Becoming an IAS officer is the ultimate aspiration for thousands of young men and women. And if not the IAS, then possibly any of the other 30-odd services of the India Civil Services. Not surprising then that almost 3 lakh candidates fill up that first application form, hoping to see themselves as DMs, DCPs or Income Tax Officers across the country. But the reality is that barely 800 actually get in.

The best way to maximise your chances of making it into the civil services is to make a realistic assessment of your chances, and then start preparing for the competitive exams.

Entry into the IAS, IPS and the Central Services, Group A and Group B is through the All India Combined Competitive Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), New Delhi. There is a separate exam for the Indian Forest Service

The selection for the combined civil services takes place in three stages: A preliminary examination, a main examination, and a personality test/ interview. Application forms appear in all the daily newspapers and the Rozgar Samachar/ Employment News in December each year.

Subject strategies

General Studies paper: The general studies questions normally come from school textbooks. Current events include those of national and international importance. History of India will cover broad general understanding of the subject in its social, economic and political aspects. Questions on general science will cover general appreciation and understanding of scientific matters of everyday observation and experience. Geography will cover economic, social and physical geography of India with emphasis on agriculture and natural resources, while mental ability will test reasoning and analytical ability. Keep yourself regularly updated with the latest information on all of the subjects.. A good tip is to buy a notebook or register for each subject and then make notes in each of the registers, adding on current information as you come across it in newspapers or magazines.

Optional subjects: Although the civil services exam tests candidates at graduation level, the papers on some of the optional subjects are often of postgraduate level. A competent mastery of your two optional subjects is therefore worth working towards.

But, how should you select an optional? Which subjects are the most scoring? The best policy is to opt for the subjects you feel most comfortable with, and that get you the highest marks. For the prelims you need to select only one subject, but for the Mains, you have to choose two. So, make sure that the optional you choose for the prelims is one of the two you choose for the Mains. This will increase the chances of success. Moreover, if it is also one of the subjects you have taken up in college, then you need study for only one additional subject. Those students who have the option of choosing subsidiaries in college can select one from the list of optional subjects.

Some subjects are considered more scoring than others are, but that need not necessarily be your reason for selecting them. It has been found that the highest scoring ratios for optional subjects have been animal husbandry / veterinary science, geology and electrical engineering. But how many students are actually proficient in these subjects. Others considered scoring are Public Administration, Geography and Statistics. Even languages such as French, German, Kannada or Marathi, stand higher in the list. If you are fluent in your mother tongue, then choose the literature of your mother tongue as an optional subject. Examiners tend to be more liberal in marking the language papers than one of natural or social sciences. But don’t follow these figures blindly. History and Hindi show very poor success ratios, but they produce civil servants in large numbers.

Preparation plan

Preparation for the examinations depends on each candidate’s own application. Ideally, you should start studying for the Mains along with study for the Prelims. Often students wait for the Prelims to be over to start working for the mains. But this may be too late. Do all the major work before sitting for the Prelims. This includes going through the syllabus, selecting topics and making notes on those topics. The actual swatting can come later.

Once you have gone through the entire syllabus, your revision can be more selective. Some successful candidates recommend selecting topics according to the pattern emerging from a study of past papers. Examine the question papers of the last 6-10 years, and list down the topics as well as the aspects of the topics asked, and the year in which the question was asked. You must then prepare for at least three times as many topics as you are expected to answer. This will provide you a safe base to build on.

For the Mains, it is advisable to select topics for the general studies papers that you expect to score high marks in, or which take the least amount of time. Most students prepare questions on Gandhi, Nehru and Tagore, as they feature on practically all papers, but also be prepared for comparticive studies on the three, or other such tricky questions that may take up more time to answer.

Reading routine

For a start, you must read at least two or even three newspapers for at least the two years preceding the civil services exam. Not just Page 3 or the sports pages, but reading from cover to cover every day, to keep abreast of the latest developments in politics, international relations, science and technology. A careful reading of a range of national and international magazines and periodicals is also recommended as well as tuning in to current affairs and analytical programmes on television.

To ensure you have absorbed what you have read and can comment about it, try discussing one topic from that day’s newspaper every evening at dinner with family or friends. It will sharpen your political and analytical ability and develop communication skills too. Joe Kennedy followed this routine all through the years his children were growing up. No wonder, one son became the President of the US, another the Attorney General and several others held positions of power.

Besides this, you must also go through the Govt of India’s annual Economic Survey, and India Yearbook. Malayala Manorama’s yearbook is quite good. It is also useful to read the Career and Competition Times and some general books on the civil services. Some interesting books include BN Mullick’s My Years with Nehru, Noronha’s Tales told by an Idiot, Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English August, and several others.

Ways to write the test

Allocate time for each answer. If you have to answer 150 questions in two hours, that gives you approximately 40 seconds for each question, or 25 questions in 20 minutes, with a few minutes for revision. Work as fast as you can, answering the easier questions first quickly so you have more time for the ones that may prove difficult.

Start answering the questions from the minute you get the paper.( multiple-choice questions). Do not spend time reading through the whole paper first. Answer all the questions you definitely know the answers to in the first round. Skip the difficult questions, or the ones you are unsure about. But make a small mark against the questions skipped, so you know which ones to return to in the next round. As you anser these questions cancel the mark, and then proceed. This will save you time in the next rounds.

In your hurry to answer the questions be sure to read the question carefully, not just the key words. You may end up writing a brilliant anwer on the wrong topic!

Answer all questions, as there is no negative marking. In the later rounds try and make intelligent guesses for answers you do not know. Use logic or probability to mark the answer that seems the most correct.

There are word limits for most answers and it is good to keep to these limits with a maximum margin of five per cent.

What to do in interview

This forms the final eliminatory stage. If you are among the top 1500-1800 candidates in the Mains, you will be called for the personality test and interview. Roughly 50 per cent of all those chosen to appear for the interview will be finally selected into the civil services. This part is an oral interview conducted by an expert panel of around six to seven members from different professional, regional and religious backgrounds. They will ask you questions about yourself, your subject and GK in order to test your outlook on life. They will try to judge your personal suitability, mental calibre and aptitude for the work in government. So, it is important to exhibit an intelligent interest in events happening in the world at large, with a certain amount of confidence. If you don’t know the answer to a question, be honest and say so. But you can tell them anything else you do know about the question. You don’t have to answer only in English, and even if your articulation is poor, that need not be a handicap. The panel is testing your knowledge, personality and attitudes, not your communication skills.

And finally, there is also a medical test, which is conducted before the allotment of services. It is an especially rigid test for those aspiring to join the IPS,IRTS, RPF and Group B police services.