will be sufficient time frame so that all the stake holder's interests are taken care of. Whenever, Government comes with such a decision, normally there will be notification. There will be a deadline with sufficient time frame/gap. So, no need to worry about it. But the number of chances may go down for those who are in the late twenties. But every one will have a chance if they are in the old age group.

Arrange the following services chronologically according to their powers, facilities and prestige of IAS, IPS, IRS.IRTS, IRPS, IAAS, ICCES. IFS(Forest), IFS( Foreign), IRAS, ICAS etc.
The question is really subjective to many consideration. There are many factors involved. The choice and the priority also vary from individual to individual. It is like mathematical formula, where many factors involved such as Minus, Plus etc. These factors also vary from person to person. For example, one factor may be Plus point for him and the same may be negative for another person. It is the intertwining of different services under one umbrella called Government. Mostly, it is led by IAS. Railways another empire of their own, there no IAS at all. The Foreign Affairs run by IFS only. Other services integrated with one another. Normally people give their preference in this order IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS, IRTS, IAAS, IRPS after that it varies from year to year.

I hear from someone that there is no prescribed syllabus for IAS EXAMS. Is the syllabus only for reference? Does the question go beyond the syllabus in this exam.
•  The syllabus is prescribed by UPSC. For any exam, there will be some syllabus ie we have to draw some line.
•  Civil services exam is not an University exam, there only pass or fail is important. Civil services exam is a competitive exam, ie it is a running race. Who will come first, will be selected.
•  In UPSC, questions are not asked directly like University exams, it is more than that. UPSC tests not only candidate's grasping power but also getting inference, correlating subjects, analytical capacity and more.
•  Whoever told must have seen the question, which is not direct. The questions are very much from the prescribed syllabus and they are indirect. So syllabus is the same.

How many marks are needed in total (inclusive interview) to crack IAS exam. I know, it differ from subject to subject but I want a general idea. Which is the best optional combination for sure success?
•  It is above 60% marks. Normally, if one scores about 1400 / 2300 he / she definitely gets IAS even tops the list.
•  There is not best optional combination for ever. The trend also changes every year. To get a great success, one has to perform well in all subjects.
•  Normal combinations in recent years are
•  Geography + Psychology, medical science + Psychology, Public Administration + Geography, Agriculture +Geography, medical science + Anthropology. The list goes on.
•  To understand the reality, please read the Column "SECRET OF SUCCESS" in the Book.

I would like to know that if I clear the prelims, but am not able to clear the mains, do I have give the prelims again in my second attempt, or is it only the main?
You have to write Prelims again in the next attempt. Even if one fails in the start - i.e from the prelims, one has to sit for Prelims in the next attempt. So every attempt is a fresh one in this exam.

Is it necessary to submit degree certificates while applying for preliminary itself?
There is no need to submit the degree certificate at the prelims stage. You have to just fill the application in the preliminary stage. You have to submit the photocopies of the eligibility and other supporting certificates at the Mains stage. You have to show your original certificates only at the stage of the personality test. UPSC will verify the original documents and return them before the interview. You need not carry any certificates to the interview board.

Are there any penalty marks in CSE. How is it imposed and for what mistakes? Please explain.
Yes. There are .33 negative marks per one mark in CSE at preliminary stage of the examination, if the question is wrong.

How is it that SC/ST candidates have achieved ranking with general candidates? I thought all were given last few ranks in the list.
Reservation starts from the Prelims and it is carried forward till the Interview. The 15% and 7.5% reservation for SCs/STs is available at all the stages. If someone clears the Prelims with /reservation, he/she will be considered as a reserved candidate even they top the list in the final result. If a person from the 'reserved' category clears the exam in the General category in the Prelims and he/she carry forward till the Interview with the same status, then he/she will be considered from the General Category. The same person can avail of reservation in cadre allotment etc also.

What is the age limit for a Muslim candidate?
Age relaxation is based on Community and not by the Religion. Please go through the Model notification and Scheme of the Examination for more details

This is my first attempt. I have been reading interviews of few toppers, I see that most of them take 2-4 attempts to achieve their target. Do they prepare for so many years in a row, or do they find a job after the first attempt and then try their luck with gained knowledge from earlier preparations.
There are toppers who clear their exams in the first attempt itself. About 10% candidates qualify the exams in the first attempt itself. If we talk the total qualification about 28% of successful candidates clear the exam in their 3rd attempt . As far as, preparation during the job is concern, there are aspirants do work in a firm / govt. and prepare for the exams simultaneously.

courtesy:civilserviceanalyst.com

OPTIONAL SUBJECT SELECTION FAQ 2

I am Homoeopathy student wanted to appear for UPSC. I had undergone splenectomy (removal of spleen) due to accident 2 yrs back now I am perfectly alright. Do I fulfill physical requirements for CSE?
No problem. If you are normal and carry out other activities it will not affect your prospect in the civil services. Thy physical fitness is must for only few technical services such as Indian Police Service, Indian Railway Traffic Service and Indian Customs and Central Excise in some extent for other services; it is only a formality in the medical examination

I am a third year engineering student. As I am not comfortable with the engineering subjects I had lost a year. whether I am eligible to take up the civil service exam ? can I take prelim exams when i am in my final year? i am very much interested in geography and history.shall i take these as my optionals and start preparing myself. kindly suggest me.
You are eligible to write civil services even though you have lost one year. only thing is, you have to complete your degree before filling the main application. You can attend your prelims & ming your final year also, provided you are qualified by age wise. If you are not sure, don't waste one attempt.
Normally, we suggest the aspirants to write civil services, after completing degree if they are in UG. If they are in master's degree, they can go for the exams during PG.
As far as optionals are Concerned, it is fine. But you have to remember the following if you are going for these two subjects.
1. The syllabus is vast for both the subjects.
2. Both will be back to back exams where you won't find time to revise the subjects.
3. All the exams will be held continuously without break.
4. History is not scoring well. The success ratio also Poor Compared to many other optionals.
In our opinion Geography is ok. You can go ahead with your preparation. You may think of some other optionals from the given following list. Sociology/ Psychology / Any Indian Literature. We also suggest you to go through the detailed syllabus and previous years question papers, which will give an idea to take an appropriate decision.

What is the success ratio of ratio in History in recent years? This was one of the leading subjects in previous years, but not in recent years, why? How to study this subject in scientific way? Why has it been becoming tougher and tougher year by year? For this the only reason is to avoid Engineering /science stream students? Are any specific reasons to make it tough even in mains.
The success ratio of History in recent years is about 1:25 to 1:32 in the mains. Of course, this was one of the leading subject of civil services. This was a good subject as there was no problem in getting resource materials. Earlier, other subjects were not so much developed. Now, there are many subjects. History questions are normally answered directly if there is a Question about evaluation, elucidating, examining, comments etc. So students are not in a position to give proper write ups up to the standard of UPSC. History is where it was decades ago, other subjects have developed lot. Science has developed a lot. Normally science stream students do well in history, than a humanity background student. One more thing is that the evaluator cannot know about the student's background. When students have started developing themselves to face the UPSC with the help of coaching institutes, UPSC also has started making the papers tougher in setting, as well as at the time of evaluation.

Can I choose zoology with anthropology?
Yes. Both are really good combination also. The success ratio of Zoology is about 1:9 and Anthropology also has the same success ration.
Anthropology is a good subject for Zoology students to understand the terminologies and definitions. So you can go ahead with these two optionals.

I' m a student of veterinary sciences doing the last semester. I want to prepare for CSE. Can I prepare for it while pursuing my post graduation, or I have to drop one year?
You can very well prepare for your Civil Service preparation simultaneously with your post graduation. If your optional is same as in your graduation, it will be an added advantage for a consolidated preparation. Technical subjects like veterinary sciences will have questions of UG level only. The PG level papers are on specialization it may help if you have expertise in that particular area. As far as veterinary science aspirants are concerned , they are at both UG & PG levels . The post graduation will help you get more job opportunities because the Civil Services exams are more uncertain than any other exam.

I want to take History as first optional and English Literature as second optional in CSE . Though I did not study History in Graduation but I have great interest in it. How does Public Administration ,History and Anthropology fare in comparison to each other?
It is not necessary to take the same subject as an optional in the civil services. In India, most of us join a course which is not interesting to us or liked by us most of the time peers and family member's influences than our own decisions. After joining the course we feel that it is not suitable for us. Once we understand the reality and stand of our own, we come up with our wishes.
The civil services exams should be based on interest and liking because it needs intensive and continuous study for at least a year. The tempo can be kept if we choose subject interesting to us.
You may have a liking for History and English literature. In our opinion, both are not advisable because the History's success ratio is really very poor for English literature, one should be really talented and should have some base.
As per the subjects given in the last line, we advise you to go for public Administration and Anthropology. Public Administration is really doing well. It will be easy for you to read and understand.
As far as Anthropology is concerned, it is a good subject for science graduate who studied botany, zoology at the college level, even school level will also do.

I am student of Law. How should I go about my preparation for CSE?
We hope you are aware of the pattern and scheme of the examination. If you don't know, go through these items in the Book first.
Once you have decided to write Civil services, the next step is to select the optional selection of optional is the crucial one in the Civil services.
As you are from the Law background, you may or may not like to take your subject one should select the optional based on his/her interest, understanding ability of the subject, availability of proper / standard books, Previous years trend closeness/relevance of two subjects. If you are keen in opting for law, the other optional may be Public Administration / Sociology / Psychology.
We suggest you to go through the detailed syllabus and previous years questions after you have decided / sorted out some subjects. Among the sorted subjects. something will be interesting and easy for your nature and mental make up. Because Civil services exam preparation not an university exam, which needs one of two days preparation only but CSE preparation needs similar or more hard work through out the year.
Then follow the strategy given in the Book, which will guide you for your success.

What type of mapping questions are asked in the mains exam of geography subject?
The map question may be city, Industrial area, Physical geographical structures like sea, stream, peak, etc. The questions are from Physical, Political & economic geography.
These are available in the previous year question booklet. It is available in the market/ leading shops all over India.
Map reading is there in both the papers one is world map & the other is India Map. Total 120 marks i.e. 60 marks each. You have to mark 10 spots. There are choices also. The map reading should be done / located accurately and 25 words write up also will follow. The evaluation has few break ups out of 6 i.e. Correct map reading / location, write up, key words in the write up etc.

I am 2nd year physiotherapy. I have opted "Public Administration" for prelims AND "Psychology" for mains, how should I start preparing?
Your optional selections are really good. Both are promising and scoring also. The preparation strategy for General studies is already available in the website. The Psychology preparation is already available in the toppers Interview. The book list for Public Administration will be put up soon.
We suggest you to go for General Studies preparation at the first instance.

What books should I follow for "Public Administration" & "Psychology" & "G.S"? When should I take coaching?
Coaching is not necessary. But Coaching institutes make the aspirants to interact with fellow Competitors. A healthy competition makes a person to get ready for any eventuality. Good institutes also shape up the students to written exams well. This also has a drawback that every student in a classroom will follow the same pattern of answer because of the influence of the teachers originality gets good marks in the UPSC. So one should not loose his / her originality even after joining coaching Institutes. So joining in a coaching Institute is purely a personal decision.

Can I choose "English" for Indian Language?
No. You have to take both the papers. You have to qualify in both the exams also. If you don't qualify in the language papers, optional papers will not be evaluated. So English and one Indian Language of matriculation standard is must for qualification.

I am a student of Architecture, presently doing 2nd year of the course. Can I give the CSE if so what subject is suitable for me?
Yes. You can give the CSE. There are set of subjects given by the UPSC. This is available in the book also.
If you have gone through the previous questions & answers of this section have got an idea.
In our opinion, you can go for Geography / Public Administration / Sociology / Psychology. In the prelims, it may be Geography. In the mains one of the remaining suggested subject may be selected. To select the optional, first go through the detailed first go through the detailed syllabus and questions papers.

I am from IIT. I think that in IAS main exam taking physics as optional, good student can get above 400+marks but normally student those taking physics getting very less marks near about 300. What is the reason behind this?
This is same for maths........
Why are engineering student normally not taking physics, chemistry and maths? They are taking arts subject. What is your view about scaling?
You are right. This was true in 90s. IITians used to take maths & physics or maths & chemistry and crack it. It was in early 90s technocrats started to top the civil services and the students from arts / humanities front left behind.
The Satish Chandra Committee recommended an introduction of Essay in the Civil services in 1993 as a level playing field for humanities also. IITians found difficulty in writing essay.
Even after the introduction of essay in the CSE mains, the humanities left behind. IITians were ruling the reign again.
In the year 2001, the syllabus of maths, physics & chemistry were revamped. This made IITians left behind the race. The exam pattern of maths being made tough, aspirants don't opt for it.
In fact there is no scaling in the mains. It is there only in the prelims.
These exam reforms made humanities subjects in the driver seat. The justification given for giving importance to humanity subjects are many. So it is the time for humanity / arts subjects in the civil services.

I am from the North-Eastern region domiciled in Assam. Is it mandatory for me to take up a language other than English in the mains?
Those students who are from North East, don't have any scheduled Indian Languages, they need not write the exam for the qualifying purpose. They have to write
English exam and they are exempted from the Indian Language paper exam. If you go through the detailed to notification, it is given.

I've done my graduation in Botany, Zoology& Chemistry Now I'm pursuing my post graduation in Biotechnology What are the possible combination of subjects can I take? Can I opt for Public Administration and History? I'm in 2nd year When is the right time to start the preparation?
There is no need to worry. It will be easy for you, once you start preparing. But these two exams will come back to back i.e. next day like that you will not have time for revising the subject. Though History is easy, it is not & scoring well. The success ratio of History is also poor Compared to many subjects.
We suggest you to take Public Administration and other optional may be zoology / Botany. If you are not comfortable with one of the two, you can think of opting Anthropology. As you are a Science student, Anthropology will be easy for you. It is scoring and the success ratio also very good.
If you have a problem in selecting these two, please go through the detailed syllabus and old questions, which will give an idea to select an appropriate optional.
As far as starting the preparation is concerned, you can start now itself. If you go through the tips given in the Book, which will give you an idea about the preparation also.

Can Indian literature be taken as one of the optionals for Prelims?
Indian literature cannot be taken as an optional in the preliminary. You can take one Indian literature as an optional in the mains only.

I am a B.E in Computer Science. Should I take maths as the second optional? My first optional is Chemistry.
After the change in the syllabus in 2001, maths has become really difficult. Even IITians do not opt for maths The maths result is also not good after 2001. You can take geography as a second optional. Otherwise (if you have good command over language) you can go for public Administration / Sociology / Psychology.

How is maths as a optional subject?
We assume that you must be an Engineering graduate or Maths graduate.
After the new Maths syllabus the Maths score has come down drastically. Normally IIT graduates used to opt for Maths and Physics or Maths and Chemistry or Maths and one of the Engineering subject. Now, they are also changing their plans. It has become tough in fact it is being made tough to compensate Humanities. Please keep this in you mind.
Still students opt for the subject. As we always say that it is the perception by the individual. It also varies from person to person. If you are really interested and determined, you can go ahead with your decision. But you have to keep something in your mind. ie While working for some success, one should keep all angles in the mind. That is the complete strategy and key to the SUCCESS. Hear from all sources but take decision of your own because you are the one going to appear in the Examination.

I am doing B.H.M.S. Our syllabus is same as MBBS except three subject. Medicine, Pharma, Philosophy. Am I eligible for IPS? if yes please tell me that what will be the optional subject.
You are very much eligible . There is no separate exam IPS. It is through combined civil services conducted by UPSC. If you go through the model notification and scheme of examination, you will get answer for all your questions
First go through the tips given in the site.
If your syllabus matches with medical sciences, you can go for it. But you have to be in top among medical optional students. You can only decide about your capabilities. As far as main exam is concerned medical science is the best performing optional.
If the medical science doesn't fit, you can opt for zoology / sociology / psychology for prelims. For mains, you can go for anthropology it will be easy for you.

I'm a pharmacist (B-pharm) and am not able to decide what subject to opt for the prelims 2006. Please guide to choose my subject.
Zoology should be a good choice, as you have some basic idea about the subject. This will be easy for you. If you are not comfortable with Zoology, you can think of Geography/ Sociology/ Psychology / Botany. The second optional may be Anthropology, as it has some concurrence with your subject. You can think of taking Chemistry also as a first optional.
Before selecting the subject, first go through the detailed syllabus and previous years' questions of sorted subjects, which will give you an idea about your knowledge levels for appropriate selection.

I am a pharmacy graduate. I want to appear for CSE. I have not started preparation for the exam. Please guide me how I can start my preparation and in which subject I can apply. Please help me on this point.
For the basic strategy and the preparation, you can go through the tips given in the Book. From General Studies to optional preparation strategy is given in the book.
As far as you are concerned, you can select Zoology/Sociology/Psychology as an optional. If you are not comfortable with Zoology, you can go for either of the two. For the Mains, you can select Anthropology as you can understand the subject well. If you are well-versed with any Indian Literature, you can opt for one of the Indian Literatures as an optional.
We also suggest you to go through the detailed syllabus of the subject and old questions before taking the decision. While selecting the subject, you have to consider your interest also so that the year-long preparation doesn't get hampered. The preparation tempo is maintained throughout till you achieve success.

Please tell me about cut off marks in physics in Prelims
It is about 90-95. It is also to be noted that there is no cut off for an individual subject. The cut off is worked out after totaling both the optional and general studies marks

Is there is alphabetical order of papers in mains scheme?
It is based on number of students. Those subjects with most number of students will be the first paper. Then it follows the order. All the Literature papers are held in one day.

My friends are telling both the IAS and IES exams are same. Is it true?
No. The Engineering services Exam ( IES ) Question papers are more direct and strictly syllabus oriented academic in Nature. With the same syllabus the civil services exams - UPSC exam are more applied , analytical and inferred nature. For this one has to understand the concepts well and able to correlate different subjects in a presenting the answer.

What subjects are advisable for an MBA graduate for IAS exams?
If you are good at Management, you can go for Management. Otherwise you can go with Public Administration. This can be of your first optional. The second optional may be Psychology/ Sociology/ Geography -in the order of preference.

How do the chances to qualifying differ if you take a subject like Management which very few people take? Also why is management taken by only few people even though if is less complicated than other subjects?
The competition is among management students only in the first instance. You have to be in the top among Management students. Normally specialised subjects like Management, Medical Sciences, Engineering, Agriculture are opted by the students from the same background only. Other popular subjects like History, Geography, Public Administration. Sociology are opted by students with different background, When the number of candidates increases, the chances of selection also increases. In the Preliminary selection the percentage of candidates selected from various subjects are more or less the same out of total appearances. There may a little variation. The person scores top in his subject including general studies has the bright chance of selection in the Preliminary. There is a scaling/Normalisation system in the Preliminary Exam, which gives fairness in getting selected from all optionals. In the mains there is no such criteria.
I am doing my final year in MBA. I am keenly interested in CSE. What are the steps I have to take in deciding the papers for the exam?
First of all, you should select a subject which is interesting to you.

• Then see whether you have any idea about the subject or not. That will help you to understand the subject easily.
• Availability of proper and standard books.
• If possible, previous success, or the history of a particular subject
• Select a second subject whose exam will come after some gap in the Mains examination, so that you can revise the subject.

Can you give the success rate of management subject and the scoreability and popularity of management in civil services exams vis-à-vis other subjects. Also please guide regarding the time to be allocated for preparing management optionals provided I have already studied management during my PGDM at IIM.
The success ratio varies from year to year and from subject to subject. As per the UPSC record one year it is 1:6. The next year it was 1:31. These are the subjects taken by the specialists only. It depends upon the evaluator also. In the first instance, the number of Main appearance was 59. Next year there are 31 persons. Only one qualified. So, there are many factors involved in it. If you see the Interview of Topper - Manish Kumar, you can see the good score. So, it all depends on the individual's performance.
Regarding the time allotment, if you go through the common strategy given by us, you will get an idea where you stand. Accordingly, you have to allot the time. If you are week, give more time and if you are comfortable, give normal time. However, you should not neglect the subject even you have studied well.

I am doing 1st B.Sc(agri). I have much interest in physics. Can I take it as one of the optional?
Don't get in to the problem. You may have interest but it is not practical. it will be suicidal. In Civil Services one should have practical approach.
We suggest you to take Botany or Geography as your second optional. Because these two subjects are related to Agriculture. In fact , if you take geography, it will be useful in the General Studies also. So one should adopt a practical and workable strategy

What is success ratio of Chemistry and Telugu literature as optional in mains?
The success ratio of Chemistry is 1:10 and Telugu Literature is about 1:6. This may vary from year to year.

Is Hindi Literature subject good for CSE?
Compared with other Literatures, Hindi is not doing well at all. The success ratio of Hindi Literature is about 1:38.The success ratio of most of the Indian Literatures are about 1:6 to 1:8.

I am graduating in commerce (first year) and I intend to opt for Commerce & Public Admn. as my optionals. I am confused whether to do my CA or PG.
Yes. You can go with commerce and Public Administration. In our opinion, you should go for CA, which has good future. If you compare M.com and CA., CA has better future. Even after completing CA, you can go for Civil services exam.
Civil services exams have lots of uncertainties. It is very difficult to as certain the result. Civil services exam is also like a running race. We don't know about other fellow runners. There are many factors involved in one's success most of the factors are uncontrollable.
So, first do your CA, then go for Civil Services.

I have done my graduation in Commerce stream and now I wanted to opt for Civil Services Exam is that easy for me to opt for it.
If you are strong in your Commerce Subject you can opt for it as a first optional. Otherwise you can think of taking Public Administration. Lots of study of material is available for the subject. Second optional may be Sociology/ Psychology/Geography (If you can do physical Geography well).Please go through the syllabus old questions before taking decision.

what is the success ratio of students of Commerce & Accountancy, Public Administration, Geography as per the UPSC? I had commerce stream in my class XII. So giving 3-4 months time to the syllabus of Commerce & Accountancy which has not been covered by the class XII Syllabus of CBSE is sufficient for good preparation of the subject. Is the level of toughness of the IAS exam of Commerce & Accountancy is equivalent, less or more tough when compared with C.A. & I.C.W.A exams? Please Advice.
The Success Ratio also varies from year to year. The analysis is based on the latest available record. These all are for the Main Exam only.
The Success Ratio of Commerce and Accountancy is 1:9.75; Public Administration is 1:12.69 ; Geography is 1:9.1
The syllabus of Civil ervices Exam is of M.Com standard. We don't think that can be compared with 12th Commerce stream.
Regarding the Exams of CA, ICWA one has to pass, so it is tough in that aspect. In the Civil Services, it is the score matters. Here, it is a running race, one has to compete with many for few posts. So, first go through the detailed syllabus and previous years question papers, that will give an idea. Read the Strategy column in the book. We hope your doubt is cleared.

I am doing 1st year in agriculture. Which choice are better Agriculture and Botany or Agriculture and Geography. Please tell me the ratio of these two combinations.
Both the Combinations are fine. There is about 150 marks out of 600 marks is common in both Geography and Botany, with agriculture. The success ratio of Agriculture is about 1:6 Geography is about 1:10, Botany is also the same, or little more.
There is an added advantage if an agriculture student takes geography as a second optional.
1. Geography is a main component in the general studies.
2. Agricultural geography, climatology, Indian agriculture will be easy for agriculture graduates.
3. Geography is scoring and safe optional.
4. If you read geography, you will have wider knowledge base.
5. Very good material is available.

I want to know about Medical Sciences as an optional paper. I am a dental Graduate, currently doing my internship, and my knowledge of medical subjects is confined to in and around the mouth (at the max. about head and neck) even though we read about all the main medical Subjects. I don't want to change my optionals.
There is a strategy already available in the site. First go through it. Then go through the detailed syllabus and the previous years question papers of Medical Sciences. This will give an idea about the subject, whether to select a particular subject or not.
Here you have to keep one thing in the mind - only Medical Graduates will appear with this subject. Can you withstand with them? When there is a competition among the specialists, one has to double sure before opting for the subject. One has to top among the fellow optional holders, so that the chances of getting selected is bright. This is a running race, not the qualifying exam/University exam.
As far as your second optional is concerned, Kannada will be a better chance because of its high success ratio.
For the first optional, you have to think about it. The success ratio of History is far below standard. You can think of opting for Sociology/ Zoology (As this subject will be easy for you as you have some background). Still, whenever you have a doubt, you are always welcome to clear them with us.
Please follow the common strategy (Litmus Test ie Reading the detailed syllabus and previous years question papers before jumping into any conclusion) before selecting the subject.

I want to take Maths and Medical Science as my optional subject.
It is really a rare combination medical person opting for maths. It is really interesting. As you have stated that you are comfortable with maths and can give long quality working hours.
In our opinion, medical science is the best among all optionals. The success ratio also 1:3. This is highest among all optionals.
After 2001, syllabus change maths becomes really tough and tough. Even IITians don't go for this optional. So, you have to revisit your decision. Please go through the previous years questions and try to solve it. If you can perform it well, you can go ahead.
If you find it difficult, follow one of the following optionals. Anthropology / Psychology / Sociology. Normally medicos go with medical sciences and one of the above.

I have completed diploma in optometry (3yrs) and I received a certificate from FOREC. I have also done my fellowship (1yr) from. Am I eligible to appear for CSE?
Diploma may not be taken as a degree. You have to have a degree to appear for the exam. Even diploma holders in Engineering do AIME to write civil services. You can do a degree in an arts subject, which will be easy for you. There are Institutes giving course / degree in one sitting exam also.

Can we opt management as a subject for prelims?
No. It is an optional in the Mains only.

I have done B.Sc Medical and MSc Biotechnology. I am thinking of taking botany and zoology as optionals. How do you rank NCERT books regarding these subjects?
You can go ahead but NCERT books are for basics only. They are really good.

I am not comfortable in writing essay. Please suggest the way to improve.
Practice marks perfection. If you go through the previous year questions, you will get an idea. Normally the essay covers all spheres of General studies like, society, Women, current Affairs, science etc. One has to have good writing skills and to know correlating facts.
The UPSC tests a person's writing skills, diction, presentation, facts & figures, arguing capacity discussion, problem solving etc. So, the essay should have introduction, body of contents and good conclusion.
There are books available in the market, which may give small tips but you have to have your originality.

Please suggest the topics to be prepared for general essay paper or any books for reading.
There are books in the market for Essay preparation. But these books can be taken as an guide and that is not the entire spectrum of essay preparation. Normally these topics are based on some theme and it should be supported with the latest trends. For example, there is a topic on Women Empowerment, the question may be any form i.e. direct/ indirect/twisted/inferred. Here one should synthesize his/her thought and how to go about/present about. If you read the tips given in the book, you will get some idea.
Essay writing is not memorizing something and vomiting in the exam hall. One should give proper and sufficient examples for his/her arguments. These supporting points will not be available in one place. This has to be consolidated with lots of reading. This will not come overnight. So, Essay doesn't need any special preparation. If you are preparing the General Studies well, that is more than enough. Essay is nothing but consolidating the facts and figures studied in the General Studies, present it in a cohesive and orderly manner. In the Essays, not only the base knowledge of a person is tested but also synthesizing power, presentation skills, coherence of thoughts, argumentative power with supporting facts, diction etc.

On what topics should one concentrate while preparing for essay?
The essay is a test of ones world view and orientation in life besides ones ability to express things in clear perspective. One should not cram /mugup topics for the essay but try to develop a holistice view about isssues in life and ones surrounding as a educated and socially conscious youth of India would.

I am a computer engineer & currently pursuing my MBA from the top Business school in India. I am planning to take CS examination in 2007. I plan to opt public administration & pschology as my optional subjects. Kindly compare psychology with Geography. Kindly also let me know the best subject for prelims among public ad, pschology & geography.
Your choice is fine. Public Administration and Psychology are really doing well. The success ratio of Public Administration is about 1:14. Psychology is about 1:6 and Geography is 1:10
All three subjects are popular optionals. It is opted by the candidates from different streams of Educational background.
For Public Administration, one should have good command over Language. This will be little useful in the General Science Preparation. One can score 350 plus in the mains if he/she do it well.
Psychology needs an understanding and logical conclusion. So, one should have good understanding of theories and its application and inferences. It also needs relatively good command over Language. It is also scoring.
As for as Geography is concerned, it is little easy compared to above two subjects. If one does the map reading well, score will be high. It is useful in the General studies paper also

Please give some reference books for Bengali compulsory paper for CSE (mains)
There is no special book for language, compulsory paper. The questions are Matriculation standard only. But it covers all the classes from 6th to 10th. You can just glance through the State Bengali Language Text book.

I am a student of MBA with specialization in HR and I am graduate in B.Sc.(M). I want to appear for CSE. Please Guide me. Please also help me in choosing the best study material.
The details about the Preparation and tips are available on the book. First go through the details of model notification and scheme of Examination. Then select the optional subjects for the Prelims and Mains. Once you are clear with it, go to the strategy for preparation given in the book. Follow the steps given in it.
As you are a Maths and Management person, you can think of taking Management as one of the optional subjects. If you are not confident in Management, you can think of taking Public Administration as a first optional. If you are strong in any Indian Literature, you can opt for that Literature as a second optional. Otherwise, you can think of taking one of the following as a second optional. i.e Geography (you may opt this as a first optional also)/ Sociology/ Psychology/ Anthropology (If you have interest in Genetics, evolution etc).
Above all, you should go through the detailed syllabus and previous years' questions papers and your interest towards the subject. If you decide the optionals based on the above facts, it will be easy for your Success in the Civil Services Exam. For the preparation strategy, read the tips given in the book.

I am a software engineer working in a top notch s/w products company. I did B.Tech in Electronics & Communications branch. I have planned to go for History & Geography.
Both History and Geography are fine but you have to consider the following before going for these two.
1. Both has vast syllabus
2. Both are useful in General studies
3. Both exams ( in the mains ) will be back to back or just two days gap.
4. Approach to both the subjects are different.
5. Both are general and popular optionals, it is easy to read. But Geography will be little tougher ( Physical Geography ) than History.
6. Geography is better scoring than History.
7. Past years shows, the success ratio of Geography is three times higher than History.
8. One has to have good analytical capacity to give Scientific approach to arts subject like History.
As far as Correspondence course is concerned, History has more outlets than Geography. But we suggest you to go through the previous years questions and come to a Conclusion.
Other subject for optional may be Public Administration/ Sociology/ Psychology.

I am in the first year BA (History) from Distance education. I also work in night shift (8-4) for an IT company. How should I prepare that I build up my base strongly because I want to clear CSE the very year I become a graduate. Also, I wish to choose Geography as an optional subject. Is it the right choice though it is not on my BA course? How should I begin, right from the timetable to the study doses? I am even ready to give up my job for the preparation. How should I prepare for civil services exams?
You have not mentioned your age. You are still in the first year of degree (History). History & Geography as optional, are good, but taxing due to the vast syllabus and these two exams will follow each other just after General Studies exams. If you can manage revision without any time gap for your before the exams, it is fine; Otherwise you may think of taking some other optional like Psychology/Sociology or one of the Indian literatures you are well versed with.
Regarding the job, don't leave it at any time because Civil services exams are highly uncertain. If you clear Prelims, you can take three months leave for the Mains preparations, you can even take one month leave for the prelims.
Regarding time management, it is difficult as you have odd duty hours. It is only you who can decide about the time management - like how many hours for rest, entertainment, and other core activities. Keep your priorities on top and design a time table and follow it sincerely. Don't waste your holidays.
On what basis candidates will be selected for mains through prelims if one subject say (geography) opted by more people and other subject by less people what will criterion for selection
There are many theories we heard from different sources. There are two methods it is highly possible.
1. Proportionate method
2. Normalization / standardization method
In the proportional method, for example, the total selection to be made is about 10,000 out of 3,00,00 students means.1:30 will be the selection. i. e. one out 30 candidates in every subject will be selected irrespective of their score.
In the second theory, one optional (highest appearance) will be taken as a standard optional and the scores of this optional kept as it is. Then the score of other optionals are normalized / standardized with that optional. For example, the top mark of the standard optional is 270/300 means. One optionals top score is 250/300 then it will be equaled with that score of 270. If any another optional score is 290/300 means. The score is bought down to 270/300. Then the score of General studies is added to it. Then final ranking is given. UPSC is saying this selection process, as secret one. So, nobody knows the reality except the UPSC's Exam department.
In our opinion the second process is the standard one. But whatever the process, one should be in top among his/her own optional holders.

I am in 2 nd year MBBS. I have studied in Kannada medium upto 10th std, so i am weak in English Speaking .But I am interested in science subjects. what are optionals suited for me. Don't worry. There are people who study in Vernacular medium till 12th standard and directly enter college (professional degrees like yours) in English medium. Believe in yourself, you can improve English:
1.Follow some standard English newspaper
2.Listen to All Indian Radio New and spotlight regularly.
3.Always try to speak in English with friends
4.Try to speak / open discussion in English in your class also
Initially, you may be committing mistakes. Don't worry about. Within some period, you will cope up the situation.
You can go with medical Sciences and Psychology / Sociology / Anthropology. 

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OPTIONAL SUBJECT SELECTION FAQ

I am a graduate on Computer Science. I am very much interested to appear for UPSC exam. But now I am in a dilemma to select my optional subject. Engineering and computer students can opt for geography will be easier for science students. If you do good map reading , you can score really well. Then there are some areas in geography , which will be useful for general studies also. The other subject may be sociology/psychology/public administration. To select the option. please go through the detailed syllabus and old questions. that will give an idea to select on appropriate optional.

Has Computer Science been added to the optional subjects in Main examinations?
Not yet. It may or may not come as one of the optionals. It is normally decided by UPSC - whether to include one subject or not.

I am an engineering graduate. I want to take Sanskrit Literature for mains. What difficulties will I face and is coaching necessary for it?
You have to be good in Sanskrit. Good writing skills. In the Literatures, only the writing skill is very important. Some people have this as an inborn quality. You can consult the person who opted for the same recently. To improve the skills, if you feel necessary, you can opt for coaching.

I am an engineering graduate. I want to take Geography as my optional but my medium is Hindi. I came to know that Hindi medium students cannot do well in Civil Service and their score is less than English medium students.
It is not like that. People may be saying that the original standard text books are in English only. It may be difficult for a language student to translate in to his/her language. The other mistakes students used to do that is writing in the language directly in the Exam hall only with out any prior practice.
It is the human tendency that why some one is writing the technical or Science subject in the Indian Language. So, the language person has the draw back in the initial stage itself.
But all are individuals opinion. It varies from person to person. If you believe in you, you can very take the exam in Hindi. Important thing is that you have to have a good practice. If you write/present it in an excellent manner, you are bound to get good marks. So, you can interact with some more candidates, if possible with the similar optional subjects and decide about it. There are many students who cleared the CSE in Hindi Medium after trying their luck in English for one or two failed attempt.
One more thing you have to keep in the mind is that the performance of optional subjects also varies from year to year.

I am student of IIT Delhi pursuing my B.tech in Civil Engineering. I am bit confused about the subjects for CSE , as people insist not to go with civil engg as a subject....and also to take one subject from arts. I have been good in quizzing and geography at my school.
For IIT students, geography will also be a cake walk. This is scoring and safe also. Your quizzing will definitely help here. Whatever you had studied in the schooling only will help you. But it is little advance and those things are really easy. You have to practice good map reading as it has 120 marks out of 600 in the mains.
What your friends say about civil engineering is true. The success ratio of civil engineering is really poor. The trend is humanity subjects. So select a good humanity subject which will be easy for you. When you study with full potential, humanity subjects are really easy. Need little logic that's all.

I am from economics background. I am confused in choosing the second optional whether to take Public Administration or Psychology?
Both psychology and public administration are doing well. You have to choose between the two based on your experience, interest, expertise etc. Read the full syllabus and previous years question papers of both, this will give an idea to select the better one.

I am a fourth year engineering student. I want to know the prospects of opting geography as a subject for the main examination. Also tell me something about the GS paper.
Geography is very good option for science students. Though it is a humanity subject, it has more relevance in science also. The physical geography will be really easy for science graduates have an edge over city/humanity students. If you can do a proper and intelligent map work, you can really score well. Geography study will be useful in general studies also in about 50-60 marks, so geography is a safe and scoring subject for all.
The general studies paper can't be explained in one sentence as paper can not be improved/ studied in short period. The general studies are nothing but whatever we have studied in our school days. Those studies are building blocks of our knowledge. The trend of the present general studies have changed lot. Earlier, the general studies questions were direct but the present day questions are more of an application oriented so one should understand the concept well and should be in a position to apply in practical sense.
For the above reasons, aspirants are first asked to read the NCERT books. Then go for specialized books. The general studies manuals are also nothing but the gist of NCERT books.

Could you please guide me in choosing my optionals between Geography and Psychology for the Prelims? I have studied Science upto 10+2 and BBA in Graduation. Also please tell the time-frame required to complete the course keeping in view the Optional for Pre and Mains (as you suggest) and the strategy to be followed for that?
Both subjects are equally good when we take your basic and degree, both are good combination - from the point of view of Mains. First, go through the syllabus and prelims questions of the previous year, which will give you an idea, as to which subject would be a better choice. Factors such as your interest, basic knowledge, attitude towards the subjects are to be taken care of properly, as that will give an edge to one subject over other.
The question regarding the completion of a subject is really subjective. It depends upon the individual and vary from one person to other. That is why people from the same background and opting for the same subject also get varied marks. It depends on various skills and other attributes of the aspirant as well as the mental make up of the evaluator. Strategy is the common strategy, which is given on the book.

I am a Hindi medium student. I have Public Administration and Geography as my optionals. Please tell me which one shall I opt for the preliminary exam.
For a Hindi medium student, we suggest geography will be a better optional than public Administration you will have good resources for geography also performs better than Public Administration in the civil services.

I am a Hindi medium student. I am an Engineering graduate. I want to know what optionals I should take that will suit my medium, as well as my background.
Geography and Hindi Literature. Geography is safe for you. As far as the second optional is concerned, you can think of taking Public Administration/Sociology/ Philosophy. But follow the strategy given by us properly, so that you select one of the best optionals suited for your success.

I am a Hindi medium student and an engineering graduate. I want to take Indian History in prelims and Philosophy and Sanskrit in mains.
There is no problem, if you can deal all these three subjects. Philosophy is doing well. Why do you want to go for Sanskrit? If you are really good in the Literature, go for it otherwise avoid it. Instead of confusing with History and Sanskrit, you can think of taking Geography. With your Science background, geography will be easier. If you feel, the chances of clearing the Prelims with the History is high, you can go ahead with your present decision.
Before taking the final decision, go through the general strategy given by us. That will clear your doubt.

What are the chances of Zoology subject in Hindi medium for an ordinary B.Sc student ?
The Civil Services Exam is concerned, for the Zoology subject, the Questions are masters level. You can write in Hindi / English. But availability of std books & materials For zoology may be little difficult because of its scientific nature.
As far as, Geography is concern you can very well write it in Hindi. Most of aspirants appear in the exams using Hindi medium.

It has been observed that many toppers are getting around 65% marks only at CSE. Is it not possible to score more than 70%?
If you observe the past record, even getting 60% in all the papers is really difficult. If you see the last year's trend also, the topper got around 60 plus percentage.
This is not the University exam, where you prepare notes and reproduce in the exams to get 90 plus. In the Civil Services, there are criteria fixed by the UPSC for the paper evaluation. UPSC gives a key with some instructions to the Evaluators. They can not award more than 60%. If they award more than that, they have to explain the case also. So, whoever writes extremely well and impresses the examiner, who is also human being will get an edge over others. To clear this, Please read our column "SECRET OF SUCCESS"

I am doing my graduation in Agriculture 3rd year. Help me in choosing the optional for prelim and the mains. What is the success rate of botany as optional and whether it is scoring or not? I am also considering optionals like Sociology and Public administration? Which of these optionals is best considering the fact that my first optional is Agriculture,
Agriculture graduates really perform well in civil services after medical sciences. Both the science and arts subjects are easy for the Agriculture graduates, as they study both in their graduation. So preparation of general studies won't be a problem.
As you are in third year you should start general studies as well. The tips are there in the Book. Just follow it as per the guidance.
As an optional Agriculture is really doing well. The success ratio of Agriculture is about 1:6. to score good marks, follow the strategy given in our website.
The success ratio of Botany is about 1:9 to 1:10.
While selecting the optional one should also consider the following factor.
1. Vastness/Coverage of these subjects.
2. Similarities in the syllabus.
3. Similarities in the question pattern
4. Exam time gap between the subjects. There are times exams are back to back. Persons who need little revision find it difficult if the exams are back to back
5. Usefulness in the general studies preparation.
If we consider all the factors Botany has more close relation with Agriculture as compared to other two. Public Administration is useful in General Studies. Sociology is neither similar nor useful in General Studies.
Other important subject, you missed is Geography. This has similarity with agriculture and useful in the General Studies. Normally agriculture students go for Botany or Geography in general. Other two subjects you have mentioned also are opted by Agriculture students.
Now it is you to decide based on the detailed syllabus, previous years questions and your interest. This will give an idea to select an appropriate subject as second optional.

Your comments on the subjects public Administration and Sociology.
Both the subjects are good. You can go ahead with your preparation. The number of candidates appearing with Public Administration are more than Sociology. In the prelims you have a good chance provided you prepare well. You have to be in top among the Public Administration candidates. As per the UPSC report the success ratio is more for Sociology in the mains than Public Administration. The trend keeps on changing. Now, it is upto you to decide. Even after going through the steps given by us, if you are not clear then do the following.
Just make positive and negative points for both the subjects. Just weigh the subject based on pure objective. ie your success. Study of the Public Administration may be useful in your General studies both in Prelims and Mains.

I am a B.Com Graduate. What subjects I should choose? How to start?
If you are good at, you can opt for Commerce and Accountancy as one of the optionals. It is also doing well
To test your knowledge base, first go through the strategy given in our site. In brief, detailed syllabus and previous years question papers one should be a topper in his own subject, so that the selection also becomes easier.
The second optional may be Public Administrator/Sociology/Psychology/Indian Literature, if you are really good at it. That is good written skills and analytical capacity in the Literature.
The starting can be at any stage. Regarding General Studies, you have to start from scratch if you don't have any idea. Subject also you can start based on the syllabus and previous years question pattern.

I am a 4th Year Law student (Of the five year Law course). How far is the combination of Law and History as optional is advisable? 2) What is the success ratio for these subjects?
Both Law and History are advisable but both have low success ratio. In fact Law is a better optional than History. Normally, 5 year course law graduates used to study History also in their graduation. That is why most of the Law graduates opt for History as this is familiar to them. But one should select some other optional.
The success ratio of History is about 1:35 and Law is about 1:15 there is no subject scoring or not scoring but some subjects have inherent characteristics to impress evaluators. Socially also there are subjects accepted as positive subject in scoralibity.
Law can be one of your optional as you make graduation in Law. You have to present your answer in unique way by proper analysis; expression, presentation etc which can attract the evaluator.
Other combination may be Sociology/Psychology/Philosophy with Law. Otherwise you can take public administration as first optional. Other optional may be sociology/psychology/any Indian literature provided you are good at it. If you are confident in Law, you can go for it also. This can be decided by going through the previous year questions.

I am student of B.A.; LL.B (Hons.), IV Year. I want to know what is the right time for me to start preparation for Civil Services? Which is the best combination with Law? I want to opt from either history or public administration.

Regarding the Civil Services Exam, there is no right time or apt time to start the preparation. In fact the preparation for the General Studies starts at the school level itself. The General Studies questions in the Preliminary are nothing but the basic concepts/applied aspect of the basic concepts studied in the school.
As far as you are concerned, you can start the preparation right now. Now, you can start the preparation for the Law and General studies simultaneously.
As far as the second optional is concerned, you may select Public Administration rather than History. The advantages are
1. Some of the chapters are similar for the both the optionals.
2. Public Administration will be useful for the Mains and Interview as well.
3.This subject will be safer compared to History. But the aspirant is the right person to decide on the optional based on the feedback from successful students, own interest, syllabus and previous years question pattern etc

I completed my B.Sc Biotechnology with Botany Biotechnology and Microbiology as subjects. Please help in choosing optional subjects.
You can select Botany as the first optional as most of the syllabus you must have covered during the graduation. The success ratio of Botany is about 1:9. The second optional may be Zoology. This is also doing well. There is some similarity between these two subjects. The syllabus may be vast. You may think of taking Anthropology. You can understand the scientific terms used in this subject easily. The success ratio is also at par with Botany.
If you feel like taking some humanity subject you can take one of the following subjects. Public Administration/ Sociology/ Psychology. If you are good in one of the listed Indian Literatures, you can also opt for it.

I am a graduate with B.Sc degree and subjects Psychology ,Botany and Zoology. I am planning for moving to Delhi for IAS preparations. Can we choose subjects other than what we had at graduation level. what should be the criterion for choosing the subjects? Also is it more important to finish with your PG before preparing for IAS or even graduates like me can go ahead.
You can select any two subjects from the UPSC's listed optional subjects. This need not be of the subject, which you have studied in the college. Preparation from Delhi will be definitely advantageous for the students, compared to those preparing from remote areas.
There is no basic criteria in the selection, but there are some combinations, which are not allowed. You can not take those two subjects together. The list available in the book.
Though there is no criteria given by the UPSC, students normally prefer to opt for few optionals. You can also keep these points in mind before the selection.
1. May opt for the subjects , which are interesting to you. So that you don't get bored of this year long preparation.
2. Informally people call some subject as popular and some are specialised and some are least popular. The popular subjects are opted by the candidate from any stream. These are like History, Geography, Public Administration, Sociology etc. Technical or specialised subjects are Medicine, All branches Engineering , Veterinary Sciences, Agriculture etc. There are subjects, which are not preferred by majority of the candidates.
3. You should also see that both the optional exams are not held back to back. Normally, the examination schedule drawn based on the number of candidates. Highest number will be held first followed by the next like that.
4. See the books and material availability. You can also see, if there is need for any coaching. If at all you need a coaching, will you get the good coaching centre and the teaching as well?
There are many Coaching Institutes run English medium coaching only. As per our policy, We don't recommend any coaching Institute to the aspirants/ visitors.

In the CSE main exam, on completion of each answer next answer has to be commenced on next page if by over sight this is not adhered to will it be penalized by deducting marks-
There are no such rules and regulations. In the main exam, students are asked to use a separate page for new question because of some technical reasons. ie one has to a fill the page number of a every new question in the first page. The first page with the page details sent to the examiner /evaluator. If the new question is answered in a separate page, it will be easy for the evaluator also to award marks properly. The examiner may make some comments inside the paper. But marks are given in the first page only. If you write two questions in one page, it may create some confusion. But the evaluator, normally doesn't deduct/penalise marks for this over sight

I am doing BA with subjects Education, English, and political Science, Can I appear in CSE with education as optional, is there enough study material available for this subjact, is it scoring? How is English as optional ? what other subject in your opinion is good for me?
There is no optional subject called education in the UPSC syllabus. The syllabus prescribed by the UPSC is available in the Book. First go through it. At BA level, we don't advise you to go for English. The questions are masters level, we suggest you go for Political science as one of the optionals second optional may be Psychology/Sociology one of the listed Indian literature if you are really good at it
We also suggest you to go through the detailed syllabus and previous years questions and decide about the second optional you should select the subject, which is interesting to you so that you can study the subject without any hindrance. You may not lose the tempo of preparation also.

I have secured 2 nd division marks in my 10th examination 48% . Am I eligible for CSE or not. Is it necessary to take coaching for preparation.
You are eligible to write civil services. As per the eligibility criteria prescribed by the UPSC, one should possess a degree, which should be UGC recognised . So your degree must be a recognised by UGC. The UPSC examiner, who will evaluate your main paper never will come to know about your degree and divisions.
As far as Coaching is concerned it depends upon the individual's decision. After selecting the optional, first go through the questions, which will give an idea. Follow the strategy given by us in the Book. This will give an idea where do you stand? Then find out the way to improve yourself. If you have more doubt, then you are welcome

I am working as a software engineer from last 5 years after completing my B.Tech. in Electronics Engg. First, Should I go for it because I am doing the job and can get 5-8 hours max a day for study? Second, which optionals should I go with? i have in mind Geography, Public Administration and Psychology.
It is really interesting that a person, even after working for 5 years coming forward for civil services.
The time of 5-8 hours or working days and 10-12 hours on holidays will be more than enough for an aspirant like you to succeed in the civil services. But we suggest you to go for one month leave before prelims and 2-3 months leave before mains, if you are serious about the exams.
As far as optionals are concerned, we suggest to Engineering graduates to go for Geography as a first option if they don't have any subject in their mind. A month other three optionals you can select either public Administration or Psychology you should select the optional based on your interest and availability of other resources. As per the UPSC record, psychology is better performing subject than public Administration.

Can you please tell me the success ratio of Geography, Sociology and which one is the best scoring subject among the two?
The success ratio of Geography is about 1:10. The success ratio of sociology is 1:9. This success ratio also varies from year to year.
The scoring or not scoring is again subject for discussion. It depends purely on the individual's talent and capacity. In the mains there are about 1000 students appear with Geography and 500 students with Sociology

I just want to know whether my focus should be only on prelims now or I should study for mains syllabus along with prelims .My first optional is Public Administration and second is Geography.
Yes. One's approach to civil services preparation should be holistic approach . The General studies and the optional should be prepared with both prelims, mains, Essay and even Interview point of view. But you can leave the Interview point of view at present once you study well for the mains, that will make you to do the essay part well. The Prelims needs an exhaustive and broad spectrum study but the mains needs intensive and topic oriented. First make a structure for prelims & mains preparation. Then follow it.
The prelims point of preparation needs recollecting capacity and mains preparation needs remembrance capacity. So, you have to blend both the talent. The preparation of Public Administration will help in the Polity part of General studies.

I am doing my 3rd year engineering in electrical and electronics. Suggest me some optionals and their success ratio. I am planning to take up Electrical Engineering and Public Administration as my optionals.
The success ratio of Electrical Engineering is not good. There are 2 - 3 people only clear main exam out of 100 aspirants wrote with Engineering as an optional. So you have to revisit you decision.
Public Administration a good optional and its success ratio is about 1:12. Other optional, you can think of Geography. Its success ratio is about 1:10. In fact, you can go for Geography as a first optional. Other optional you can think is either psychology or Anthropology ( being a science student, you will understand the subject well ). The success ratio of Psychology is about 1:6 The success ratio of Anthropology is about 1:9.

I am a B .Tech (I Year) student. I aspire to be an I.A.S officer. My question is that I have decided to take Geography as the preliminary subject & I am thinking of taking up Electrical as my second option. But the big question is that while I feel confident in Geography as I have been finding it quite easy, I am slightly hazy about
Electrical, as I am finding difficulty in applying the concepts in numericals. Time management is a big issue as I have huge course load.
Time management is a big problem for most of the aspirants. In fact this problem persists with others also. You are very clear about your objective. Then 50% of the problem is already solved.
Your decision about the optionals are really perfect. Geography is a very good optional, safe and scoring also.
Regarding your own subject, Electrical Engineering, good to stick to it for the present. As you are in the first year, there is lot of time to think of other subject. What you have to do now is to study the subject well. Read the full syllabus and have the old question papers also. Sort out the questions of mains as per your college syllabus, so that you can prepare the subject side by side in the UPSC standard. This will make lots of difference ie Normal student's approach and Civil Services' aspirants approach. This will make you an expert in Electrical Engineering also.
You find Geography easy because you had already studied Geography in the school. But, you have never had an exposure to Electrical Engineering. In the process of learning, it will also become easy in due course.
Regarding the General Studies preparation, you have to study the NCERT books again. As you are a Science student, you need not concentrate on Science. Geography is becoming another optional, so there is no need for GS preparation for Geography also. At present you have to concentrate on Polity, Economy, History. Current Affairs will develop automatically, if you keep abreast with latest national and international happenings. Read your tips and follow the same.
Regarding time management,. you have to target all holidays and vocations. Have a timetable for the whole day. One should make his/her own plan to follow it because they only know their positive and negative points. Don't be a bookworm always. Have time games and other entertainment also. These entertainments should be healthy. This should not be an obstacle to your objective. Have a good friends circle so that you can discuss various things. This age is really important, once you miss it, you will never get it back, but the same period of life is delicate, so "HANDLE WITH CARE" . So, one should have a judicious mixture of all the above. Morning hours are really very good for memorizing facts, for your brain is fresh after a good night's sleep. Still, if you find a problem to make a study Schedule, feel free to ask us.

I am an engineering student, doing my second year in electronic instrumentation and control engineering. How to select an optional and mains papers
For the General Studies you can go through the site and follow the tips.
As far as the selection of optional is concerned, you have to follow some basics.
If the subjects are of your interest, you can read the subject without any problem ie continue the same tempo throughout the preparation. Then you have to see the subject, which had some relevance in your career, so that there is no problem in understanding. In case, it is not so, select the subject, which you feel would be easy for preparation. The last and final criterion is - do you have the access to proper and standard books/ guides for your preparation?
Our advice to you in general, is that you can think of taking Geography as an optional. This will be easy for you because of your Science background. If you possess good writing skills, you can think of opting for some humanities subject like Psychology/Sociology/ Public Administration. For the Mains, you may think of opting for one of the Indian Literatures, if you are really good at that Literature. Hindi Literature is not doing well in comparison to other regional Languages.
Whatever the subject, you have to go through the detailed syllabus and the previous year question papers to decide the option. This will give a broad picture about the subject. If possible, you can interact with some successful students in the same subject.
But you are going to prepare, so apply your mind and decide on your own with the all inputs received from different quarters.

I am Hindi medium student . What is the success ratio of Hindi Literature? How can I get 100 % marks in mapping in Geography?
The Success ratio of Hindi Literature is about 1:31. The success ratio of Geography is about 1:9. One can get more than 60% if he/she does the exam well. The scoring of a subject is concerned, it is difficult to tell. If you read the "SECRET OF SUCCESS" Column in the Book. You will get the clear picture of the evaluation also.
As far as mapping is concerned, if depends on the exact marking, notes about the marking ( 25 words ) and key words relating to the point. For example, NARMADA river is asked, you have to mark it properly first. The other key words are west flowing, flowing between, source, length and other key details relating to it. If the key given by the UPSC is fulfilled the evaluator will give 5 out of 6 for one spot. Some one may give 5.5 also not 6 out of 6. Anyhow it is far better than other written answers, which will fetch you around 30-35 out of 60 marks.
The medium of exam is not at all a problem, how do you present your paper, which will make the difference.