[Q] Duration of Prelim Exam and Order of Papers?

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

it is no where mentoined in your blog ,what is duration of prelim exam and is it 120 quest from opt and 150 quest from gs,also i wud like to know is there any order we need to finish or can we do it in our preference i mean is both opt & gs quest paper givn together. hope,reply will help lot of people who r new to this.

regards, minn

Duration of Each paper is 2 Hours.

both papers are taken separately on the same day.

Optional Subject paper

In the morning 9.30AM to 11.30 AM &
120 Questions & 2.5 Marks for Each question.=total 300 Marks.

then there will be recess.

GS paper

is taken in the Afternoon of the same day
at 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM &
150 Questions & 1 Mark for Each question = total 150 Marks.

[What Went Wrong] The Low 20/200 Marks in Essay of UPSC mains

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

after seeing my marksheet, many people have asked,

what went wrong with the essay?

I wrote Essay on 'Are We a Soft State'
and after the mains exam, I had wrote the brief outline of my essay on indianofficer forum. (click me to see it)

1. initially i left spaces to draw diagrams and cycles but then i ran out of time so couldn't draw them.
2. i ran out of time so i couldn't write the internal softness part in much detail.
3. i forgot to mention the Kandahar & Rubiya hostage situation (which rang my mind after reading the Indian Express of the same day and Bengal's home Secretary's remark on yes we are a soft state.)

I had pointed out Nehru's NAM + Panchsheel policy for external softness and Faulty Federalism for Internal Softness, I guess may be the professor did not agree with that.

I got a tip from anonymous person.

I read the points you had included in your essay on the indianofficer's forum. I am not sure myself, but I think your low score in essay can be attributed to your misinterpretation of the term "Soft Power". This term soft power was coined by a Harvard Professor and its meaning and connotations can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_power . I hope it helps you in someway.

^^ thanks for that. Well, in my essay, I had listed the advantages of being a soft power like getting nuke deal with US without signing the NPT / CTBT etc.

The question of Soft Power was asked in GS paper 2 on the day before Essay Paper and I had answered it. but I didn't elaborate the soft power concept separately in essay because I thought that the main subject of this essay is 'Are we a soft state' so if i go in length about soft power concept I would run out of time. (i did run out of time and couldn't write many things on India's softness in internal affairs) anyways I thought about my essay and It occurred to me that ...

Final Thoughts on the Low marks in Essay

many people would have wrote almost the same things like I did so mine was just another random average quality essay for the examiner. +I forgot to mention Kandahar Hostage situation so I shouldn't expect huge marks for it, but still 20/200 is a way too harsh punishment for forgetting Kandahar and it wasn't extremely pathetic essay otherwise.

But then again if he had given me suppose 50 or 60 or 70 marks - even then I wasn't going to qualify for interview because my score is not good in GS or in Pub.Ad's paper1.

Some other related questions by other people

How many words did you write in the Essay?
-vipul pandey

I think I wrote about 2200 words.

did you answer all the questions of paper 1 and 2
-vipul pandey

for my optional subjects, yes I did answered the required questions.
for Gs- i couldn't answer many questions.

R u planning to write it again this yr or will you take this as a rest year and be ferociously ready for the next yr's new pattern.
-Mav

yes I'm going to appear for 2010's exam.

[Q] all those optional subject selection & aptitude Test 2011 related queries

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

There are atleast a dozen comments in my previous posts + many unanswered emails of people asking me about

"help me decide the optional subject" and

"help me with the aptitude test"

from 2011 the UPSC is expected to remove the optional subject system and implement the Aptitute Test like in CAT etc. I'm not following that news very thoroughly at the moment since I've to appear for this year's prelim (which has the same optional subject system'.)

so what should you do with your preparation ?

should you prepare some optional subject or

should you prepare for aptitude test?

well, I'm not a UPSC expert - so just applying the common sense-

stick to the general studies part because no matter how they change the exam system - there will be geography,polity,mental ability, current affairs and history and everything because its 'civil service exam' after all.

and also prepare the aptitude test related things, because they'll also help you in other exams like Bank Probationary officer, LIC Development officer, CAT etc.

Now don't ask me how to prepare for aptitude, because I've to give prelim in the 'old optional subject system' on 23rd May 2010 so I worry / care less about the aptitude Test 2011 of next year and more about the 2010's exam of old optional system.

for Aptitude test -Use Google search - there is tonnes of material available for it. and there are plenty of books in the market for it too. Also refer this article
CSAT - Understanding- Analysis-Insight-Structure

[Marksheet] UPSC's Civil Service Mains Exam 2009

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

You can check your Mains 2009 Exam's Mark-sheet on following page.
Click me to Check yours

Here is mine

I got only 20/200 in Essay.

[Prelim 2010] Check your Application Status

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

yes finally UPSC has updated the data, so
Enter your Application Form number (of UPSC 2010 Prelim) in the following BOX!

Enter Your Application Form No in this Box

What does this mean?

It means that you've won half of the war. it means your application is accepted by UPSC.

Help, It doesn't show information regarding about my application number?

Well then call the helpdesk. 011-23381125/23385271/23098543.
Also keep seeing this following forum thread,
Click Me
(unfortunately) a friend of mine Siva is having the same problem.

What if i don't get acknowledgment card?

that's nothing to worry about. its like money-order's 'reciept' sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't.
for you the imp paper is 'admission ticket' which you'll get just 20-30 days before the Prelim on 23rd May 2010.

When will I get my Admission ticket?

20-30 days before the Exam (23rd May 2010)

What if I don't get admission ticket on that time?

call UPSC helpdesk.
011-23381125/23385271/23098543.

what if my adderss is changed?

same as above, call helpdesk, they'll update your home address.

(i) Every candidate for this examination will be informed at the earliest possible date of the result of his application. Admission certificates, indicating the Roll Nos. will be issued to the candidates who are admitted to the examination. The admission certificate will bear the photograph of the candidate. If a candidate does not receive his admission certificate or any other communication regarding his candidature for the examination three weeks before the commencement of the examination, he should at once contact the Commission. On receipt of such a communication, Admission certificate or a duplicate copy thereto will be issued to the admitted candidate. Information in this regard can also be obtained from the Facilitation Counter located in the Commission’s Office either in person or over phone Nos. 011-23381125/23385271/23098543. In case no communication is received in the Commission's office from the candidate regarding non-receipt of his admission certificate atleast 3 weeks before the examination, he himself will be solely responsible for non-receipt of his admission certificate. It may be noted that the Admission Certificate will be issued at the address as photocopied from the application form filled in by the candidate. The candidate should, therefore, ensure that address given by him in the application form is correct and complete with pin code.

[Minister says in Parliament] Aptitude test from 2011 instead of Prelims

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

Quoting from the PIB Press Release (Courtesy, Ujjwal Das for sending this info. to me)

Quote:

The examination system of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is updated from time to time to keep it in harmony with the changing environment. In regard to the Civil Services Examination (CSE) the Prime Minister has approved the proposal for introduction of Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in place of the existing Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. The CSAT is expected to come into effect from Civil Services Examination, 2011. This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

well, I would still say, nothing 100% sure until the notification for 2011's Exam is published by UPSC. (perheps in December 2010/ Jan.2011)



Notice the politically and legally correct word "expected to come"
remember the same way PM wanted to implement GST from Apr.2010
But I do wish that they implement them both. (GST + CSAT)

[Q] Frontline Article says "UPSC exam pattern will change in 2011-12"

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

I'm only copy pasting the article below.

AFTER years of dithering, the Government of India has finally agreed to change the format of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil services examination. The present format had come under severe criticism from both members of the public as well as from parliamentary committees, and there had been tremendous pressure on the government to review it. Its shortcomings, which have come to light following queries made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, warranted urgent action.

To begin with, the Preliminary examination, which consists of general studies and optional papers, may be replaced with an aptitude test, to be called the Civil Services Aptitude Test. The test will comprise two objective-type papers, which will be common for all candidates appearing for the examination. A proposal to this effect has received the Union government’s approval.

Confirming this, Shantanu Consul, Secretary, Department of Personnel, Government of India, told this correspondent that the proposed changes would come into effect next year as the notification for this year’s examination had already come out. Refusing to disclose any other details about the new format, he said it was the prerogative of the UPSC, which conducted the examination, to notify the changes.

A senior UPSC official said that “some letter from the government regarding proposed changes in the system of civil services examination had indeed been received, but the exact nature of the changes approved cannot be disclosed yet”. But going by the speech of the UPSC Chairman, Prof. D.P. Agrawal, on the occasion of UPSC Foundation Day celebrations last year, there will be a change in the Preliminary examination format, a review of the contents of the Main examination by an expert committee, a lowering of the age limit for entry into the services, and a reduction in the number of attempts.

In his speech, Agrawal said that the UPSC had been endeavouring to develop a recruitment system that tested the aptitude and competency of candidates for an increasingly specialised public administration while ensuring social justice and adequate representation for all sections so that the government became more inclusive and participatory.

M. MOORTHY
[Image]
D.P. Agrawal, Chairman of the UPSC.

In this connection, he said: “One of the recommendations made by the Commission to the government is that a Civil Services Aptitude Test replace the existing Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. The proposal is to have two objective-type papers that are common to all candidates.”

Explaining why this was needed, he said: “The emphasis is on testing the aptitude of the candidate for the demanding life in the civil services as well as on ethical and moral dimensions of decision-making. The proposed scheme will also provide a level playing field and equity since all candidates will have to attempt common papers.” He said the Commission wanted the Main examination to remain the same until an expert committee appointed by the Commission went into various aspects of it.

Regarding the lowering of the age limit for entry into the civil services, he said it was desirable but cautioned that such a decision could affect the interests of rural candidates, who often complete their graduation later than their urban counterparts.

Besides, he said, the number of attempts – four at present – should be reduced. “A reduction in the number of attempts allowed at the examination is, however, called for so as to remove the premium on cramming and memorisation that a large number of attempts provides.”

He said a natural corollary of these proposed modifications was the need to ensure that the performance of the officers selected through the examination was tracked, particularly during the initial years.

Other than direct recruitment, another mode of entry into the civil services is by promotion from State services. At present, this is done on the basis of annual confidential reports prepared through selection committee meetings. The Commission proposes to make changes in the promotion quota by introducing a three-tier recruitment process that involves a limited competitive examination, interview and assessment of service record. “This would have the salutary effect of encouraging competition and privileging merit. The States will also benefit from the scheme. Such a system could, in time, be extended to promotions within the Central services as well,” the Chairman said.

If all of these proposals are put into effect, this will have a major impact on the system of recruitment for the civil services. Over a million applications come to the UPSC for its 14 regular examinations and also other recruitments it conducts every year. On the basis of the tests, the Commission recommends the appointment of about 5,000 officers to various services. In addition, it deals with the promotion of 600 Central service officers and the induction of about 300 officers from the State services to the all India services. In such a mammoth exercise, it is only natural that grievances arise. Until recently, complaints against the UPSC failed to get highlighted. But now, with the RTI Act in place, more and more complaints, especially about irregularities, are coming to light, and the government will have to deal with them sooner or later.

R.V. MOORTHY
[Image]
The UPSC headquarters in New Delhi.

One frequently voiced complaint is regarding the system of evaluation of answer papers and the scaling\moderation formula applied by the UPSC to remove inter-subject and inter-examiner variability. There is no transparency about how this is achieved. The refusal of the UPSC to disclose model answers and cut-off marks for various subjects or how it brings parity among subjects as varied as Pali literature and mechanical engineering or medical science and Dogri literature has made the selection process suspect. The UPSC itself has admitted that there is no standard system to evaluate subjects as diverse as Marathi literature and animal husbandry.

Repeated petitions of applicants in various courts and with the Central Information Commission (CIC) have yielded no results. According to experts, the opaqueness has given rise to serious doubts about the credibility of the entire selection process. The parliamentary standing committee headed by Rajya Sabha member E.M.S. Natchiappan in 2008 had questioned the refusal to disclose cut-off marks as well as the scaling/moderation formula used to bring parity. The committee, while studying the demands for grant by the UPSC, had looked into the functioning of the Commission and come across a horde of complaints by members of the public. Though the committee failed to elicit an explanation from the UPSC, it did manage to push the UPSC into reviewing the examination format to some extent.

“I fail to understand what is so sacrosanct about the scaling/moderation formula that the UPSC refuses to disclose it. This disclosure will make their system all the more credible as students will know exactly where they stand and why,” said Natchiappan.

Strengthening the doubts about its evaluation process is the UPSC’s own stand on the issue. In reply to a petition in the CIC by an applicant seeking disclosure of the cut-off marks, the scaling formula and model answers, vide appeal no. CIC/WB/A/2007/00694 of 2008, the UPSC said that the Commission did not maintain any model answers for descriptive papers, that the evaluation methodology adopted by the examiners were purely informal and were not maintained in the UPSC’s records, that no instruction sheets as an alternative to model answers were maintained, and only general instructions common to all subjects for marking scripts and which referred to general issues/standards/precautions to be followed during the evaluation process were sent to the examiners. According to the UPSC, these general instructions are “secret” and their disclosure will lead to a “deleterious effect on the system/procedure being followed that has proved to be time-tested”.

What, however, raises a question mark over the UPSC’s “time-tested” claim is the fact that even randomisation of roll numbers by the UPSC, which is a basic computer-based function with no scope for any mistake as the applications are computer-readable, has been found to be faulty.

In another RTI query, it has been brought to light that almost every year since 2003 the total number of candidates as per the roll numbers allotted is more than the total number of those who applied. According to a reply filed by the UPSC (No.9\7\2007-EIII), the total number of applicants in the 2003 Civil Services Preliminary examination was 3,16,495; the first roll number allotted was obviously 000001 but the last roll number was 316587, meaning thereby that 92 was the difference in those who applied and those who got their roll numbers. Similarly, 3,49,025 candidates applied for the Preliminary examination in 2004, but the last roll number allotted was 349464, which is 439 more. In 2005, the difference was 172, and in 2006, it was as huge as 7,867. In a letter written on May 31, 2008, again in reply to an RTI query, the UPSC explained the difference in the roll numbers and the total number of those who applied thus: “It is informed that roll numbers are allotted randomly and due to transfer of mix-up of applications of other examinations, the number of total candidates applied may not match with that of the last roll number.”

When such incongruous mistakes come up in even its basic functioning, it is natural that doubts will be raised about more complicated procedures such as the scaling/moderation of marks or the methodology of evaluation. But so far these subjects have been treated like a holy cow both by the UPSC and by the Government of India, and this has resulted in a plethora of writ petitions in various courts. At least six such petitions are pending in the Delhi High Court.

   

My opinion is same as usual

I'm hearing all these things since last 5 years, that optional subject system is going to be removed, trial will be reduced etc.etc.
there will be online application filling (even UPSC chairman said that few months back)
none of it, is implemented yet.

the only certain way to find out the change in exam pattern is when UPSC gives the notification for 2011-12's civil service Exam in December 2010 / Jan 2011. 

[Q] Newcomer's Dilemma about Magazines- which to read, what to read, when to read?

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

I know its depends upon individual 2 individual that what he or she is preffering according to understanding, but I just have some general query:-->

1. Can Anybody please tell me few things about Major magzines that what diffrent
topics and areas we need to cover in diffrent magzines like Chronical , Wizard,
CSR, PD etc as it is not possible to go through more then 2 magzines, in simple
word I just want to know that which magzine is best in what areas so accordingle
one can manage to select the readable items(Sections) from these various
magzines and upto what extract one has to go through these magzines for GS
point for view.

2. After one has decided to start preparation for next year suppose May 2011, then
from what time he needs to cover the magzines End to End properly ... what time
means from the previous year jan or if available going more back to previous to
previous year.

The doubts are for biggners but the answers helps a lot to sort the confusions of biggners.

Thanks,
Abhishek

generally the 'prelim special issues' are one and same throughout the years.
i.e. suppose this January 2010, wizard gives 'history special issue'
then all the history 'material' given into it, is almost same like what they had given in their 2008 and 2009's prelim special issues. same formula applies for all 'prelim special' magazines.
the only thing differs is 'current affairs.' but even that too is almost one and same format in all magazines i.e. international | National | States'watch | Sci.tech | Eco | Sports.

most people use chornicle/wizard/P.darpan / CST, so you can pick up any of it, which you suits you better.
it depends from issue to issue. sometimes some magazine would cover some topic in very lucid manner and other times it wont cover anything imp.
for e.g.
in 2009, before prelims - Wizard used to be good,
but after prelims,they only gave 'Topper's interview' and all non-imp data. so such issues are not worth it buying it.

in 2009 'prelim special issue' cycle, the Chronicle was running 'cover History in 15 days' etc. but this time they're using different strategy.
so you should take a look @ all magazine's issues @ the bookstall for the given month before buying one.

the sooner you start reading the magazines is better for you.
If you're planning to subscribe to Chronicle / Wizard, then I would say think twice, because many times their magazines are not coming via post regularly. for more on that, read following

[Problem] I'm not getting Chronicle magazine via postal subscription & he asks for more money for RpAD

[Result] Mains-2009 Result is OUT!

Enter your email address

Once you subscribe,
you'll get my full articles
in your email for free!
See Below
The Number of readers
I already have!

go here

Click me to goto UPSC's result page

congrats to all those who cleared it and do let us know about your interview tests

i checked mine, 006792 but its not in the list.
guess I'll have to go through one more (vicious) cycle of this exam.

*** IMPORTANT ***

3. All the qualified candidates for Personality Test are required to download the Summary Sheet available on the Commission’s website http://www.upsc.gov.in and send the same duly filled in by speed post to the Under Secretary (Shri D.B. Das), Room No.423, Ayog Sachivalaya Building, Union Public Service Commission, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069 within ten days from the date of declaration of result.

4. Personality Test of these candidates will commence from 22nd March, 2010. Personality Tests will be held in the Office of the Union Public Service Commission at Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069. The date and time of Personality Test is being intimated to the qualified candidates individually. The date and time of Personality Test of candidates being called for Personality Test from 22.03.2010 to 06.04.2010 will be displayed on the Commission’s Website http://www.upsc.gov.in on 16th March, 2010 and the date and time of Personality Test of the remaining candidates will be displayed on 23rd March, 2010. The candidates who do not receive communication regarding their Personality Test, should immediately contact the office of the Commission through letter or on Phone Nos. 23385271, 23381125, 23098543 or Fax No. 011-23387310, 011-23384472.

5. No request for change in the date and time of the Personality Test intimated to the candidates will be entertained under any circumstances.

6. The candidates are advised to notify changes in their address, if any, to the Commission immediately through letter or Fax at Telephone numbers indicated above.

7. The mark-sheets of candidates who have not qualified, will be put on the Commission’s Website within 60 days from the date of publication of this result and will remain available on the Website for a period of 60 days.