New Syllabus and Content and strategy for Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2011

the UPSC Preliminary Examination 2011 examination will consist of two papers. Paper I and II are each worth 200 marks and have been allotted two hours each.

Paper I - 200 marks, Duration Two Hrs – candidates will be tested on their knowledge of:

1.Current events of national and international importance-this is the area which requires the highest amount of concentration and carries high weightage of around 30 to 40 marks this can be expected to rise this year for prelim 2011..the best way to keep track with current events will be to follow any national newspaper preferably …the hindu,business line,the times of india or indian express…a complete reading of all the events along with editorials is required..making a note of important events or personalities,awards with specific focus on economic activity is required.

Any monthly magazine ..civil services chronicle and competition wizard are the most preferred magazine..pratyogita darpan is also a good book to follow…news panorama is a must read book for prelims the above books should take care of current affairs..

2. Indian history and Indian national movement-the recent trend in history shows that more concentration on modern history is required especially on idian national movement and events after the year 1500 there has been a considerable decrease In the number of questions to around 15 an the trend is expected to stay the same

3. Indian and world geography, including the physical, social and economic geography of India and the world-this area is another area where a lot of questions are asked in civils ..for geo and history ncert books are the most imp books to read..along with them tata mcgraw hill or spectrum is a good book to follow

d. Indian polity and governance – Constitution, the political system, panchayati raj, public policy and Rights Issue etc-this part is the most important in the context of both gaining insights into indian governance and also in the context of upsc exam..as a civil aspirant every one must be thorough with polity and laxmikanth for polity would be the best book to follow…

e. Economic and social development, sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics and social sector initiatives etc .-any business newspaper and pratyogiyata darpan special edition would be useful…ncert books alo need to be studied for conceptual clarity

f. General Issues on Environmental Ecology, bio-diversity and Climate Change- that do not require subject specialization.

g. General Science-tata mcgraw hill and icse books of 8^th 9^th and 10^th would be enough.

Spend around 4 to 6 hours per day for about one year.this should be good enough to take care of prelims

Paper II –200 marks –Duration Two Hrs- will consist of:-

a. Comprehension

b. Interpersonal skills including communication skills

c. Logical reasoning and Analytical ability

d. Decision making and problem solving

e. General Mental Ability

f. Basic Numeracy (numbers and their relation, orders of magnitude etc (Class X level), Data Interpretation (Charts, Graphs, Tables, Data sufficiency etc – Class X level)

g. English language comprehension skills