Civil Services Mains 2020 Results: In or Out ? Way ahead, gratitude and Pain
The Civils Mains result has been declared. This thread is for sharing your grief , joy , mixed feelings - absolutely anything and everything.
Hey fellow aspirants, I need some help.
I find it extremely difficult to follow monthly magazines. Initially I thought that it was probably one particular institute whose magazine I am finding difficult to grasp. But, I have tried quite a few including Forum's, and somehow feel that these magazines are not for me.
There seems to be too much information overload. And somehow , I always ALWAYS end up NOT COMPLETING ANY MAGAZINE. It is not that I dont read newspapers and rely solely on magazines, but I just find myself difficult to concentrate and spend hours on just one issue.
It read one page and by the time I reach the next one, I already forget what I read minutes ago.
IT is so demotivating everytime.
I sometimes decide not to go through any magazine, but thats when the FOMO hits really hard. Everyone is reading Monthlies, Yearlies and so on and here I am, not able to finish even a single document.
Please help.
Just tagging a few people here whose name I can recall at the moment. Others may also give in their opinons @SergioRamos @Arrokoth @Patootie @nerdfighter @DeekshitaP @Jammu .
Also, if there is any video/youtube alternative to these magazines, please suggest .
Thanks.Here’s a secret!You don’t need to read everything in monthly magazines.Pick and choose what you want to read. I would suggest doing them purely from a mains point of view. Maybe you could reflect on what you read and make one page notes with random points you can think of about a topic. That way, since you have engaged with the idea of the topic given in the monthly, you’d be able to remember it better. I don’t see the utility in chumma mugging up current affairs from the prelims point of view. It’s not in line with the prelims pattern post 2016. In any case, since you will do enough mocks, these trivia type things will get covered anyway. Word of advice, don’t do these things cover to cover. Remember, 250 words in mains. Enough understanding for prelims. This is what will sail you through. There is no need for FOMO. An average UPSC aspirant cannot even recollect 1 percent of the cumulative total they’ve read on the exam day. That is simply because of the volume that we read.Therefore, my suggestion would be to strictly limit what you study.Of course you may read if you have interest, and that will have some effect on your answers as well, but it almost entirely depends on how well you have internalised and predetermined what you are going to write about a specific issue. If you have just passively read it, it’s of no use whatsoever for the exam.
Therefore, my suggestions would be:
1. Don’t rote learn from a monthly. Instead, Rote learn from a Mains 365 for GS.
2. Don’t read too much about things that won’t come for Mains. And this is 50 percent of the magazine in most cases.
3. If you have enough content about something, skip left right and centre.
4. Do enough mocks to get over the fomo. Revise the mocks. And that too, just the bare minimum about things such as initiatives, space missions, missiles etc. The more you know about these things usually indicates that you have wasted more time on information that is unnecessary for clearing the exam.
5. UPSC aspirants usually have a lot of information/knowledge with them at the time of Mains. It is based on whatever fraction of it that they display that the marks are allotted. Therefore, it stands to reason that you need to maximise reading the things that you can replicate in the exam. Because anything you read beyond that is useless for the exam because the examiner won’t know about it.
6. Knowledge is never wasted. I still read up on things that interest me. It’s a bad habit when you have limited time and if your sole purpose is to clear the exam.
7. If you limit what you read, you’ll realise that the time you are spending reading rn is enough. Just that you need to strategise better.
8. For prelims, do places in news, organisations, reports, PT365 for environment. Cost benefit ratio is high usually. The game is usually won and lost basis your grip on static subjects, your concepts, and a whole dollop of sheer dumb luck.
For the uninitiated, “chumma” means “simply” (pronounced “simbly”). It’s a way of life for us here in the South. :)
My blog that I’m working on is called chumma musings. I’ll let you guys know when it is ready
Patootie,
Hey fellow aspirants, I need some help.
I find it extremely difficult to follow monthly magazines. Initially I thought that it was probably one particular institute whose magazine I am finding difficult to grasp. But, I have tried quite a few including Forum's, and somehow feel that these magazines are not for me.
There seems to be too much information overload. And somehow , I always ALWAYS end up NOT COMPLETING ANY MAGAZINE. It is not that I dont read newspapers and rely solely on magazines, but I just find myself difficult to concentrate and spend hours on just one issue.
It read one page and by the time I reach the next one, I already forget what I read minutes ago.
IT is so demotivating everytime.
I sometimes decide not to go through any magazine, but thats when the FOMO hits really hard. Everyone is reading Monthlies, Yearlies and so on and here I am, not able to finish even a single document.
Please help.
Just tagging a few people here whose name I can recall at the moment. Others may also give in their opinons @SergioRamos @Arrokoth @Patootie @nerdfighter @DeekshitaP @Jammu .
Also, if there is any video/youtube alternative to these magazines, please suggest .
Thanks.Hi dost, I do understand reading these magazines is such a tedious task. I have read good suggestions here by fellow friends. It’s nice how different people do the same things as differently, and in this context, the approach I follow is totally different but I am glad it has worked very well.
Few things that I could figure out in your concern is, doing CA is boring and retaining it is challenging. For the former, I have devised my own way which is time taking but rewarding. Incidentally, persuing it helps in retaining.
One advise here I would also like to give that Neyawn has also very well talked in the video posted on SFG thread, that there is no memory problem, but only revision problem. I do believe it is 200% true.
I generally read newspapers everyday, but the moment I see some prelims related news, I skip through the pages. I never read monthlies/yearlies every month. When prelims is just 3-4 months away, I compile them and start reading.
1st reading - I read one monthly / yearly a day and underline what is important. 12+ days goes like this
2nd reading - I read what I have underlined. 6+ Days
3rd reading - I devise ways to retain it. 6+ days
4th reading - I eliminate stuffs that are already in memory. 6+ days
5th reading - I eliminate further. 4+ days
6th reading - I eliminate further. 2-3 days.
Now there are things that are hard to remember, so I would copy them on my Evernote. There I make good use of ‘bold’ ‘unbold’ the text and do this exercise every morning. In few days, I am able to retain every aspect of it.
Now comes the application part, here I do multiple MCQs. I try recollecting from memory and apply in eliminating options there. This way in mocks I attempt 95+ questions because every option I have read either in static or current.
This exercise of’course looks monotonous, but when I do it, and especially on Evernote, it makes this phase so wonderful. Thus in 30-40 days every CA is in memory.
Regarding which institute’s magazine one should read, I feel in personal opinion that one should read what most of aspirants are reading. Efforts should not be to know more of knowledge but to score a mark extra from competitors by reading same text but in a better way.
I am attaching some screenshots to show how it looks.
Edit - consolidated memory would make sure tendency to mark MCQs as wrong during actual prelims under stress is minimal.
Dayum..
This is so overwhelming. You are able to finish one monthly in a day. I can't even finish one section in a day right now.
But it does seem worth trying,
Thanks for such a detailed strategy.
sjerngal,
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
Have been wondering the same myself lately. Although I am not sure of all the reasons, I think one reason is that a lot of people now see 'corporatisation' of bureaucracy as a necessity and hence UPSC as an impediment. The lateral entry idea has only accelerated the process. Some of my friends have already changed their jobs and are working with government through NGOs, foundations and think tanks. They do talk about lateral entry with hope, so this seems to be an extension of that thought process.
Not justifying the wrongs associated with the exam process but I do believe ROI remains a huge positive. But I'm just another guy...
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
Have been wondering the same myself lately. Although I am not sure of all the reasons, I think one reason is that a lot of people now see 'corporatisation' of bureaucracy as a necessity and hence UPSC as an impediment. The lateral entry idea has only accelerated the process. Some of my friends have already changed their jobs and are working with government through NGOs, foundations and think tanks. They do talk about lateral entry with hope, so this seems to be an extension of that thought process.
Not justifying the wrongs associated with the exam process but I do believe ROI remains a huge positive. But I'm just another guy...
Hypocrisy ki bhi seema hoti hai!
These corporate folks criticize the government and the way machinery works. They blame UPSC for having a 'faulty' exam process!
Instead of working their way up the echelons as bureaucrats do, they would rather bide their time and come as lateral entrants! All is well when you're considered for a lateral entry position in the government! The system transforms itself suddenly to suit their working style.
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
I think it stems from the classic "Generalist vs Specialist" debate. They see themselves as being specialist and get less influence/status compared to a generalist bureaucrat who gets so much attention. I think they fail to realize that policy making requires a broad understanding of the world. I may be wrong though.
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
I think there will be an inherent bias in the answers to this question considering the platform here is for UPSC aspirants themselves. And this is 'no new trend'... it's always been said (read older articles)... just that since the current dispensation is more comfy with the idea of lateral entry, people in corporate have woken up from the apathy of doing something in the govt. Looking it from a positive angle perhaps can generate counter points. For eg..I have always agreed with the idea that the sheer number of youth devoting their prime years (sply those with 3+ attempts) to this exam (& incurring a huge opportunity cost) is a big loss to the nation (this ROI is negative i think). And even for most it's a way to climb up the power ladder which is still highly asymmetric in India. But, things move forward in the hope of change & I do the same.
PS : I am one of those 3+attempts aspirant (& hence a bias potential in my ans). I have also worked in both govt & pvt sector.
they want a larger part of the pie and to get that they want a system like usa where top positions usually go to largest party donors aka political appointees. Competing in a fair exam and reaching the top is boring, working at the grassroots in some nameless districts where you cant have your weekend party with your shampoo salesman friends from some iim - boring! So they attack the system todelegitimize it and want to reach the top using their lazy shortcuts and party connections. And their godfathers sitting in useless niti aayog would be so happy to oblige if not for the craze for upsc among indian middle class- the core vote bank of a party.
Their vision of development and progress can be summed up as a blind aping of american capitalist system, be it in health(ayushman insurance based model instead of real investment in health infra), or mindless privatization for the sake of privatization and giving birth to oligopolistic capitalism. they are intellectually bankrupt and get their thrill by bashing allegedly rusty, slow, impeding bureaucracy.
i dont
understand what he is trying to imply by his 99% failure point. Its a
supply and demand issue if iits had only 900 seats then people would be
taking multiple attempts there as well. how is upsc to be blamed for
that.
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2020/11/17/935430860/are-there-too-many-political-appointees
Dayum..
This is so overwhelming. You are able to finish one monthly in a day. I can't even finish one section in a day right now.
But it does seem worth trying,
Thanks for such a detailed strategy.
Yes, I do understand that reading monthlies is such a lethargic exercise. I have done it for once and in those days monthlies were just 65-70 pages. The experience was not wonderful. Like after 3 readings, I was not able to remember much. Then I devised this way of copying all committees, military exercises, places in news, reports in tabular form on Evernote. This was great. When all of them are in one place, it is very easy to memorise and recall. I can draw relations among them.
To illustrate, consider this - Operation Sagar Kavach means Navy, Coast Guard, Local Police. Exercise Sea Vigil means Navy Army, Air Force, ICG. Both exercises are in sea waters, but participants are different. Here chances of picking the right option would depend upon clarity of thought. Personally, clarity of thought is more when everything is on same page. This way of doing things would also help in further reasoning in eliminating options in MCQs.
Very late I got to know that Vision PT 365 does this tabular thing which is not in Vision monthlies. They do it for committee reports, places in news, etc. There is another reason I dont like monthlies, because there I have to segregate between what is important for prelims, and what is for mains. My mind works only one way, so if I do it, it turns out to be annoying
Also, I choose Vision because before opting for it, I did a little ground survey. I asked couple of booksellers from ORN, Delhi that which CA compilation is bestselling. All said Vision. This was done 2.5 years back. I am not sure if this has changed now. I see here few suggestions of Epic, Raus, but I have never opened them.
Again, all this experience is personal. Please choose what suits you. Good luck : )
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
I think there will be an inherent bias in the answers to this question considering the platform here is for UPSC aspirants themselves. And this is 'no new trend'... it's always been said (read older articles)... just that since the current dispensation is more comfy with the idea of lateral entry, people in corporate have woken up from the apathy of doing something in the govt. Looking it from a positive angle perhaps can generate counter points. For eg..I have always agreed with the idea that the sheer number of youth devoting their prime years (sply those with 3+ attempts) to this exam (& incurring a huge opportunity cost) is a big loss to the nation (this ROI is negative i think). And even for most it's a way to climb up the power ladder which is still highly asymmetric in India. But, things move forward in the hope of change & I do the same.
PS : I am one of those 3+attempts aspirant (& hence a bias potential in my ans). I have also worked in both govt & pvt sector.
Arey bhai huge loss of the nation toh tab ho when there is a labour shortage and people are busy giving exams. The number of applicants have also increased with increasing unemployment. And with such a huge young population, a few lakh here and there won't make such a big difference(even when half of our technical graduates would be unemployable). Add to that, several aspirants are from arts background, which does not have a good ecosystem in India.
But yes, the opportunity cost for an individual is really high. And for Doctors from good college with an MD/MS, it does make a case.
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
They want people having a wide knowledge running the country but do not want a tough enough exam to measure the criteria, instead, they want to decide the criteria for expertise themselves. Ironic no?
Are these folks ready to serve in villages for the prime years of their life? Commenting from Gurugram and Bangalore is quite easy. Just like every Indian teaches Kohli to bat, everyone is a policymaker in our country.
Now, what is this stupid yardstick of 1 year? For a job as tedious as UPSC, one might assume huge knowledge is required. Huge knowledge means more time. I mean exams like JEE, NEET, CLAT, MBA to name a few also have kids preparing for more than a year and failing >99%. Why blame UPSC then?
Coming to the generalist vs specialist debate, a majority of IAS officers are either Doctors, engineers, CA, IIM kids etc. UPSC itself has within itself a wide specialization pool with them to allow ministries to have expert appointments.
Currently, with the group of students, I am preparing, one has done B. Tech in Petroleum Engineering, other MA in Economics, two humanities graduates and an M.com student. This is the diversity we can see everywhere. What more specialisation is needed please enlighten? Further, public administration is a specialist domain and IAS officers are trained in that regard specifically. LBSNAA pass-outs get a degree of Post Grad in Pub Ad if I'm not mistaken.
To imagine a doctor or CA can carve out a better health or revenue policy is literally the stupidest thing. Their inputs are helpful no doubt, but a person knowing the ground reality will make better policies.
Actually, the bureaucracy is an easy target since they are rule-bound not to respond. Even during the pandemic, questions are raised about how bureaucracy messed up and all that. But when digital India Mission or Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan are successful, it is the political masterclass. Pretty convenient, eh?
Indian Middle class or any middle class in the world is the most hypocritical group in the world. They want meritocracy on one hand but will attack UPSC for selecting students based on a fair, open criterion. Why the criticism? Because they cannot have their connections get them these jobs via parachute. Indian free market peeps either don't realize or they are too smart to admit that most of the private enterprise here and there works on privileges, connections, and relations. It is not all Adam Smith's Laissez faire. From clients to interviews, to products, connections play a very big role.
Actually, the middle class is not satisfied with just getting government tenders via jugaad, they want posts now too.
Their favourite job is to criticise everyone except themselves. For example, our police officers, right from the constables to the IPS, hardly spend festivals with families as they are on duty. In a pandemic, they were out there working, for our safety. But ask any avg. middle-class folk, police is shit for them.
Another of the favourite taunt is red-tapism. I know there are legitimate problems and can be paced up, but the government process will always be slower than private. Governments are not responsible for just one business or group, but for the whole nation, and decisions are made using public money. The wider responsibilities, the greater time is taken in decision making. A very crude analogy will be that buying one packet of Parle G is quicker rather than 1000 as you have to decide about transportation, storage, finance and other matters. Greater the responsibility more is the time taken for a decision.
As@D503 said, this is all just a push to get a larger piece of the pie. Nothing more. IAS and IPS are not week-long toothpaste selling jobs and then partying on weekends.
Not saying UPSC and IAS is all perfect, but the line of argumentation present by this current or future "entrepreneur" is weak.
@DeekshitaP Which daily compilation do you use ? I have tried Vision (too fact oriented) , switched to Mrunal (when it was being uploaded) now its stopped so thinking about Civilsdaily (It has editorials in points too, so)
I’ve been using the insights daily compilation for the past 2 attempts. I’m sure there might be better ones, but this is just what I’m used to so I don’t switch for just that reason
Aazaad,
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
The only criticism he seems to have (spread over 3 sub points) is the fact that the exam takes time, which while yes, he is right about, but so do other educational endeavours. A standard degree takes 3 years, a PhD takes 4-5 years, the ROI isn’t guaranteed with either. I feel with the whole debate about lateral entry, exams like UPSC are easy targets to build a narrative around. Plus govt v/s corporate mudslinging isn’t new either.
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
Such weird logic. Has Upsc asked anyone to prepare for the exam and waste years of their life? People are willingly investing their time and money to prepare for this exam. This whole examination process is a game of demand and supply the day people feel giving Upsc exams has low ROI they themselves will stop doing so and the competition will decrease.
Also, going by this guy's workex in public policy himself seems to be a failed upsc aspirant venting out his frustration.
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