(Strategy) UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 2 of 5) - Notes, Newspapers and Books Mrunal

8/7/13
[Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 2 of 5) : Notes, Newspapers and Books Mrunal
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NOVEMBER 3RD, 2012
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[Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 2 of 5) : Notes, Newspapers and Books
From the previous Act I, I hope youve understood the mindset our Blood Enemy (UPSC). Now it is time to gather and sharpen weapons required to defeat him.
Act II: Weapons of Mass Destruction Weapon#5: Your Own notes Types of Notes #1: Notes on Margin #2: Handwritten Notes #3: Computer Notes and Mindmaps #4: Readymade Notes A) Notes of Toppers B) Readymade Coaching class notes and Material Weapon #4: Internet Over-reliance on internet= Bad Weapons #3: Magazines A) Yojana and Kurukshetra How to subscribe to Yojana and Kurukshetra? B) CST, PD, Chronicle, Wizard Marketing Propagandas Which competitive magazine to use? Timeframe for current affairs? Do I need to follow more than one Competitive Magazine? Frontline, EPW, The Economist, Outlook etc Weapon #2: The Newspapers Weapon #1: Standard reference books What is this Older NCERTs? Newer/Younger NCERTs List of *NOT* recommended booklist General Studies (GS) Manual Weapons of UPSC Negative marking Appendix: Download Links
Act II: Weapons of Mass Destruction

You need five set of weapons 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Standard Reference books (SRB) Newspaper (The Hindu/Indianexpress only) Magazines Internet Your own notes (assembled using the parts of above four weapons)
These weapons provide fire two types of ammunition 1. Facts : features of Government scheme, powers of President, reasons for the spread of disease, some physics concept responsible for mechanism of xyz instrument. 2. Fodder: if UPSC examiner was a buffalo, how would you please him? Ofcourse by throwing some grass fodder at him. Fodder is required mostly @Mains, Essay and interview. Pros and cons of a Government scheme / policy, reasons suggestions-analysis of xyz socio-economic-environmental problem= these are some examples of fodder. Postal study material and readymade coaching notes = Desi country made weapons (katta and Tamanchaa), most of the time they misfire or dont fire when you pull the trigger. So you should not over-rely on such Desi-weapons. Now lets see how to effectively utilize these weapons. In reverse order
Weapon#5: Your Own notes

Q. Why notes making = important? Well the same reason why practicing math sums is important for CAT exam= To succeed.
mrunal.org/2012/11/strategy-upsc-civil-service-exam-ias-ips-csat-general-studies-part2-booklist-yojana-pratiyogita-darpan.html#1 1/13
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1. Syllabus of UPSC exam is extremely large. Even if youre done with the core/static theory portion, the new current affairs keep piling every day. 2. Today, if you understand a topic from xyz book, magazine, newspaper or website but cannot recall it in the exam hall after five months, then whole exercise is useless. 3. If youre not processing and consolidating information in compact notes form, then on the night before exam youll have so many heaps of books, newspapers and magazines that could fill up a small loading rickshaw! Youll be under extreme stress and frustration on what to read and what to skip?
Types of Notes #1: Notes on Margin

Basically you highlight important lines in a book and then write some important summery/keywords/phrases on the margins of every book page. Works well for NCERTs, GS Manuals, M.Laxmikanth, Bipin Chandra and so on. doesnt work well, if youre supposed to prepare a topic after consolidating information from multiple sources. (Indo-US relations for example) Doesnt work well, if it is a secondary reference book. (i.e. some xyz book from library, wasnt written for IAS exam but got some good facts/fodder in one or two chapters). In that case, ideal way was to write a separate handwritten summery note.
#2: Handwritten Notes

Made from Newspapers, standard reference books, magazines, websites. How to make notes out of newspapers, is already explained in a separate article CLICK ME 1. When you make notes, please be conscious that youre not doing it with a 90s mindset: i.e. too much dates, names and numbers. 2. If you can remember something as such then no need to incorporate such data in your note. For example India got independence on 15th August 1947=dont write. 3. You dont have to copy the sentences verbatim. Because that is identical to making a photocopy! Just write keywords and phrases, avoid writing full sentences. Write full sentence, only if it some extremely important quote / fodder statement. 4. Notes need not be grammatically correct or pure chaste politically correct diplomatic language. You can mix up Hindi with English, proverbs, slangs, profanity, filmy dialogues even to the point of obscenity . whatever makes it easy to revise and recall the information. Keep in mind youre not making notes to impress someone, youre making notes for quick revision.
#3: Computer Notes and Mindmaps

If youre reading papercopy of a book, newspaper or magazine, it is easy to make handwritten notes simultaneously. But if youre reading something on internet or PDF file, it may not be convenient. Example softwares: To organize notes/data 1. Evernote 2. Microsoft Onenote 2007/2010/2013 3. Traditional Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel. To create mindmaps 1. Freemind 2. Mindjet Mindmanager
There is no one size fits for all. In certain topics, Mindmapping would be useful, but in some topics a simple Excel datasheet would work just fine (for example list of persons in news or Science tech 2 markers.) I had created an Auto-notemaker computer script, basically it helps you copy phrases from pdf files and websites. CLICK ME (works perfect on WinXP, not so well on Win7) In the mains exam, question papers are quite lengthy. Handwriting speed matters. Therefore donot maintain only computer notes. Also make handwritten notes as and where required. Thatd indirectly help you improve writing speed.
#4: Readymade Notes A) Notes of Toppers

You can find notes of previous years toppers (Om Kasera, Neeraj Singh, Kshitij Tyagi) in the download section of www.Mrunal.org/download Such notes give you inspiration and indirect hints on the Art of notes making. You will find some good facts and fodder in such notes. However, Notes of toppers should not be your first line of defense or primary weapons because, 1. if he could memorize xyz thing without notes, he wouldnt have incorporated such data in his notes. 2. In many places hed have written sentences, that would make limited sense to you (but theyd help him connect point x with y) after all he wrote the notes for his easy revision and not yours. 3. He may have skipped some topics or chapters because he did not find them exam-worthy.
B) Readymade Coaching class notes and Material

It can be of two types
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1. Static = dealing with theoretical part of GS or optionals (History, Geography, literature etc.) 2. Current affairs As we saw in Act I, the Static notes of coaching classes, lost their significance under UPSCs BackbreakingTM Move. Regarding the current affairs notes= nowadays the famous classes intentionally delay the release of current affairs books/notes- to prevent UPSC spies from changing the question paper. So, in the coming years, youll find such material flooding in streets, just 15-20 days before the exam. Consider this situation 1. Suppose Ajay Devgan exercised for 2 hours per day for 90 days continuously and transformed into a muscle man for his movie Singham. 2. Therefore if you exercise 12 hours a day for 15 days, youll get the same muscular body. Is it possible? Why not? 902=180 and 1215 is also 180! Even If you take steroids, this is not possible. Same goes with the short cuts and quick fix solutions. It doesnt require an Einstein to release readymade current affair notes. Just hire a retired player of UPSC, ask him to follow Hindu for year, copy paste data, produce a booklet and charge anything between Rs.3000 to Rs.10000 depending on your coaching classs name and reputation in the masses. If a sincere player is doing his own notes since many months, he may quickly scan through such notes to fillup any missing data to upgrade his own personal notes. But then again, sincere players would usually find their own notes more adequate and well organized than such garbage that floods the street 15 days before the exam. But if a candidate had not been preparing current affairs on his own, then hed end up spending last 15 days just reading, digesting and processing the data, There will be no time left to revise any other topics. Therefore, 1. Maintain your current affairs notes, Dont look for shortcuts. 2. If you get some good coaching note, use it to upgrade your own notes. 3. If you donot have coaching notes- dont feel guilty or inferior. There are plenty of toppers who made it without using such material. Now lets move to inspect the next weapon.
Weapon #4: Internet

Internet is required for Follow up Action on particular topic of current affairs. For example there is some climate change summit going on. Newspaper only mentions the highlight but not enough content to write 120 words answer then youd need to use google. Similarly, to find out the timeline/background of a topic, youll need to google. Youll need to visit official sites of various ministry Youll need to keep an eye on pib.nic.in Youll need to download IGNOU pdfs from egyankosh.ac.in as per your requirements. Youll need it to access TheHindu. And so on But as usual, you should digest, process and make note out of it. Otherwise merely saving 10 articles per day in your harddisk = wont help you.
Over-reliance on internet= Bad

You use internet for accessing Hindu/other newspapers and gather current affairs = well and good. But dont just keep random surfing internet for your preparation (especially prelims). Because likelihood of getting question from some random internet article of Wikipedia or newspaper in UPSC = very less. Why? Because UPSC has to keep in mind the candidates from small towns and villages, who may not have 24/7 internet access. So many questions come from static theory part- NCERTs, other Standard reference books, to give them level playing field- particularly @the preliminary level. Initially youll feel enthusiastic about doing google-research, but after 15-20 days, youll lose the tempo and start feeling nervous thinking I can never complete the syllabus Ofcourse you can search internet for further explanation of a topic. But UPSC exam is not made up of one particular topic alone. It is a mixture of everything. So dont overdo anything. for example digging Sci-Tech, folk dances etc. day and night.
Weapons #3: Magazines A) Yojana and Kurukshetra

They are released by the Government. Yojana deals with socio-economic issues, poverty, water sanitation, women empowerment etc. Kurukshetra deals mainly with rural Development. Both are important for UPSC, because they provide fodder material. Every article in those two magazines, follows more or less the same structure that is 1. Initially itll describe an issue or problem, give you some data.
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2. 3. 4. 5.
Itll list the Government scheme / project and their salient features Thant itll give you data and charts on State wise money allotment and achievements. Sometimes itll give reasons why targets are not achieved. Ultimately, some over-glorified success story of xyz NGO or Self Help group.
For us, point number 1,2 and 4 are important. If Yojana magazine issue has 75 pages, you can summarize the fodder material in less than 5 page note, just containing keywords and phrases. So do it, highly recommended, will help you particularly for descriptive question (mains and essay). It is said that Kurukshetra is important for candidates with Public Administration optional only. My opinion is Kurukshetra is important for everyone irrespective of optional subject given the current trend of UPSC asking yearbook, socio-economic Development type questions.
How to subscribe to Yojana and Kurukshetra?

Although you can download the free PDF files from their official website, here is the link http://yojana.gov.in/CMS/Default.aspx but I would suggest subscribe for paper-copy. Reason: Each magazine cost Rs.100 subscription per year = not very expensive. + Reading on computer screen for long time= not good for eyes. Goto post office, buy following things 1. Buy two IPO (indian postal orders) worth Rs.100 each 2. One envelop worth Rs.5 (it already has postal stamp.) On Each IPO, write Director, Publication Division, Ministry of Info. & Broadcasting, New Delhi Now prepare two paper chits/letters: One for Yojana and One for Kurukshetra. 1. 2. 3. 4. Your Name and Address: Subscription: Yojana/Kurukshetra for 1 year Language of magazine: English/Hindi/Gujarati/ whatever language. IPO number:
Now staple each letter with each IPO. Slip it into that Envelop. On the Envelop, write following address and mail it. Business Manager, Publication Division, East Block, Level-VII, RK Puram, New Delhi-110066
B) CST, PD, Chronicle, Wizard

CST = Civil Service Times PD= Pratiyogita Darpan These magazines provide you information on current affairs, truckload of coaching class advertisements on every second page and useless clichd topper interviews. In the 90s era, magazines were important because preliminary exam used to be current affairs heavy (sports, awards, places and persons in news etc). Nowadays not so much. Besides, the level of current affairs questions in the mains examination, requires that you follow the newspapers rather these magazines. However magazines still have some utilities because 1. Helps you fill up the gap in your notes. e.g. if some topic was not covered in newspaper, or in case you missed noticing some important development. 2. Saves you the trouble of following sports related News everyday. But keep in mind the magazine publishers cover the news-item is still from the 90s mindset. They throw just way too much names,dates and numbers at you. So itd be better if you just noted down keywords in separate diary (especially for science-tech part) e.g. We are not interested in knowing the exact height and weigh of satellite, we only need to know its function or use. Each magazine has following structure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. National affairs International affairs Science-tech Economy Persons and Places in news Some filler articles for the sake of filling pages, because they couldnot find more coaching class ad sponsers.. Usually doctored and ghost written topper interviews
For you section 1 to 4 are important. Rest depending on your time and mood. Dont pay much attention on what topper is saying (or recommending) in the magazine interviews, because mostly theyre doctored and ghostwritten interviews. Read following blogs by IAS
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officers and youll understand what Im saying: 1. Supreet Singh Gulati (IAS, AIR-2/CSE-2007, Punjab Cadre): click ME 2. Gokul GR (IAS, AIR-19/CSE-2010, Kerala Cadre): Click ME
Marketing Propaganda
From January to May= Diwali time for competitive magazines. They come up with issues with attractive covers for example 1. Complete geography in 15 days 2. Entire coverage of Biodiversity 3. 1000 questions on current affairs! The new player would ditch his books and start mugging up data given in such magazines. Nothing really comes in the exam and he suffers. So dont make that mistake. Your Primary weapons = Standard Reference Books+newspapers+your own notes. All these readymade things are secondary. These are only the supplements, not the substitutes.
Which competitive magazine to use?

Use any one of following. Civil Service Times (CST): Recommended, if you sole aim is UPSC exam alone. Wizard, Chronicle= well I feel they lost the shine. Their target audience is only UPSC aspirants and in that genre, Civil Service Times is doing better job- coverage of International relations and Science-tech is good. It doesnt mean, Wizard and Chronicle are bad. Use whatever tools you can find / afford. Recommended, if youre simultaneously preparing for UPSC as well as Bank PO, SSC, State PSC type of jobs. Because PD also provides you with material and question papers of those exams. Pratiyogita Darpan can be read online for free, using their official website. Click ME
Pratiyogita Darpan
If money is the problem, then no need to buy, visit local Government library.
Timeframe for current affairs?

Question: From which month to which month, should I cover current affairs? If youre appearing in the year 2013, you should prepare current affairs from minimum Jan 2012. (it doesnt mean UPSC wont ask you some topic that happened in 2011 or from 2007, because UPSC is the baddest thug youll find in this part of South Asia.) Anyways, the ideal and plausible current affairs time frame = start from one year i.e. Jan 2012. Finish upto that part, then worry about 2011. If youve started preparation from Nov 2012, then I hope from November onwards youd religiously follow newspapers and maintain notes (if you dont want to dig up your grave) but what about the stuff that already happened? i.e. what to do for the current affairs from Jan 2012 to Nov 2012? Go through the competitive magazine issues of those month Ya but Where to find the old magazines? A. local library B. For Pratiyogita Darpan their official website. Same advice for Yojana, Kurukshetra. Okay now assuming that you have covered up to January 2012. But about few years back? For Jan 2011 to Dec 2011 = www.competitionmaster.com For 2001 to Dec 2010 = http://www.hindu.com/revents/events.htm Yes it 2001 and no I did not make typing mistake. Just give a cursory reading to (National and International) section of that Hindu diary of events. Reason: there have been some landmark events for example Bt-Brinjal, Iraq and Afghanistan war, 9/11, 26/11, sub-prime crisis, Indo US nuclear deal, Tsunami, Right to education Act, women reservation bill, Law Commission, Justice Sacchar Committee, controversy regarding office of profit... And so on. Many such topics would continue haunting you indirectly and implicitly in the mains, essay and interview. So better have some idea about them.
Do I need to follow more than one Competitive Magazine?

Any One magazine is sufficient. More than one magazine = overlapping and overkill. Ofcourse there would be some xyz science-tech term which was given in PD but not in CST, then What to do? Well in war, there is always some casualty. If you start worrying so much, you cannot prepare. One competitive magazine (combined with one newspaper) should do the trick. If after youre done with core syllabus, notes making and everythingyou may visit local library to upgrade your notes. But now is not the right time. All those things are secondary.
Frontline, EPW, The Economist, Outlook etc

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They provide fodder material for essay, interview. These are all secondary reference. Frontline can also be downloaded for free (goto Mrunal.org/download) Who should refer secondary reference? 1. Player with decent command over core GS, Yearbook, Polity, current affairs and hes already done with the syllabus and notes on opt. subject (if optional subjects are kept in UPSC exam) 2. Someone who has appeared in mains and right now waiting for the interview call. He should visit local library, go through as many issues as he can- to build up his knowledge for interviews. In short, these secondary things are made for Level 3 player. Who is this level 3 player? click ME for the answer But If youre yet to become master of level2, then there is no point in indulge in these things at the moment. First finish your core syllabus, revise it multiple times and get good grip over the conventional General Studies. Often the Ideal strategy is not the plausible strategy. Use your head, know your strengths, limits, time available to you and proceed accordingly. Besides in UPSC lot of questions come from standard reference books and newspapers so they should be your primary weapons. So far we discussed weapon #5- notes, Weapon #4- internet, Weapon #3- magazines. Now time to examine
Weapon #2: The Newspapers

1. Why newspapers are important, 2. How to read them effectively without wasting 3-4 hours a day? 3. How to make notes out of newspapers? all that already explained in a previous article: click ME How to read The Hindu online, using Google Reader/Feedly, already explained= Click ME
Weapon #1: Standard reference books

What is NCERTs? In India we have various school boards 1. CBSE 2. ICSE 3. State Education boards NCERT= the textbooks used by CBSE students. Theyre are available in both Hindi and English They can be downloaded for free, download links are given at the bottom of this article. But if you can afford, then go ahead and buy them from market. (To save the eye stress of reading so much on computer screen) NCERTs are important because many questions in the preliminary exam, are directly or indirectly asked from them History, geography, science, economics. ICSE text-books are also good for preparation (particularly for Geography segment), but theyre expensive and not readily available in market. So just go for NCERTs. If youre appearing for State PSC exams, then use NCERTs and also Use State Education Board textbooks (History, Geography, Social Science) to get the GS/GK specific to that xyz State.
What is this Older NCERTs?

1. They are old black-and-white editions, contain truckload of facts, names, dates and numbers on history, science and geography were important during 90s eraquestion on this alloy and that chemical, world geography, ancient history etc. But now The nature of questions has changed. (Only History, Geography would help upto some extend in the new pattern of Mains).
Newer/Younger NCERTs
The colourful new editions, theyre not bloated with names, dates, numbers and other boring stuff. They are designed with main objective of explaining the underlying concept/principle of topic without boring the hell out of a reader. So, they are quite good for preparing under the BackbreakingTM regime of UPSC. some topics were better covered in the older NCERTs for example World geography and History- particularly the Colonization and economic angles to it. For that reason- some coaching sirs and senior players advice older NCERT. Personally i feel, one is not going to suffer from any competitive disadvantage in prelims, if he has not read the older NCERT books. because the question style has changed. + whatever facts were present in older NCERTs and absent in New NCERT= theyre usually covered in GS Manual. Besides, UPSC too understands that older NCERTs are rarely available outside Delhi and some guy from small town or village cannot easily access them. (recall BackbreakingTM principle) So if you can get your hands on older NCERT, read them, else there is no need to lose your sleep or burn your blood over this issue. In either case, if youre going to read NCERT just one or two times very lightly for namesake formality, then it wont help you. Revise
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often, and take NCERTs seriously.
List of *NOT* recommended booklist

Taking inspiration from Mrinalini Sarabhai (again), I give you a list of *Not recommended books*, Not recommended book 1. Physical Geography by Goh Che Leong 2. Anatomy & Physiology for Nurses Courses, Evelyn Pearce 3. Know your body: Readers Digest 4. General Principles of World Geography: Charles Farro 5. Monsoon Asia: Charles Farro 6. A Brief History of Nearly Everything: Bill Bryson 7. Fundamentals of Statistics by SC Gupta 8. Mishra Puri 9. Dutt Sundaram 10. Uma Kapila 11. DD Basu 12. MV Paylee 13. Subhash Kashyap Yes youd find some fact/fodder from all ^such books, but time is a luxury you cannot afford, at best these all could come under Secondary, you may refer to them if and when youve the time, but now is not the right time- first get a decent grip over core GS, yearbook and current affairs. In case you wonder, if these books are not useful, then why would someone recommend them over internet? Ans. 1. They may have had their (limited) utility in 90s era. So the old sites recommended them and theyre still on top of google search engine. 2. Such huge list assures that a new player feels frustrated during self-study and decides to join coaching. Laxmikanth is better organized and exam oriented. These are meant for Economics (Optional subject) paper II.NCERT+NIOS+Ramesh Singh (TMH)= less boring, less pages, more exam oriented. Why? 90s are over. Nature of question changed. NCERT+GS Manual =sufficient for physical geography.
NCERT+GS Manual = more than sufficient to cover human body/biology.For First Aid, there is better PDF on IGNOU. (click ME)
Lolz. Hardly any question on World geography, in last three years. NCERT+GS Manual will do the trick. No need for Ph.D Monsoon question is so clichd, 90s and repeated, unlikely to reappear even in mains under the BackbreakingTM era. Good read for time pass, if youve free time.Problem is- there is no free time. This is used for M.Sc courses.NCERT + Spectrums Book on Statistics =good enogh. Besides Spectrum also contains solved Stat sums from GS papers from 1979 upto 2011.
General Studies (GS) Manual

When it comes to Science, Geography or History: your first choice of Weapon= NCERTs. But at times some important concepts and principles are not covered fully in NCERTs. GS Manual bridges that gap + provides you truckload of mock questions to practice at home. You can download the blank answersheets by clicking me, and use it to practice those mock questions. Yes you must practice mock question, because they train you against negative marking. (just like a Circus lion is trained by whipping). Negative marking is a huge factor for success and failure @CSAT prelims. General Studies Manuals also contain lot of useless stuff for example chemical equations of respiration/ATP cycles and truckload of breeds and species of cows and buffalos and names of States where theyre found. Therefore, Not everything given in GS manual, is important from exam point of view (+it wont go in memory anyways). Youll see tips on how to effectively utilize GS Manual, in Act III. There are many publications involved in General Studies Manual. Tatamacgrawhill, Unique, Spectrum, Pearson to name a few. If you already have one, then no need to purchase new GS Manual. But If you are yet to purchase a GS Manual, then I would suggest go for Tata Machgrawhill General Studies Manual, particularly for its good coverage of Geography and Science segment and truckload of Mock Questions.
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You can also buy a second hand/used GS Manual, there is no harm in it. Other standard reference books will be discussed in appropriate sections of next Act III. So, These are your weapons, but what about weapons of your enemy?
Weapons of UPSC
It got 3 weapons 1. BackbreakingTM : already discussed. 2. R.T.I stonewalling (i.e. not divulging information via R.T.I or doing It only after the whole exam is over=1 year late) Hopefully CIC will resolve it. 3. Negative Marking (in prelims/CSAT)
Negative marking
Plays huge factor in preliminary stage. The answer choices are designed in such way that applying common sense or smart guessing or smart elimination= many a times you end up ticking wrong answer. Youve to train your mind not to fall in that trap. Thats why practice all questions from GS Manual using blank answersheets and then check answers =your mind will be trained like a circus lion not to touch doubtful questions. Every year nature and difficulty of questions are different so donot force yourself into ticking more answers merely to cross an imaginary cutoff based on previous RTIs. For example youve ticked 60 questions accurately and there are 10 questions where you feel 50:50 between two answer choices. But someone or something has brainwashed you into believing that one must tick 70 questions to clear prelims. So your mind starts playing tricks, makes you think that your smart guesses are correct and you get seduced into ticking those 10 questions. This usually leads into #Epicfail. Dont push your luck in prelims. Cutoffs are not decided by the eminent sirs of Delhi, cutoffs are not decided by internet forums, cutoffs are decided by UPSC. So once prelims or mains are over, dont raise your blood-pressure by what theyre predicting. Besides, your fate was already sealed the moment you submitted answersheet to the hall supervisor. Burning blood over cutoffs is not going to change your result. Q. Should I join some (Expensive) mock test series of coaching class? If you can afford go ahead join, if you cant (or dont want to), then no need to lose sleep or burn your blood over this issue. Following toppers cleared UPSC Civil Service exam without joining such mock tests. (list is not exhaustive.) All India Rank (2011) Harshika Singh 8 Om Kasera 17
There are dozen other toppers who didnot join any mock test series, read their interviews on following page mrunal.org/category/motivation
Appendix: Download Links

1. Foxit PDF reader (necessary prerequisite for using Mrunals autonotemaker) click me to download 2. Almost all of these PDF files provides direct copying of text. => That means you can use Mrunals autonotemaker to quickly make notes and mindmaps out of it, just use mouse cursor to highlight a particular line /phrase and my software will copy its text in a separate file. for more instructions click me
NCERT and NIOS (Essential/Core)

Go to following link: https://files.secureserver.net/0fHCh0CLd6Az63 Youll find the material organized in various folders. Click on individual folder and download zip files. Here is the description about the contents of individual folder: Folder History Comment Contains NCERT history chapters from class 7 to 12, in three zip files: ancient, medieval and Modern +NIOS Culture material Contains class 7 to 10 NCERT Science in three zips: physics, chemistry, biology. +NIOS Science material. (although there will be lot of overlapping) Class 11, 12 Science books given in the peripheral section below. Contains selective chapters from class 6 to 12 from science and geography textbooks that are relevant for Environment and biodiversity. +NIOS material for environment and biodiversity EnB.
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Science
EnB
mrunal.org/2012/11/strategy-upsc-civil-service-exam-ias-ips-csat-general-studies-part2-booklist-yojana-pratiyogita-darpan.html#1
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Economy
Contains NCERT class 11 + NCERT 12 Macro economics +NIOS economy material. Class 12 Micro-economics not included because not worth the time for CDS. although download link in the peripheral section below. Contains NCERT class 6 to 12 in five zip folders: physical, India, World, Agro and glossary. +NIOS material on geography (although lot of overlapping)
Geography
NCERT and NIOS (Peripheral)

read these if depending on your time and mood. NIOS Single folder contains many courses from NIOS: sociology, political science etc. download as per your time, mood and requirement. NCERTs Biology Chemistry Chemistry Economics Economics Economics Physics Physics 12 Biology 12 Chemistry 1 12 Chemistry 2 12 Introductory Microeconomics 9 Economics for Class 9 Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download Download
10 Understanding Economic Development Class X Social Science Download 12 Physics 1 12 Physics 2
Political Science 12 Contemporary World Politics Political Science Class 12 Political Science 12 Political Science 2 for Class 12 Political Science 11 Political Theory Political Science Class 11 Political Science 11 Indian Constitution at Work Political Science Class 11 Political Science 7 Political Science 8 Social sci. Sociology Sociology Sociology Sociology World history World history Social and Political Life Part 2 Class 7 Social and Political Life Class 8
10 Democratic Politics Part 2 for Class X Social Science 12 Sociology Indian Society 12 Sociology Social Change and Development in India for 11 Introducing Sociology Class 11 11 Understanding Society Sociology Class 11 9 India and Contemporary World 1 for Class 9 10 India and the Contemporary World 2 Class X Social Science
Remaining Part of the UPSC Strategy

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. (Part 1 of 5): Exam Trends and Changes (Part 2 of 5): Notes, Newspapers and Books (Part 3 of 5): General Studies for CSAT prelims and Mains (Part 4 of 5): Time Management, Coaching etc. (Part 5 of 5): Career Backup Plans: How to prepare for State PSC etc Previous Posts
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[SBI PO] Halltickets, English Objective and Descriptive paper, Essays, precis practice and free study material [Studyplan] LIC AAO Administrative Officer 2013: Topicwise booklist, Free studymaterial, previous years paper, cut offs [Approach] UPSC 2013 General Studies: Prelims + Mains for Civil Service IAS IPS Exam [Study-plan] SBI PO General Awareness (GA), Computer, Marketing, Economy Topicwise preparation strategy, free studymaterial
170 comments to [Strategy] UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 2 of 5) : Notes, Newspapers and Books
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Ankit rana
Reply to this comment hello sir i preparing for mains 2013 n before 3 days i attend pre exam 2013 i read ur preparin guide but i m in hindi medium n i read new mains syllabus n i confused which book i read or not? plz help me n some tips for hindi medium thanks
Ruman
Reply to this comment sir plz give to information for ias pre and mains in marathi/hindi and which books are use in marathi/hindi for mains as well as prelim how to get new syllabs pre and mains in marathi/hindi
Arun
Reply to this comment Sir which book will be helpful for mains 2013India after Gandhi by R.Guha or India since independence by Bipin Chandra
wasim
Reply to this comment its really very good and informative. thank you and good luck. keep it up.
punit sevak
Reply to this comment which subjects & classes ncert books nessary to read 4 ias preptins.
Vamsi
Reply to this comment Mr. Mrunal, you are doing really a great job. keep it up
Sahil
Reply to this comment sir i want to know about how i start prepration for upsc tell me about some books for geography and economics.
anil
Reply to this comment hello mrunal sir , i am very thankful to you as i gone through the plan of the pre mains and interview,that gave me the road map for the my preparation of ias and helped me a lot regarding dos and dont dos .and also the what to refer and what to avoid.. thank u ..keep guiding us.
maheshkapri
Reply to this comment sir, i am preparing for bank exams. so please suggest me books for reasoning, aptitude,English,computer,marketing and monthly mag
maheshkapri
Reply to this comment
8/7/13
sir, i am preparing for bank exams. so please suggest me books for reasoning, aptitude,English,computer,marketing and monthly magazine. thanks.
mane
Reply to this comment sir, i cnt able to download firs aid pdf.. could u help me with smeother link..??
Rakesh Bennet
Reply to this comment Respected Sir, My name is Rakesh and i am from Kerala.I have written the recently-held preliminary exam and i am not sure i will get through as my preparation wasnt too good.Anyway i have deceided to give it another try but as somebody from a small town i feel the scarcity of books here.I have These books with me now 1.TMH GS manual (For prelims) 2.TMH Books for mains (General studies) 3.Reasoning books by Aggarwal for CSAT 2 4.The Hindu,Frontline,CST 5.Spectrum books about Economics,Bipan Chandra, old question papers I was confused when i saw another website it made me dizzy.they mention numerous books most of them i havent even heard of.Shall i read them as the nearest library is almost 25 km away.Are those books i am having with me are enough or shall i follow everybook ascribed to the syllabus? I thank you sincerely for the amazing work you have doing for all of us
N.PATEL
Reply to this comment Sir could you please provide a separate list of books on sociology.
Mrunal
Reply to this comment read this: http://mrunal.org/2012/07/strategy-sociology.html
siddhesh manik nikam

Reply to this comment sir im siddhesh nikam from navimumbai.i did my engineering and now pursuing my mms but while doing so i want to start my preparation for civil service exam.so please guide me regarding how to start preparation.let me tell you that after my graduation i started preparing for cse and studied for 1 full year and gave my 2012 attempt but i failed so i moved to mba so that in future even if i didnt qualify for cse ill have a job in hand.i want your guidance regarding how to start preparing while doing my post graduation ie.mms.thank you sir. yours faithfully, siddhesh nikam
tanuj tripathi
Reply to this comment heloo sir plzz tell us which publications practice set is good for csat 2nd paper for 2014 pre exam
Akanksha
Reply to this comment hello sir, please guide me which book to refer as i m taking law as my main subject. regards
Prashant Sinha
Reply to this comment Dear Mrunal, I am appearing for Civil in year 2014, and opted for Political Science and International Relations as my optional paper. I have started my preparation with NCERT (XI and XII), but in the mean while, looking at the syllabus, I was wondering over the source and study materials for topics (Political theory, Comparative Political Analysis and International politics). There are plenty of recommended books on the internet and (by the successful candidates), and it is not possible to buy and study all of them. Plus i am also confused about hat should be studied from where.I am a working guy and unfortunately can not afford to read each and every referred books owing to time factor. I am really counting on your useful advise(s), regarding what should be studied from where. Also what should be my basic strategy, for the CSE 2014 (regarding Pol. Sc.)
8/7/13
I would be highly grateful to you for your valuable and experienced suggestions. Hoping to keep bugging you in future as well :) Thanks and Regards
sainath kari
Reply to this comment Sir, This is the first time ive visited this site. I became a big fan of urs. The info u r maintaining here is really very helpful for aspirants like us. Hope u continue such support. Sir iam pursuing my m.pharma now i want to prepare for upsc civils 2015 please guide me. with regards
RAHUL KUMAR
Reply to this comment Dear Sir, I am thankful of your wonderful Blog which is great helpful for me.I am appearing for Civil in year 2014, and started my preparation with NCERT, I want to know which NCERT(From which class to which class) is helpful for both CSAT an GS Mains Exam. Is it from Class 6th to 12 th or any specific ? Thanks Regards Rahul
Himanshu
Reply to this comment http://www.flipkart.com/general-studies-civil-services-preliminary-examination-2013-paper-1-1st/p/itmdepeetqwh6sxe? pid=9781259027154&affid=mrunalrugm Sir, I am confused whether to follow this book or not. Please see the reviews of this book. Please suggest what to do.
komal
Reply to this comment sir , Thanks sir the tips and suggestions u have provided has helped me a lot in planning my preperation. sir i wanted to know that do i have to study SCIENCE SUBJECTS of class 11th, 12th level and at graduation level ??? i am appearing for upsc 2014. regards komal
Karanbir Singh
Reply to this comment sir, How can i prepare mechanical engineering ? where shall i get mechanical lectures as provided by you on youtube ? kindly guide me!
Omer
Reply to this comment Kindly clearify which Bipin Chandra book be usedive a couple of Bipin chandra books-one being History of modern India(orient Blackswan 2012) & the other one is Indias struggle for independence(co authors-Mridula mukharjee,Aditya mukharjee,sucheta mahajan& Panikkar).Thanks
Rajesh
Reply to this comment can anyone suggest me book for IBPS CWE RRB Office Assistant Multipurpose Exam.Thanks!
vikas
Reply to this comment sir can you please suggest which book,I should refer for pre paper II,so i cant gain more mark and clear pre,I am good at aptitude,just speed stops me to gain enough mark,tell books through which i can learn to slove que faster,and gain speed plzzz help..sir or any one else plzz reply..
MEEK ONG
Reply to this comment hi sir
8/7/13
download option is not active https://files.secureserver.net/0fHCh0CLd6Az63 please guide me how to download NIOS study material
MEEK ONG
Reply to this comment give some preparation plan for public administration
Ajay kumar
Reply to this comment i must say sirthis is one of the best sites i have ever seen for the preparation of UPSC.thank u very much for making and updating such websites .
sumit
Reply to this comment thanks a lot sir.
jyoti
Reply to this comment hello sir i m jyoti.i like your website ,it feels me happy that there is someone whos guiding me thathow to prepare for upsc.i m from hindi medium but i hav dream to be an IFS officrer. i m confused as which sub i should choose for optional & could i make my dream fullfil with the identiy of hindi medium student. i want you to help me..
lakshmi
Reply to this comment hello sir, ive recently decided on pursuing civils. i have never been into the habit of paper reading till date. i intend to prepare for 2014, will the time be sufficient if i start from now(including paper)? would be of great help if you could share some scheduling tips for preparation, where to start from. Thank you. kind regards
DURGESH
Reply to this comment DEAR SIR PLEASE SEND ME IBPS CLERK SYLLABUS & LINK FOR READ ONLINE E-BOOKS.
sipak patra
Reply to this comment Good evening sir, can you please suggest me most preferable books commerce optional paper II. Areas are organisation theory, organisation behavior, Human Resource Management, and Industrial Relation.
priya
Reply to this comment sir please suggest me good books for public administration(mains). And GS(mains) books as per the new syallabus excluding ncert
ssingh
Reply to this comment Mrunalji app great ho.I think i got the treasure i was searching.Its hard to find a person like u.
junaid ahmed
Reply to this comment sir what is RTI??? and is there any free online source for for TATA mcGRAW HILL GENERAL STUDIES MANUAL 2014 . ty
Older Comments
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13/13

(Strategy) UPSC Civil Service Exam (Part 2 of 5) - Notes, Newspapers and Books Mrunal

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8/7/13

NOVEMBER 3RD, 2012

Act II: Weapons of Mass Destruction

Weapon#5: Your Own notes

Types of Notes #1: Notes on Margin

#2: Handwritten Notes

#3: Computer Notes and Mindmaps

#4: Readymade Notes A) Notes of Toppers

B) Readymade Coaching class notes and Material

Weapon #4: Internet

Over-reliance on internet= Bad

Weapons #3: Magazines A) Yojana and Kurukshetra

How to subscribe to Yojana and Kurukshetra?

B) CST, PD, Chronicle, Wizard

Which competitive magazine to use?

Timeframe for current affairs?

Do I need to follow more than one Competitive Magazine?

Frontline, EPW, The Economist, Outlook etc

Weapon #2: The Newspapers

Weapon #1: Standard reference books

What is this Older NCERTs?

often, and take NCERTs seriously.

List of *NOT* recommended booklist

General Studies (GS) Manual

Appendix: Download Links

NCERT and NIOS (Essential/Core)

NCERT and NIOS (Peripheral)

10 Understanding Economic Development Class X Social Science Download 12 Physics 1 12 Physics 2

Remaining Part of the UPSC Strategy

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siddhesh manik nikam

S-ar putea să vă placă și

List of NOT recommended booklist