All you need to know about Geography

Once one of my seniors informed me that she was planning to visit Switzerland and I spontaneously suggested her to visit New Zealand as I assumed that they are close. She dismissed it as one of my lame jokes. But I was serious.;)

Till a few years back I was unaware that Chennai falls in the eastern coast of India. Till three months back I had no clue that Pondicherry consisted of four islands and a part of it, Mahe is in the western coast of India. Some find Geography easy and interesting and others find it intolerable and till March 2015 everything about geography scared me. Apart from the theoretical part, Maps were my all time weakness. One day when I was struggling with the NCERT books of Geography in the library, a person sitting next to me who till then never talked to me offered me a book by a local author for Indian geography and I will always be thankful to him as it definitely made Indian geography easier and interesting.

We will talk about the sources for world geography and then proceed to Indian geography. Both are very important.

Sources:

For geography in general:

1. Go through Class XI NCERT textbook, ‘Fundamentals of Physical Geography’. Once you are done with this please buy a book named ‘Certificate Physical and Human Geography’ by Gohcheng Leong.

For Indian Geography:

2. There is this book called ‘Periyar Geography of India’ by Arvind Kumar. Do read it anyhow. My friend had suggested this and it worked wonders. This book isn’t available online and can only be ordered from book shops in Delhi. In my previous write up I had mentioned the phone number of a book shop located in Old Rajinder Nagar, so kindly order from them.

3. I am attaching a link to the handouts given by Manocha Sir of Vajiram & Ravi. Definitely one of the best teachers one can come across.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B4HK9T61IeavRjlXQlVwOXA3Umc&usp=sharing

4. For videos that cover everything about geography (World and India) please go through the videos of Rajtanil Solanki working with Mrunal. It is very in-depth and if you cover the 57 videos, you will master geography.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAMBum9_RkuNDtzpNQlCRcaOrNqrD4Gf7

MAPS

5.Please buy the large size wall map which will only cost around 30 Rs. and paste it in your room wall. Start with world political and India political. Know the different seas, the oceans, major places. 

[Get acquainted with places as if it is going to be your next vacation destination. I hope many such places will be visited in the future. J]

6. Buy an atlas. Usually ‘The Orient Black Swan School Atlas’ is preferred. Get the latest edition. I am attaching a handout with important places. 

7. Start your Map reading from the list by Manocha Sir.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4HK9T61IeavRTV3ckpmZ1lVbGc/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4HK9T61IeavX3lUaTNLQmNYUWs/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4HK9T61IeavR1FPU1Y1X3ZIeEU/view?usp=sharing

Whenever anything in geography scares you, try to see videos connected to the topic in YouTube. Suppose you are reading about Monsoons in India and are unable to understand the several factors behind it, check the following video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMXn1vmLsmM

Or say you are studying about El Nino or LA Nina, do go through this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyPq86yM_Ic

Some Questions asked in Prelims 2015

Which one of the following countries of South-West Asia does not open out to the Mediterranean Sea?

a.       Syria

b.      Jordan

c.       Lebanon

d.      Israel

Solution: b)        

[All these places were in news. So try to make an elaborate list of all places in news and at least see their location, seas/oceans near to them]

Each day is more or less the same, the morning is clear and bright with a sea breeze, as the sun climbs high in the sky, heat mounts up, dark clouds form, then rain comes from thunder and lightning. But rain is soon over. Which of the following regions is described in the above passage?

a.       Savannah

b.      Equatorial

c.       Monsoon

d.      Mediterranean

Solution: b)

In India, in which one of the following types of forests is teak a dominant tree species?

a) Tropical moist deciduous forest

b) Tropical rain forest

c) Tropical thorn scrub forest

d) Temperate forest with grasslands

Solution: a)

In India the steel production industry requires the import of

a) Saltpeter

b) Rock phosphate

c) Coking coal

d) All of the above

Solution: c)

Consider the following statements

1. The winds which blow between 30 degrees N and 60 degrees S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.

2. The moist air masses that cause winter rams in North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: b)

Tides occur in oceans and seas due to which of the following?

1. Gravitational Force of the Sun

2. Gravitational Force of the Moon

3. Gravitational Force of the Earth

Select the correct answer using the code given below

a) 1 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2, and 3

Solution: d)

Consider the following States:

1. Arunachal Pradesh

2. Himachal Pradesh

3. Mizoram

In which of the following states do “Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests” occur?

a) 1 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

Solution: c)

Which of the following pairs of States of India indicates the easternmost and Westernmost State?

a) Assam and Rajasthan

b) Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan

c) Assam and Gujarat

d) Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat

Solution: d)

Do not panic with the amount of information. Despite geography being my weakness, I could answer all the questions correctly in this year prelims due to the above mentioned sources. It is always easier to start with the videos, get rid of your fear and then proceed to text books. Love.

History Part 2 [Ancient, Medieval, Art & Culture]

2015, August 21^st , just two days for the preliminary exams. So much to revise. I had kept this section for the last because it was so important and there was so much to memorize. I was little scared because I had read from so many books, I just didn’t know how to revise all of them.

Once I started revising the highlighted sections, I realized that in two days I can just revise five to six chapters as I didn’t make any notes. It was frustrating to discover that something that one studied so elaborately has just gone away. I had done this section so well, read elaborately from so many books, mugged up so many difficult names of musical instruments, of books, of authors, of paintings. Two days before the exam topics seemed familiar but the mind had driven out all the contents. I had so many subjects to revise and I didn’t know how to give this part justice. Then I remembered about a particular file I had downloaded from somewhere which summarized everything about Art & Culture. Thankfully, it helped me recollect everything.

Moral of the story

Always make summaries so that you can revise topics before exams. And if you are not the note –making person, take the pain of downloading the summarized versions of the particular subject from other websites.

Ancient and Medieval

This part of history is important. Even though this year prelims didn’t see many questions from this section, it is still important. 

Sources

For Ancient and Medieval India you will have to read the NCERT text books. [Old NCERT Class 11: Ancient India by R.S.Sharma (1990) and Old NCERT Class 11: Medieval India by Meenaxi Jain (2002)]

No short cuts please. Take the pain, it will be worth it. Because you have so much to memorize, it’s always better to develop a broad understanding which only NCERT gives you.

Later you can go through the ancient and medieval sections from any GS paper 1 manual as complete retention and revision from NCERT will not be easy and usually one is lazy to make notes. ;). I studied from Spectrum Manual and I feel it’s concise and informative and very good to revise. If you are scared of getting too lost in NCERT, start with the manual but then get back to NCERT, at least for ancient. 

What you are expected to know:

Ancient

The Pre-history part will include a very basic understanding on the several time periods like the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic. One will be expected to know the cultures of the several periods in brief, the pottery, important sites in India. Then one should have an in-depth understanding on the Harappan Culture, The Vedic Age, Buddhism, and Jainism.

Very brief understanding is required on the Ajivikas, Religious development like Vaishnava and Saiva cults and on some materialistic sects.

The Mauryan Empire, Post- Mauryan period, Gupta age, Post-Gupta period, History of South India, and the period from 8^th century to 1200 should be studied in-depth.

Medieval

You start from the Sultanate of Delhi, provincial Kingdoms after the Sultanate like the Bahamani

Kingdom, Vijayanagara etc. Then a basic understanding on Mughal empire, mostly the art and culture part. Just refer a manual for this.You may skip the NCERT text if you do not have the time.

Then one has to know about the Marathas, advent of European commerce, British expansion and consolidation. This part is connected to the modern history as discussed in the last post.

Art and culture

This section has been important for quite some time minus this year. It appears difficult and irritating but trust me once you read it from proper sources it’s not that boring. You are expected to know the Dance forms, the music, painting, architecture, literature of India. Details are very important as usually the questions are confusing

Sources:

Just refer to the CCRT website. Yes, Spectrum’s Art and Culture is good but it is little too elaborate and is boring. This website is informative and colorful.

So go to the website http://ccrtindia.gov.in/http://ccrtindia.gov.in/

There will be several tabs like home, about ccrt, activities etc. Click on resources.

It will have five sections. You will just have to read the first three, i.e.  Visual Arts, Performing Arts and literary Arts. Suppose we go to Visual Arts, the main page will contain a summary. It is important but the most important part is the left hand side of the page where there will be separate topics of visual arts (like Indian architecture, Indian Painting, Indian Sculpture) and once you click on them you will get an in-depth study about the mentioned areas. Same goes for the other two sections. 

You will have to memorize and understand a lot. So kindly start it very early and do not wait till the last moment.

Further, I will attach a summary of the website that I had found out from some other helpful website. Go through the summary as many times as you can so that you become completely comfortable with it. In fact start with the summary and once you have a  basic idea, go through the website.

The link to the summary:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4HK9T61IeavNzIwSlFrUVdaX3c/view?usp=sharing

Apart from this, you may watch some videos when you are free in office or class. There is a You Tube channel called Unacademy. These may be irritating sometimes but are quite informative. I think as of today there are some six videos for art and culture.

The link to it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luBdsUQOJQM&list=PLwYR7WJw1-QX6rzHRn-pKnPWpkIfRCTop

Some questions from Prelims 2015

With reference to art and archaeological history of India, which one among the following was made earliest?
a) Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneswar
b) Rock-cut Elephant at Dhauli
c) Rock-cut Monuments at Mahabalipuram
d) Varaha Image at Udayagiri

Solution: b)

Kalamkari painting refers to
(a) a hand-painted cotton textile in South India
(b) a handmade drawing on bamboo handicrafts in North-East India
(e) a block-painted woollen cloth in Western Himalayan region of India
(d) a hand-painted decorative silk cloth in North-Western India
Solution: a)

Medieval Indian State : Present Region
1. Champaka : Central India
2. Durgara : Jammu
3. Kuluta : Malabar
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 only
c) 1 and 3
d) 3 only
Solution: b)

Keep working hard. Much love.

Making Modern History interesting

June 2014- Resigned from my job, informed parents about it, packed my bags and in two weeks I was in Delhi. Reason: Two of my colleagues cleared UPSC exams and I felt it’s high time I should give it, something that I have dreamt since my 12^th results.

A month before the exam (2014 Prelims), I had no clue about it and I still thought I could manage. My parents thought the same. However, I realized soon how difficult the journey is going to be, thanks to my roommate, who in the initial stages gave me the much needed reality check. So one day I told her, “I am planning to finish history in the next three days and I feel once it is done, I will be more confident for the exams”.  She was little surprised but of course had no idea how naïve I was until I asked her, “History means only the national movement part right?” After she sat down to explain me the history syllabus, I took the first step towards the decision of giving the exams a miss that year. One should never give this exam without proper preparation. SO let us prepare J

In this section we will only deal with modern history (which of course is much more than National Movement) and in the forthcoming sections we may deal with ancient, medieval and art and culture.

Books to Refer:

Well if you have time, you SHOULD read old NCERT history text books as the new NCERT text books are very truncated, not something that UPSC likes while setting questions. And if you do not get the time for NCERT readings, you can start with Spectrum’s book on Modern History (A brief History on Modern India), a small book that you would fall in love with and trust me, Bipin Chandra or any other big names is not going to help you solve UPSC questions. So you can be away from them, until and unless you really want to read them because you love reading as they are very long  and time-consuming and more like reading a novel.

How to read?

So while reading one should know that details matter a lot.

For instance, if you are reading the struggle of 1857, you are expected to know from where and how it started, the areas it spread and the leaders of those places e.g. Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi or Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow. You may also have to know people who suppressed the revolt in the areas where it had spread. In short the heroes and the villains from India’s perspective.

Next you need to know about the several socio-cultural and religious movements.

We will have to know the origin of the Congress, the important sessions, the techniques used by Moderates and Extremists, entry of Gandhi and the freedom struggle. 

Utmost importance has to be given to all the Acts that has been passed since 1773 till the Independence Act of 1947. The administrative pattern, attitude towards press, economy and education are also important.

Starting from Swadeshi movement, Rowlatt Satyagraha, Non Cooperation Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement till the final Quit India Movement, every event needs a thorough understanding. The INA and RIN mutiny, Tribal uprisings, Peasants struggle, revolutionary movements are not to be ignored. One should know about all the important personalities who in some way or the other paved the way to freedom.

 WE have to give much importance to all commissions sent by the British government like the Simon Commission, the Cabinet Mission, Wavel's Plan, MountBatten Plan etc. Initiatives from India's side like the Nehru Report, Rajagopalchari formula etc are important too.

All significant days like Purna Swaraj Day, Delhi Declaration, Direct Action Day, Poona Pact, Lucknow Pact etc needs to be studied in details.

The book nicely describes everything you should know about modern history from the exam perspective,  So please buy it. http://www.flipkart.com/brief-history-modern-india-english/p/itmdyzfqtbszden5.

And the more questions you solve, the more familiar u become with the topics, the more details you will master.

Lets us go through some questions asked from modern history this year

With reference to cabinet mission, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. It recommended a federal government.
2. It enlarged the powers of the Indian courts.
3. It provided for more Indians in the ICS
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 2 and 3
c) 1 and 3
d) None

Solution: a)

Which one of the following movements has contributed to a split in the Indian National Congress resulting in emergence of ‘moderates’ and ‘extremists’?
a) Swadeshi Movement
b) Quit India Movement
c) Non-Cooperation Movement
d) Civil Disobedient Movement

Solution: a)

With reference to Rowlatt Satyagraha, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. The Rowlatt Act was based on the recommendations of the ‘Sedition Committee’
2. In Rowlatt Satyagraha Gandhiji tried to use the Home Rule League
3. Demonstrations against the Simon Commission coincided with the Rowlatt Satyagraha
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Solution:  B

Who of the following was/were economic critic/critics of colonialism in India?
1. Dadabhai Naoroji
2. G. Subramania Iyer
3. R. C. Dutt
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 only
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Solution: d)

With reference to Congress Socialist Party, consider the following statements:
1. It advocated the boycott of British goods and evasion of taxes.
2. It wanted to establish the dictatorship of proletariat.
3. It advocated separate electorate for minorities and oppressed classes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 3 only
c) 1, 2 and 3
d) None

The Government of India Act of 1919 clearly defined
a) the separation of power between the judiciary and the legislature
b) the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments
c) the powers of the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy
d) None of the above

Solution: b)

Who of the following organized a march on the Tanjore coast to break the Salt Law in April 1930?
a) V.O Chidambaram Pillai
b) C. Rajagopalachari
c) K. Kamaraj
d) Annie Besant

Solution: b)

Consider the following statements :
1. The first woman President of the Indian National Congress was Sarojini Naidu.
2. The first Muslim President of the Indian National Congress was Badruddin Tyabji
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Solution: b)

This is just an overview. I want you to gain an understanding on the subject specifically in relation to the exam. Later we will try to discuss all the sections in details.

Just remember that only reading the book  and understanding the chronology or the events is not enough. You will have to get into details and differentiate it from similar events as that is how you develop clarity on the topic and become prepared to answer indirect questions. You need to know the minor- major changes added with every passing Act. If you are studying Cabinet Mission, you should know how is it different from August Declaration or the Simon Commission or Wavel's Plan. Do not read these events in isolation, it should always be integrated to earlier or later plans. I am sure once you start reading, you will do a good job. Because if I can love history and rightly answer questions, than any body can.

Trust me, now I love history and that perhaps is the biggest gift I can give to my father (Nana) who tried so hard to make me understand Battle of Plassey, Panipat in my school days. But unfortunately due to my school teachers, history was only a source of pain and history exams were a nightmare ALWAYS.  But now, I feel so good that atleast  for the sake of this exam I am far away from my childhood fears, I can discuss history with Nana who loves it and remembers everything he studied in college so clearly. 

Always remember that everything that is typed in the UPSC syllabus will add on to your knowledge and personality. Do not treat it as a burden and try to develop a liking for every subject because it makes you well-informed and competent not only for UPSC, but life in general.

Much love

How to approach Current events of national and international importance

Information about Current events both National and International is of utmost importance for the entire exams and perhaps is inevitable in the Mains and Interview. In last year Mains, almost all the questions were linked to current happenings and this is where regular reading of editorials is put to use as it helps in developing perspectives and keeps you well informed. We may discuss this later as presently our focus is on the preliminary exams

        For Preliminary examinations, having current affairs as your strength is always an asset. It will definitely add on to your overall performance though you cannot only bank on them as it is vast and you never know what may be asked. But certain basic things and general news should be given importance as that is the minimum you should know about your country.

For International events, you may have to keep a tab on various wars, treaties, summits, conventions. While reading them as part of news, you may want to know more about it. For instance so much has been written and discussed about subsidies. So will it not be wise to know in details about WTO. We read so much about BRICS, isn’t important to know about it in details?

Every year we read about Nobel Prize, we think knowing about the winners is important. But what is most important is to know about the invention in details. And one may have to know how the Nobel prize started, with how much fund, which were the original subjects that were included in it, last year’s invention and winners.

 Usually for National news one may have to be updated about:

a.  The several Commissions and committees like the finance commission report, Law Commission report, budget, economic survey or committees for specific purpose like Shanta Kumar committee, Urjit Patel committee.

b.     Schemes (e.g., Jan Dhan Yojana) and new bodies formed (e.g. Niti Ayog).

c.       Important legislations

d.    Important cultural news of any part of India like the recent Nabakalebar festival of Lord Jaganath.

e.       Major awards, ceremonies.

f.       Diseases, Cyclones etc.

SOURCES

For schemes, you may keep a tab on newspapers. And by June-July every year, GK Today usually comes up with a compilation of all the major schemes for the year. 

Also if time permits, you can go through India Year book published every year. I however prefer a simple guide to the year book that New Vishals comes up with. It somehow is simple and easy to read. Not all sections are important. It will be discussed later.

The most important thing however will be to solve questions from test series available online because usually the questions cover the important news of the year. You need not necessarily join any test series as most of the question booklets are available in regular shops in Delhi at Old Rajinder Nagar 

[Kumar Book Centre, Mobile: 09968637044, 08826403255, 07042539169 or visit www. http://kumarbooks.com/]. You can call the shop and place your order. It’s usually reliable. Test Series of Vajiram and Ravi, Career Launcher and Vision IAS is good.

Also one has to buy a manual for GS Paper I like Tata McGraw Hill or Arihant. One of our teachers had suggested Spectrum Manual and I can vouch for it. It is crisp and covers all relevant sections. The international and national events section along with the GK portion is a must.

Apart from all this, if you still have time you can order Current Affair booklet of Vision IAS. I will however give it a skip this time ;)

Important Websites: [very very important]

For current affairs, the most important website is http://www.gktoday.in/. It is very useful and one should go through it every alternate day.

Websites like http://mrunal.org/ and http://www.insightsonindia.com/ are also very useful. However for this section I would suggest gktoday. 

 

Two things need to be kept in mind. It becomes usually very difficult to revise everything that has happened for the past one year during exams (usually it is from July to July). My solution to it is as follows and in no way it is the best way or the only way. I just feel it is working for me and it may work for you.

Though one may read newspaper regularly it won’t be possible always to make notes, considering that you are already busy with your work or studies. Also, even if you make notes, you may find it difficult to revise it right before exams. So one may consider making a small current affairs dictionary either online (Like evernote) or in hard copy. And whatever organization, or new medicine or disease or area is in news it can be recorded in the dictionary alphabetically. So while reading the newspaper you highlight the key words and add it to your dictionary. Whenever you are free, you may just Google the terms and read it at your leisure. Every Sunday just revise the dictionary and as Sundays should usually be off days with no pressure of work or studies, dictionary work can be prioritized. Before exams it will be easier to go through the dictionary.

The second thing one should keep in mind is that questions will not always be lifted from what is happening around. Questions may be asked on the institutions in news. For example this time the Indian Prime Minister has extensively travelled to several countries, so some of the questions in Prelims 2015 of current affairs were also from that area, usually referred to as GK. And the trend may continue because the visits aren’t stopping ;)

For better understanding, lets us see some of the questions that came from this section in Prelims 2015.

So there were the Simple and Direct ones like:

Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?
a) Odia
b) Konkani
c) Bhojpuri
d) Assamese

[This was asked last year. So yes, UPSC very much repeats questions. Of course it was in news too]

 Amnesty International is
a) an agency of the United Nations to help refugees of civil wars
b) a global Human Rights Movement
c) a non-governmental voluntary organization to help very poor people
d) an inter-governmental agency to cater to medical emergencies in war-ravaged regions

[So many parts of the world are engaged in wars every now and then and Amnesty International’s reports are usually quoted in editorials.]

 H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases?
(a) AIDS
(b) Bird flu
(c) Dengue
(d) swine flu

[Very much in news always, for the past few years]

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’ often seen in the news, is
a) a strategy to tackle the regional terrorism, an outcome of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
b) a plan of action for sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific Region, an outcome of deliberations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum
c) an agenda for women’s empowerment, an outcome of a World Conference convened by the United Nations
d) a strategy to combat wildlife trafficking, a declaration of the East Asia Summit

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been launched for
a) providing housing loan to poor people at cheaper interest rates
b) Promoting women’s Self Help Groups in backward areas
c) promoting financial inclusion in the country
d) providing financial help to marginalised communities

[Cannot be more easy than this]

The ‘Fortaleza Declaration’ recently in the news, is related to the affairs of:
a) ASEAN
b) BRICS
c) OECD
d) WTO

Among the following which were frequently mentioned in the news for the outbreak of Ebola virus recently?
a) Syria and Jordan
b) Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia
c) Philippines and Papua New Guinea
d) Jamaica, Haiti and Surinam

Indirect and Tricky ones

India is a member of which of the following?
1. Asia-Pacific economic corporation.
2. Association of South-East Asian Nations.
3. East Asia Summit
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 3 only
c) 1, 2, and 3
d) India is a member of none of them

[You should know India’s membership and non-membership into several of such groups especially in a time when all of these organizations have been in news. I ignored this section completely; of course I will pay for it ;)]

With reference to bio-toilets used by the Indian Railways, consider the following statements:
1. The decomposition of human waste in the bio-toilets is initiated by a fungal inoculum.
2. Ammonia and water vapour are the only end products in this decomposition which are released into the atmosphere.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

[I have put this in the tricky part because though it was very much in news, was discussed in the railway budget; many people might have ignored its details.]

Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status?
1. Banaras Brocades and Sarees
2. Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma
3. Tirupathi Laddu
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 only 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

[Recently there was a debate on the origin of Rasgulla where people from Odisha were demanding Geographical Indication status for it and were of course opposed by people of West Bengal. So a curious student should ideally know which other products in India have had this status.]

Do not be scared by seeing the sources or the questions. The more you get comfortable with these, the more you will like the exams, the more you will do well.

DAY 1, Happy Birthday Jilu Bhaina

My biggest support, strength and my first love, Jilu Bhaina, Happy Birthday. I am the luckiest sister. 13th Sept will always be special.

Coming back to our discussion...

The biggest problem I faced during my preparation was that I was working very hard towards something regarding which I had no clear idea. At Vajiram and Ravi (the institute where I took coaching), generally teachers were good and some were very good but no one really discussed what type of questions may be asked from the taught sections. Everything seemed easy and was happening fast. I found the course very interesting but was unaware of the kind of questions that have been asked or can be asked. I realized it as late as February when the test series began and I got the biggest shock of my life.

Perhaps, it was foolish of me to expect it from them because some preliminary work should have been done from my side before joining the institute itself. Not all decisions should be emotional and impulsive. I was usually unsure as to where to stop buying books, where to stop studying. For instance, there were times where I liked a particular subject so much that I went on researching on it, referring different books for it. I developed the understanding but with time it faded away because that was the wrong approach for this exam. I hope you will not face the same, as I am there for you.

Will start with a discussion on preliminary examinations and once you are comfortable in that we can move to a discussion on Mains. Yes, preparation should be an integrated one but the candidate should first know very well what the preliminary exam demands and once he gets comfortable in that, one should move towards Mains examination. However at this stage the optional selection is very important so that the relevant materials can be downloaded, bought and a basic understanding of the subject is developed. I think we are sorted regarding the Optional which in all probability will be Sociology in this case, as I will be unable to guide in any other subject ;)

Also for prelims the approach has to be very objective and smart or else one will just read and read and will be unable to deliver output. A particular teacher at Vajiram and Ravi always emphasized the importance of syllabus and he used to ask us to mug up the syllabus which I didn’t and I regret. Perhaps the mugging up part may be discounted but his concern was very right. Without knowing the syllabus by heart, without knowing why you are studying whatever you are studying, you are just making the journey more difficult.

So let us get acquainted with the syllabus for the Preliminary Examination.

Syllabus for Preliminary Examination

The Preliminary examination consists of Paper I and Paper II, each carrying 200 marks. I have mentioned the syllabus below, alongside which you will find dates allotted to the specific subjects. In those particular dates we will try to gain an understanding on the way each subject is to be approached, books to be referred/avoided, websites and essential videos that may be useful and a very basic discussion on the pattern of questions. So by the end of October 8th one will have a little clear idea about what to read and how to do so. Once this is over we may take individual topics in details that may start late October or Early November.

Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours

• Current events of national and international importance 

  (14^th -15^th Sept)

• History of India and Indian National Movement 

   (16^th-18^th Sept)

• Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World. 

  (19^th-21st Sept)

• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy,      Rights Issues, etc. 

  (22^nd-24^th Sept)

• Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics,  Social Sector Initiatives, etc. 

  (25^th- 27^th Sept)

• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require  subject specialization 

  (28^th-30^th Sept)

• General Science 

  (1^st-3^rd October)

Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours 

(4^th-8^th October)

• Comprehension

• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;

• Logical reasoning and analytical ability

• Decision making and problem solving

• General mental ability

• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. -Class X level)

• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).

• Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.

• The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

Note:

As you will be asked multiple choice questions which may be very indirect sometimes, the minute details cannot be ignored. So I would recommend slow and in-depth reading rather than a hasty one. The first reading is extremely important and requires maximum efforts. So if you are studying about elections in India you need to know everything about the election process of MPs, MLAs, President, Vice President etc. You need to know the difference in their election procedure, who conducts it, how is the election commission appointed, who are its members, what is their usual tenure, how are they removed etc. It isn’t difficult and is actually interesting as an aware citizen one should know about these things. So once you read about elections and election commission you should try to solve as many questions concerning it.The approach remains the same for other subjects as well.

So as per the time table we will start discussing different topics in depth from tomorrow. Kindly read and re-read the Syllabus today and reading Hindu should be started seriously from today itself.

Much love..Always.