Mains 2019 Preparation and Discussion Thread

@kochikaameInterned under dr.varun jeph about rcep at southern division in jnu bhawan between april 2017 to may 2017.Had the chance to know about IFS.
Its better than ias in the sense that there is almost nill political interference and better facilities in terms of office compared to ias.Mostly you will be doing desk job and field work compared to ias is pretty less(almost nill).If pm or fm is visiting the country in which u r posted ur work increases significantly otherwise its a chill job.Mostly the work is file and paper based and you get to spend a lot of free time(reason why many ifs officers are busy writing books).Your posting is not always in a foreign country(dr. jeph alternated between india for 2 years and south east asia).
But getting good postings and countries depends a lot on contacts(which is there is ias as well).
If you wish to take early retirement or post retirement you have awesome chances in think tanks or foreign organizations.
But if you want chaud in common society its not the job.People in India simply worship ias.If you tell your uncle you r an ifs u will be nudged off but if tell them u are pcs ranked officer or ias or ips you will become a star in relatives and also a lot of dowry if u wish.
Conclusion: If you want peace of mind and a chill job go for ifs.If you want swag and chaud among commoners and relatives and dowry etc. along with lot of tension in job fill ias..Period

@kochikaame
I get similar doubts sometimes, because lifestyle and balance is much better in ifs, but ias is the one which actually gives the thing (power & social impact) which most aspirant aimed for when they started the prep. Hence, I have decided to fill IAS >IFS >IRS if I clear mains this time. Leaving the decision to luck. Let teh rank decide.

@bevancomthank you. I feel I am more of a peace loving person as I don't like attention. Nonetheless, I'll also look more at work profile of both services. I know a fair bit about IAS and IRS because of my relatives as well as dad being in the service. I didn't know much about IFS and will also see the kind of work they do.

@bevancom
I got 98.55 this year in cat. No hope from old iims. May get a call from MDI and SPJain. Will surely join if I get an offer, if nothing else (RBI, UPSC) works out this time.

@pranay3962129Chances are more in mdi.Sp jain will be tough it seems considering they ask you to fill specialization beforehand.
But sp jain pi is not a fish market(they don't have gd),but mdi is a fish market in gd..

@kochikaameKaise paper hue the?

Hey guys..just a petty curiosity. I have left a total of 105 marks(overall in gs). I have not used any diagrams or flowcharts.
Are there any instances from past of such cases making through in mains?

@pranay3962129Haan its better to 1st take chance with upsc and then do mba unlike me who have nowhere to go now..

@VishwanathAb kya matlab hai.2 din mein pata chal jayega.

@bevancomi know that.. that's why mentioned it as petty but just wanted to know

@bevancom
Period of Mar-May will be decisive for me. All Final results will come at that time. Let's see how it works out. But whichever way it goes, will be the final line, won't change it later, kyunki upsc wala adventure hi kafi ho gaya life mein.

@Dreadfulit's not true . The postings are decided by foreign service board . Once vacancies arises in Indian missions then the vacancies are circulated among the officers, and you need to indicate preference ( I think Max 5 pref are allowed ) , mostly people get the countries of their preference . If the vacancies include countries from middle East and you don't wanna serve there , just don't apply in that Vacancy circular , wait for the right vacancies to arise . If you want a country or region of your preference , you might have to serve a little longer at headquarters . Counties are classified into categories A+ to Hard C . The postings are generally by rotations and evens out eventually over the period of the whole service . You might get European country first and your batchmate Africa, but after few years the scenario will be reverse .
And one more thing the middle income countries are even more desirable as you can afford a lavish lifestyle there. Just imagine a person getting 5000 dollar tax free in new Delhi and same in washington . Where he has more purchasing power and live more lavishly . ?

@Dreadfulheard similar things for IFS. I'm from small town and so far there is only one IPS officer from our entire area that too back in 1997. During daf filling earlier, I asked him comparison between Ips and ifs. He told me very firmly that it's not an advisable choice especially if you are first generation IFS officer because you will be at a disadvantage with respect to postings. After that, I didn't enquire too much..but looks like it's true.

@johnwick
That foreign allowance also varies with the location lf posting. You won't get 5000 USD in uganda, it would be lesser, depending upon the purchasing power parity of that country.

@Valar_morghulis
Probably this is why some ifs officers have no good country in their postings. But I think 1st generation officers also have a chance, because Rahul Shrivastav (IFS officer, active in quora) had dexent postings in his career, and he is 1st gen.

@pranay3962129it's based on un cost of living index . And the minimum you get is 3500 dollar even in the cheapest country + indian basic salary (58k = 800$) . So even in Nepal you get 4300$. This is for third secretary who is just 2-3 year into service . As you become second sec, first sec , counsellor , ambassador . It goes on increasing .
And for Uganda and difficult countries you get hard allowance ( which is upto 50% of Foreign allowance ) . For counties like Uganda it would be around 20% . So you get even more than 5000$ in Uganda .
I know that in Kabul the FA is 50% extra . And a officer of the level of second secretary ( 4 year into service ) draws a total tax free amount of 7000$+ in Kabul .

@johnwick
Ohh, i forgot about the hardship allowance. But are sure about minimum 3500 USD in developing countries? Because if it based on cost of living index, it can go below 3500 usd right? But anyhow, there is undoubtedly a lot of opportunity to save money (clean money) in ifs.

Hi guys, I have a query. If one gets selected in IFS (Forest) with good cadre as well as in IRS (IT), which choice should he opt for?

can anybody be kind and patience enough to put up a response?

@kochikaamesaid inMains 2019 Preparation and Discussion Thread:

@bevancomthank you. I feel I am more of a peace loving person as I don't like attention. Nonetheless, I'll also look more at work profile of both services. I know a fair bit about IAS and IRS because of my relatives as well as dad being in the service. I didn't know much about IFS and will also see the kind of work they do.

Optional paper 1 thoda mess up ho Gaya.Essay mein kah Nahin Sakta. I won't be surprised with either 105 or 145.

Baaki to achha tha. Let's see how my marks add up.