Strategy for Civil services perliminary examination 2011-Paper I (GS)

PT 2011 - Paper I is similar to GS paper of earlier PT examinations.But nature of questions is now somewhat changed and mere knowing facts would not be sufficient.Now integrated approach would be necessary in which preparation for GS should be for PT, Main GS, Essay and some extent to interview simultaneously.Main focus of the preparation should be Main examination and not PT.If one is well prepared for main examination then he/she would clear PT easily. Now we have more than 7 months for PT and gap between PT and Main examination is less than 5 months so preparing exclusively for PT from today would not be a wise decision. Here is the syllabus for PT Paper I

• Current events of national and international importance
• History of India and Indian national movement
• Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
• Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.
• Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
• General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that do not require subject specialization
• General science.

Now I shall discuss each section separately. Portions that are common to PT and Main examination should be given more emphasis and should be prepared in a manner that you don't have to do that portion again for main examination.


Current events of national and international importance:

This is the most important section of GS in current scheme of examination .It is must for GS PT, Main , Essay and Interview . Given its weightage this portion will be needing extra attention and time accordingly.Materials for this are-

• One general national newspaper ( Hindu, TOI, Indian Express etc any one of these)
• One business national newspaper (ET,FE, BL any one of these)
• One competition magazine
  

• Frontline, Yojna

OUT of these newspapers are most important and I would write a separate post on this.

History of India and Indian national movement:


This is a static portion of GS and should be prepared for Main and PT simultaneously. History from ancient times to up to 1850's would cover about half of the marks and rest half would be from 1850's to 1947.Important events from post independence can also be asked so that also needs to be prepared.Portions of National Movement must be understood clearly. Linkage, origin, region, action of government etc. of every event must be known.Even in PT now analytical questions are being asked so each and every aspect of history with logic of each events to be prepared. Analytical and opinion based questions also need to be prepared thoroughly.
Some useful materials are-

• NCERT books of class 11 and 12 of Indian History
• Bipan Chandra -India's struggle for Independence
• Sumit Sarkar-Modern India

Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world:

This is a scoring portion of GS in PT and main both. As in Main only Indian Geography is in syllabus so Indian Geography must be prepared more thoroughly.Current affairs related to Geography is very important and should be recorded separately from newspapers and magazines. World Geography should be prepared such that all basic principles and their applications of geography world over be related easily. Map questions also be prepared from PT's point of view.

Material are-

• a good atlas
• a map of India and World each
• NCERT books of 11 and 12
• physical and human geography-Goh Cheng Leong
• a globe
• India year book for reference only
• previous years GS PT questions for PT
• latest data from newspapers and internet

Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.:

This is very dynamic section . Newspapers are best source for this.Especially editorials and op-ed pages can be of very help. Search for every debate on issue of governance Rights etc. For public policy any public administration book can be consulted. Important resources are:

• Editorials and op-ed of newspapers
• Indian Polity of TMH by Laxmikanth
• Bare acts-P M Bakshi
• NCERT Political science books of class 11 and 12
• Frontline

Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc. :

This portion is again current affairs based.Newspapers are very important for this portions.Debate on LokSabha TV can also be of some use. One has to very aware of all these issues with all social implications.Inclusion need to done very thoroughly.
Materials include..

• Evolution of Indian Economy- I C Dhingra
• Economic Times
• Economic Survey
• Frontline
• Yojna and kurukshetra
• Indian Economy of TMH by Ramesh Singh
• Some Govt. sites such as RBI, NABARD,Planning Commission can be very useful

General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that do not require subject specialization:


Some portion of this part is common with Geography. Basic environmental issues are covered in Geography portion.Current developments in this field are very important. Newspapers will be the best source of information.Every international aspect also to be covered.

Materials include :

• Website of Environment Ministry
• Frontline

• Yojna and kurukshetra
• India Year Book

General science:

This is similar to previous version of PT.But lately even in PT questions from current development are also being asked. To score good in this portion conceptual understanding is necessary and fundamentals of science must be strong.
Materials includes:

• NCERT science books from class 6 to 10
• Thursday S and T column of The Hindu

As general science is not asked in main examination one need not to spend a lot of time in this portion. If whole science syllabus can not be completed then some parts such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry etc whichever easier for you can be done. One can safely skip one or two portion of General Science in PT as here one only need to qualify.



To start preparation for CSE a complete planning is must. A idea about how much time one can afford to devote to a particular portion should be known beforehand.I would write about CS(P)-2011 Paper II in next post. All comments welcome.