Lecture by S. Maitra on IAS Indian Economy at Civil Services Study Centre

CIV IL SERVICES STUDY CENTRE (C SSC)A D M I N I S T R A T I V E T R A I N I N G I N S T I T U T E

G O V E R N M E N T O F W E S T B E N G A LS A L T L A K E , K O L K A T A - 7 0 0 1 0 6

An Introductory Lecture By

Subir MaitraAssociate Professor and ex-

WBCS(Executive)

How to prepare for Civil Services Examination

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08/03/2014Subir Maitra/ATI-CSSC iasstudymat.blogspot.in2

The civil services examination is basically a test to choose suitable administrators. It tests the candidate right from the stage when one starts the preparation.

A candidate should have the right frame of mind and the will power to succeed in the exam.

A proper action plan is needed for the preparation. Candidates will be tested for some essential

qualities like power of retention, clarity of concepts, ability to identify the correct alternatives with efficiency and accuracy.

8/2/20143How to prepare for Civil Services Examination-An Introductory Lecture by Subir Maitra at ATI-CSSC, Salt Lake

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Candidates will be tested for some essential qualities like power of retention, clarity of concepts, ability to identify the correct alternatives with efficiency and accuracy, values and concern for society.

The main constraint is the time one gets to answer questions.

It is a multiple choice question paper, it needs a different preparation and a proper strategy.

The examination is designed to evaluate certain qualities like a sharp memory and basic retention power.


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One should be able to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information.

The questions asked in the General Studies paper are of 10+2 level. Therefore emphasis has to be on conceptual clarity.

Candidates must have the acumen and the ability to choose the right option of many given options. This needs a proper method of elimination.

It is not enough to know the right answer but it has to be marked correctly on the answer sheet.

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How to prepare for Civil Services Examination-An Introductory Lecture by Subir Maitra at ATI-CSSC, Salt Lake




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Speed and Accuracy are important, so solving model question papers on a regular basis would be a great help.

A good presence of mind is needed to eliminate the least appropriate options and arrive at the right one.

Any topic or concept should not be studied in isolation. It is better to understand and establish a correlation between related concepts from other subjects and current events and happenings.

It is necessary to have a positive attitude and a great amount of will power to succeed to achieve your goal.


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SUCCESS SECRETS

Hard work: Remember that there is no substitute to hard work.

There is no short cut to success and hard work never goes unrewarded.

Planning and systematic study: Proper planning right from the stage of selection of

text books is absolutely necessary. There are ways to study more effectively and with

less stress and more enjoyment. It is wise to take a three pronged approach to

preparation, reading to learn, making effective notes and able to write answers to various kinds of questions.


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Time management: Effective time management is another

requirement. We keep hearing the word "Busy" a lot. There are

two kinds of ‘busy’(ness): chaotic, disorganized busy and calm, effective busy.

It goes without saying that being the latter helps to pack in more productivity in your work.


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Self-confidence: Your self-confidence can make the difference. Your

self-confidence should be at an all time high - always.

You should be in the company of people, who can increase your motivational levels high and can inspire you.

Form a group of close friends, who are as determined as you are to make it to the Civil Services Examination.

Dedication: Be totally dedicated and focused in your studies.

You may have to sacrifice something like movies, parties, and entertainments etc at this stage of your life to achieve bigger things.


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Patience: As the CSE preparation spans a minimum of one

year, right from the Preliminary stage to the interview state, it requires a lot of patience to maintain your tempo.

One should not lose patience and the tempo throughout the preparation period till success.


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TIPS FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS AT THE PRELIMS

Don’t waste time: Start answering the questions from the minute you

get them. Waste no time on reading the entire question paper

first. First answer all the question you are sure you know the answers to.

Skip all the difficult questions in the first round: in this round if you find yourself stuck in a question for more than 10 seconds, just skip it.

However, keep making a small mark on the question paper to indicate that you have skipped that question in the first round. This will enable you to save time in the next rounds.

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Allocate time for each answer: In GS Prelims Paper-1, since you are to answer

100 questions (80 questions for Paper-2) in two hours, you have an average of 72 seconds (90 seconds for Paper-2) for each question.

So on pro rata basis you should answer 25 questions every 30 minutes (20 questions every half an hour for Paper-2).

But be harsh with yourself in the first hour. Allocate 40-45 seconds for each question (55-60 seconds in case of Paper-2).


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Thus if in the first 30 minutes you haven’t answered 30-35 questions (25-27 questions in case of optional subject), you should tell yourself that you are not doing well.

This is because in the first hour you will be answering the easiest questions and in the last half-hour you will need plenty of spare time for “logic and guesswork”.

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Negative marking: There will be penalty for wrong answers. For each wrong answer,one-third (0.33) of the

marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.

If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong even if one of the given answers happens to be correct and there will be same penalty.

But if a question is left blank, i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that question.

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ANALYSIS OF GS PRELIMS QUESTIONS RELATED TO INDIAN ECONOMY (2005-2013):

CSE GS Prelims 2013 1.Balance of payments; 2.RBI’s regulation; 3.Bank Rate; 4.Deficit financing; 5.Disguised

unemployment; 6.Capital account; 7.Inflation; 8.Liquid asset of bank; 9.Open market operations; 10. Priority sector lending

by banks;

11.Demographic dividend; 12.Inflation; 13.Economic growth; 14.National income; 15.Credit to rural poor; 16.Foreign exchange

reserve; 17.Inflation; 18.Demand and supply of

money;




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ANALYSIS OF GS PRELIMS QUESTIONS RELATED TO INDIAN ECONOMY (2005-2013):

CSE GS Prelims 2012 1. National Biodiversity

Authority (NBA) and Indian agriculture;

2. National Rural Health Mission;

3. National Rural Livelihood Mission;

4. Multi-dimensional Poverty Index of UNDP;

5. Thirteenth Finance Commission;

6. Industrial Policy; 7. Ryotwari Settlement; 8. Demographic transition; 9. Index of Industrial

Production;

10. Janani Suraksha Yojana; 11. Employees’ State Insurance

Scheme; 12. District Rural Development

Agencies; 13. Reserve Bank of India; 14. Capital gains; 15. Measures to increase in the

money supply in the economy; 16. Foreign Direct Investment; 17. Price of a currency in

international market; 18. Lead Bank Scheme;


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ANALYSIS OF GS PRELIMS QUESTIONS RELATED TO INDIAN ECONOMY (2005-2013):CSE GS Prelims 2011 1. Union Budget 2011-12; 2. Food Inflation; 3. Fiscal Stimulus; 4. Visit by foreign nationals to

India; 5. Current Account Deficit; 6. Base Effect of Inflation; 7. Demographic dividend; 8. Value Added Tax; 9. Closed economy; 10. Difference between FDI and

FII; 11. Aam Admi Bima Yojana; 12. Mega Food Parks; 13. Micro Finance; 14. MGNREGA;

15. Union Budget; 16. Finance Commission; 17. Australia Group and

Wassenaar Arrangement; 18. Difference between Vote on

Account and Interim Budget; 19. IMF; 20. Teaser Loan by commercial

Bank; 21. Growth of Indian economy; 22. Agricultural credit; 23. Inclusive Growth; 24. Disinvestment of the public

sector; 25. Economic growth and

Inflation; 26. Bank Rate;


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MAJOR TOPICS OF GS PRELIMS QUESTIONS RELATED TO INDIAN ECONOMY (2005-2013):

Census 2001 and Census 2011; Basic statistics relating to Indian Economy; Five Year Plans; Government Policies; Government Schemes, Projects and Missions; Committees and their recommendations; Public Sector Enterprises; Stock Exchanges and Stock Indices—National and International; Bank and insurance sector-Role and functions of Reserve Bank

of India; Famous private companies—business houses associated with

them and their products/services; International trading blocks—India as a member; Environment Economics-- National and International; Taxes and subsidies; Miscellaneous;


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READING LIST

NCERT textbooks (XI-XII) on Economics: Read the following sections:

From XI: Course II, Units I—IV; From XII: Course II, Units IV—V; Census 2001 and 2011Reports; Economic Surveys, GOI,(2012-13 and 2013-14); India 2013 and 2014; One good guide book on CSE Prelims

(Access/TMH/Unique/Spectrum); One/two good monthly magazines on competitive

examination and special issues; One/two national English dailies; One economic/business daily, if possible.




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Best of Luck

Economy & Finance

Lecture by S. Maitra on IAS Indian Economy at Civil Services Study Centre