Cadre Preferences for IAS/IPS & Service Preference

As the prelims result is out, I got a few queries regarding cadre preference. Now preference of cadres will vary from one aspirant to another as typically (& not all) one prefers his/her home state and neighboring states. Also the personality of an individual (comfort seeking, challenge seeking etc) will play an important role. I am putting here an indicative list of cadre preference (which I opted for during my attempt). Please please note that it is just indicative & a personal opinion. You are free to even follow it in reverse order!!!!!!

PREFERENCE ORDER FOR IAS
1. Rajasthan (Rajasthan being my home state & a very good cadre in general).
2. Haryana
3. Punjab
4. Madhya Pradesh
5. Uttar Pradesh (A good cadre with probably longest tenures for direct IAS/IPS as Collector/SP)
6. Gujarat
7. AGMUT
8. Maharashtra
9. Himachal Pradesh
10. Uttarakhand
11. Karnataka
12. Chhattisgarh
13. Bihar
14. Jharkhand
15. Orissa
16. Tamil Nadu
17. Andhra Pradesh
18. Assam-Meghalaya (A largely peaceful and good cadre)
19. Sikkim
20. J&K (Out of 22 districts only 4-5 districts have direct IAS/IPS posted as Collector/SP)
21. Kerala
22. West Bengal
23. Manipur-Tripura
24. Nagaland

PREFERENCE ORDER FOR IPS
1. Rajasthan (Rajasthan being my home state & a very good cadre in general).
2. AGMUT
3. Haryana
4. Madhya Pradesh
5. Uttar Pradesh (A good cadre with probably longest tenures for direct IAS/IPS as Collector/SP)
6. Gujarat
7. Maharashtra
8. Punjab
9. Himachal Pradesh
10. Uttarakhand
11. Karnataka
12. Tamil Nadu
13. Andhra Pradesh
14. Chhattishgarh
15. Bihar
16. Jharkhand
17. Orissa
18. Assam-Meghalaya (A largely peaceful and good cadre)
19. Sikkim
20. J&K (Out of 22 districts only 4-5 districts have direct IAS/IPS posted as Collector/SP)
21. Kerala
22. West Bengal
23. Manipur-Tripura
24. Nagaland

AGMUT is a very good cadre for IPS. Again I went to mention that this list is indicative only. It is biased in favor of north Indian states as I am from Rajasthan. Please consult your peers, faculty and family members before finalizing the list. It is very important to fill in the preference carefully. There were quite a few cases of sorry stories in my batch because of improper preferences of cadre. Good Luck!!

An indicative list of Service Preference is mentioned below

1. IAS
2. IFS
3. IPS
4. IRS (IT)
5. IRS (C&CE)
6. Indian Account and Audit Service
7. IRTS
8. DANICS
9. DANIPS
10. IDES
11. IDAS
12. AFHQ
13. IRAS
14. Civil Accounts
15. ICLS
16 IRPS
17 RPF
18 IIS
19 IP&TAFS
20 Postal Service
21 Ordinance Facotry

In the list above the first five service (upto IRS customs) are preferred generally in the same order. IAAS & IRTS are preferred equally as 6th preference. Beyond 7th preference this list does not accurately reflect the conditions of service. I have very limited information regarding service below IRTS, therefore please consult someone who knows (preferably someone who is working in any of these services). Another way of gauging the preference order can be accessing the service allocation list (by rank) of previous years on the portal of Ministry of Personnel (DoPT). The link is:

http://persmin.gov.in/AIS1/QrySA.asp

Hope it helps. All the best!!

Single Post to Download all Notes

I have consolidated all notes shared on this blog in this single post. I had earlier shared these notes on gmail and rapidshare too. In case of gmail, self centered aspirants kept on deleting the attachments and it was not possible for me to restore it everytime. So I have shared them through two portals (google docs and skydrive). You can follow any one portal. 

Link to download prelim notes (Follow any one of the two links mentioned below)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-5WdSFmy5ZrYzZkNjE1ODktYmRkNS00MGVmLWJkNDQtODE4ODdkYTQ0YTk4

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=2d8abacb7f51015a&resid=2D8ABACB7F51015A!107&parid=2D8ABACB7F51015A!103&authkey=!AByQ_5yWCDjkS_w

Link to download Mains notes (Follow any one of the two links given below)

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-5WdSFmy5ZrMzIxZjFiYjEtZjZjZi00Y2Q3LTgyZTYtYWZmZmRkOGExYTgw&hl=en_US

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=746fee966adcc8b8&resid=746FEE966ADCC8B8!105&authkey=4RDeISwUt7k%24

Click on the link or copy paste the link in the address bar of your browser and press enter. For google doc link, once the page opens, click on file and then click on download, the notes will automatically download. 

For skydrive link, once the page opens, just click on download on the top left side of the page and the download will start.

For those who are not net savvy, let me tell them that the notes are zipped in a folder. You will need wizip or winrar software (which can be downloaded for free from anywhere or www.download.com). After installing wizip, you can right click on the zipped folder & select "Extract to here" & all the notes will appear in a normal windows folder.

I hope I don't receive emails now to send the aspirants notes by email as they are easily accessible through above mentioned links. Also some aspirants send me emails sharing the notes on google docs. Probably such aspirants click on some wrong link. I have already explained above how to download the notes by properly following the links.

Good Luck!!!

General Studies Notes from Prelims

Hi Everyone. Updating the blog after long as was tied up with district training & with Punjab going for polls the schedule became even more demanding. Anyways, I had prepared notes for prelims in soft copy on my laptop which I am sharing here. The notes on Geography are of optional standard (as I had geography as optional in Prelims) but still can be referred selectively especially the sections on “Geography of India” and “Geography of the world”. I wanted to publish them but my contract with the publisher expired as I couldn't take out time to shape them up......so thought lets share them.

I have also uploaded notes of current affairs that I had prepared for preliminary examination of the year 2008. The intention was just to share with you how I used to organize the information from various sources. I used to prepare the current affairs notes mainly from two sources: News & Events Magazine (the thin monthly magazine which you get for Rs. 8) & Chronicle magazine (which I used to buy mainly for Mains examination but some portions were helpful for prelims too).

The notes can be accessed by pasting anyone of the two links mentioned below in the address bar for your browser & pressing enter.

Download from Google Docs:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-5WdSFmy5ZrYzZkNjE1ODktYmRkNS00MGVmLWJkNDQtODE4ODdkYTQ0YTk4

or

Download from Skydrive:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=2d8abacb7f51015a&resid=2D8ABACB7F51015A!107&parid=2D8ABACB7F51015A!103&authkey=!AByQ_5yWCDjkS_w

Once they are downloaded, you can use free software like winzip or winrar (can be downloaded for free from sites like download.com) to extract them (Right click on the file & click “extract here”). Good Luck!!

Download Notes from GMAIL Id, Google Docs & Skydrive

Hi Everyone....I received a lot of request to send the notes shared here through email as many had problems downloading from rapidshare. Therefore I've created a new Gmail id & uploaded all the notes there. The username & password are given below

Logon to GMAIL & use the below username & password to login

Username: notes.ghanshyamthori

password: freeforall

Once you have logged in, you can download all the notes from the email attachments. Its a humble request not to change the password so that everyone can benefit. Thanks. Godspeed.

PS: I have noticed that some aspirants try to delete the posts or change password. Let me tell them that this short sighted tactic will do them no good. I can easily restore the posts by sending a mail again from my personal id. Moreover I can restore the password again though my alternate id given. So please don't waste your energy on changing passwords & deleting mails. Let everyone benefit. Its a request.

New Google Docs & Skydrive Download Link:

Also to tackle the above mentioned issue I have uploaded all my notes (including two markers of GS, important topics for geography & psychology, Resources for Essays) on Google Docs & Skydrive. The link for download is mentioned below:

Link of Google Docs to download all my notes at once:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B-5WdSFmy5ZrMzIxZjFiYjEtZjZjZi00Y2Q3LTgyZTYtYWZmZmRkOGExYTgw&hl=en_US

Link of Skydrive to download all my notes in one go:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=746fee966adcc8b8&resid=746FEE966ADCC8B8!105&authkey=4RDeISwUt7k%24

For those who are not net savvy, let me tell them that the notes are zipped in a folder. You will need wizip or winrar software (which can be downloaded for free from anywhere or www.download.com). After installing wizip, you can right click on the zipped folder & select "Extract to here" & all the notes will appear in a normal windows folder. If you still have problems you can download from the email where the file is in pdf format as well as zip format.

I hope with this I have made the soft copy of my notes as accessible as possible. All the best.

Introduction & Blog Index

Hi Everyone. I am Ghanshyam Thori & I've secured AIR-25 in Civil Services Examination, 2009. I'll get IAS & hopefully a cadre of my choice. I did my graduation from Kirori Mal College, Delhi & MBA from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. I worked with Kotak Life Insurance for 3 years before getting selected into IAS. Last year too I secured 277 rank & got IRS (IT) & eventually IAS this year with 25th rank. My marksheet is shared below

My Marksheet, CSE 2009

Roll No. : 3710 Name : GHANSHYAM THORI

Civil Services (Main) Examination 2009

Subject

Essay(Paper III) 104

General Studies (Paper-IV) 174

General Studies(Paper-V) 150

GEOGRAPHY Paper-I 180

GEOGRAPHY Paper-II 152

PSYCHOLOGY Paper-I 116

PSYCHOLOGY Paper II 164

Written Total 1040

Interview Marks 210

Final Total 1250

A lot of people get confused with the arrangement of articles in the blog & end up asking questions on topics which have already been covered. To avoid confusion I am listing here the topics covered here (Month wise) with brief description. Anyone can access all this using the blog archive section (located on the right side below followers section). Please click on a particular month to access the articles under it. The index of this blog is as mentioned below:

JUNE 2010

Strategy & Tips for Zoology Optional

Shared by Dr. Gaurav Dahiya (AIR-76 in CSE 2009)

Resource for Essay, Psychology & Geography

Some resources which can be downloaded from rapidshare.

Download GS Two Markers

Two markers for General Studies Mains examination can be downloaded from here

Strategy for Pub Ad & Law

Shared by Siddharth Malik (AIR-71 in CSE 2009)

MAY 2010

Claim of Coaching Institutes

Brief view on coaching institutes that are claiming me as student.

Geopsychological Quagmire

Tips for Psychology & Geography Optional are shared in this article

Gyan Continued

It contains Civils Exam Strategy Part II (Includes details on subject selection, how to secure material, studying while working, CSAT)

Just Another Gyan

This is the first article on Civils Exam Strategy (Includes details on strategy to be followed for General studies in Prelims & Mains Exam)

MARCH 2010

Deja Vu...Not Desirable Anymore

Transcript of my interview 2009 - Mr. Vijay Singh's Board

APRIL 2009

My UPSC interview with Mr. KK Paul's Board on 26th March 2009.

Hope this makes the structure of the blog articles clear. Happy reading & good luck!!

Strategy & Tips for Zoology Optional

Dr. Gaurav Dahiya (AIR-76, CSE 2009) has shared the tips below for zoology on my request.

hi i m dr gaurav dahiya, i m a medical doctor by profession.i was working for the past three years on civil services. i have secured AIR 76 in civil services examination 2010. i wud like to share my experience of civil services preparation especially mains and the interview.my optionals were geography and zoology.

PRELIMINARY this stage is screening examination. it requires extensive study.now next year onwards there ll b CSAT i.e civil services aptitude test. it ll test whether a particular candidate has the aptitude for civil services.the exact details ll be known only with the notification of civil services 2011.

MAINS first of all i ll take up zoology.zoology according to me is a tough optional to take. zoology requires a huge amount of hardwork.paper 1 of it consists of extensive study of kingdom animalia.i ll list the books which can be followed

1.kotpal series for both vertebrates and invertebrates.

2.ethology by reena mathur. few topics needs search from library and internet.

3.shukla and upadhayay economic zoology.

4.p d sharma ecology

5. odums ecology especially for biogeochemical cycles and finer detals of ecology..

6.instrumentation: this part is quite cumbersome and it is difficult to find all topics in a single book.but books like b d singh , upadhyay and updhyay.;wilson and walker etc.

7.biostats by veer bala rastogi , though there are many mistakes in it.

paper 1 is a scoring paper. but one needs to thorough in the preparation.

zoology paper2 ..... this paper has become quite tough over the years.now the questions are mostly 20 or 30 markers.this paper is also quite lengthy to attempt.

1.evolution ... by veer bala rastogi . do not leave this section ,there are few compulsory questions which are to be attempted from this section.

2.cell biology...de robertis ; and also book by cb powar.

3.genetics.... this is scoring area, cover all the topics. genetics by veer bala rastogi

; pk gupta genetics; biotechnology by b d singh and t a brown

4.systematics... from internet

5.physiology... by guyton and ganong

6.biochemistry.... lippincotts review of biochemistry;, lehninger

7.developmental biology by verma and aggarwal, ;berry; many topics needs to be searched from internet and library.

If you have any further query, you can reach him at gauravdr_aiims@yahoo.co.in

Many thanks to him for sparing time to share the inputs......CHEERS!!!

Resource for Essay, Psychology & Geography

Chapterwise - List of Important Topics for Psychology & Geography

I went through previous 15-20 year question papers & selected list of topics from every chapter (for both Geography & Psychology). I used to cover only these topics. Anything not mentioned in the pdf files was left by me. I never left an entire chapter....used to leave topics chapterwise. Now it might seem that using this strategy one has to cover every chapter but with the unpredictable pattern of UPSC which is in vogue, it make sense to cover at least 80 % of the syllabus. For example in psychology Paper I in 2009 mains, 2 questions looked almost out of syllabus (Sperling's technique, Bernoulli Sequence). Similar was the case of geography where in Paper I, question 1 had no internal choice & had relatively tough sub questions (LC King & Second cycle of erosion). Therefore it is suggested that aspirants do an exhaustive study.

Download Insturctions:

1. Click on the link or paste the link in your browser
2. Once you reach rapidshare page, Click on the tab "Free User"
3. On the next page, you click on download & the download begins (you might have to wait for a couple of seconds in some case)

Important Topics in Psychology

http://rapidshare.com/files/398856353/Chapterwise_Important_Topics_in_Psychology.pdf

Important Topics in Geography

http://rapidshare.com/files/398856354/Chapterwise_Important_Topics_in_Geography.pdf

Resource for Essay (Basically quotations & select vocabulary)

Regarding Essay I felt that common topic doesn't fetch much marks (I know I am generalizing here but thats my take). For e.g. Essay on health topic last year was attempted by many but few could cross 100...On the other hand essay on "Good Fences make good neighbour" fetched good score in general. If I was to take the exam once again, I would have selected the most esoteric of the essay topics despite my limitations in terms of knowledge (Again a personal approach....I don't consider myself any authority in this domain....Just managed 104 this year; 115 & 110 in second & first attempt respectively). In my opinion one should write on a topic on which one expects the least number of people to write.

http://rapidshare.com/files/398856355/Strategy___Content_for_Essay_Paper.pdf

Good Luck!!