Author: Root

All aspirants who are giving tomorrow’s test should discuss all there doubts/queries about any question on this thread and not in the comments section of the test

Around 20 questions of the test can be solved using Tikdam method

Tikdams explanations in those selected questions are given in the explanation column itself

By closely observing those questions after every test you will gradually learn the art of Tikdams which will assist you in clearing the UPSC prelims

Highlights of tomorrow’s test:

Q.1) IAEA has recently opened a uranium bank at Oskamen city. Oskamen city is situated in which of the following countries?

a) Kazakhstan

b) Germany

c) Latvia

d) Syria

Q.2) Consider the following given countries:

1. India

2. Bangladesh

3. Myanmar

4. Nepal

Naf river makes border between which of the above given countries?

a) 1, 2 and 3 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 2 only

d) None of the above

Q.3) Consider the following statements about the weathering process:

1. Exfoliation is a process of Flaking off of more or less curved sheets of shells from over rocks or bedrock results in smooth and rounded surfaces.

2. Weathering helps the process of enrichment.

3.Biological activities produce humic, carbonic and other acids which reduce the decay and solubility.

Which of the statements above given is/are correct?

a) 1, 2 and 3

b) 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1 and 3 only

Q.4)  Consider the following statements:

1. This port situated at the head of Vembanad Kayal

2. It is a natural harbour.

3. This port has an advantageous location being close to the Suez-Colombo route.

The statements given above characterise which of the following port

a) Chennai port.

b) Kochchi port

c) New Manglore port

d) Kulachil port

Best of luck!!

Prelims 2018 notification is out.

It seems this is going to be a real tough Prelims this time. 782 vacancies as against 980 last time. If you are not yet serious about prelims – now would be a good time to start

We have reoriented our programs accordingly and here are all the details regarding same

Flagship Prelims TS + Samachar Manthan 

Flagship Prelims Test Series

• 14 Static Tests (from NCERTs, Reference books)
• 10 Dedicated Current Affairs Tests
• 8 Full-Length Tests
• Samanvaya ( 1 on 1 mentoring calls)
• 12 monthly magazines (PIB, Editorials, News)

Samachar Manthan

1. Video explainers and detailed notes on important news of the week
2. Clear demarcation between Prelims specific and Mains specific news
3. Weekly Test to keep you motivated and prepared in real time
4. Evaluation by experts to iron out weaknesses in test taking
5. Mentorship and Personalised Attention – After every second test, our mentors will talk to you over phone to figure out and solve your unique problems
6. Guest Lectures by renowned faculty – Mr. K Siddhartha and IAS Rank 20, Vipin Garg
7. Full access to CD Monthly Magazines – including editorial analysis
8. Dedicated Telegram group for mentor guidance as well as peer to peer learning and discussion

Starting April, we will be focusing completely on upcoming prelims 2018

We will be providing over 30 hours of lectures on various subjects, schemes, environmental issues

Along with lectures we will also provide you with detailed prelims specific current affairs notes

Samachar Manthan program also includes Economic Survey and Budget 2018 Advanced Program

• Would cover important topics from last 2-3 years economic survey for a precise understanding of this year’s survey
• Video Lectures explaining crux of each chapter in simple and layman language appropriate from an exam point of view
• Highlighting the importance of each chapter wrt to prelims examination, mains examination, and interview exam
• Correlate economic survey and budget observations and recommendations with static mains syllabus
• Short and crisp Summary of Economic Survey booklet
• 1 full-length prelims test on economic survey and budget
• Handout of 20 probable mains questions with model answers

Join the Flagship TS and Samachar Manthan Combo here: Click2Join

Having doubts related to UPSC Preparation? Need some expert inputs? Fill this form and we will arrange a mentor call for you to resolve all your queries related to preparation: Click here to fill the form. We will call on first come, first serve basis

This course is designed to go beyond the text and take you through the nuances of the Economic Survey and Budget.

Importance of Economic Survey and Budget

Economic Survey and Budget are the 2 most important documents that you will go through in your exam preparation.

• Economic Survey discusses all the major government initiatives with the explanation.
• If we go by the trend, every year around 20 questions in prelims and 7-8 questions in mains are directly related to the Economic Survey and Budget.
• Questions in prelims paper stress on important phrases, key analysis, and technical terms. Hence they have to be thoroughly studied.
• Almost mandatory to imbibe actual phrases used in Economic Survey to frame answers for Main Examination. for example, if a Question is asked on Banking sector problems in the mains exam, you can always quote the 4R recommendations of the 2016^th economic survey.
• Adding the important and relevant facts and figures significantly enhance your marks in General Studies Paper-III.
• Deep knowledge of the current policies and programs of the government also help an aspirant to write meaningful Essays in UPSC Civil Services Main Examination. For example, Wiping every tear from every eye “Twin balance sheet problem”, “translating potential into actuality” “ Chakravuyh challenge” etc.
• According to the new trend economy and the environment is going hand in hand. So questions can come from that perspective also.
• Many statistics and schemes are asked in CAPF, State psc, bank and SSC exams.

What we are offering 

-20 hours of Video Lectures Explaining crux of each chapter in simple and layman language appropriate from an exam point of view. Highlighting the importance of each chapter wrt to prelims examination, mains examination, and interview exam.

-Correlate economic survey and budget observations and recommendations with static mains syllabus, for example, this year Economic survey has observed that still Indian families have a preference for Male children, now this chapter could be important for three topics of GS paper 1 which are society of India, Population and related studies and Women and women Organization.

-Special focus on important terms used in the survey like PARA, Chakruvyuh challenge, reverse helicopter etc. This year the economic survey has used a term called stigmatized capitalism. Idea is to explain the complex terms with the help of more relatable real-life examples.

-Would cover important topics from last 2-3 years economic survey for a precise understanding of this year’s survey

–Telegram group for students joining the programme where they can discuss any doubts with the respective faculty.

–Short and crisp Summary of Economic Survey booklet and

–1 full-length prelims test on economic survey and budget

–Handout of 20 probable mains questions with model answers

What will students gain

-De-jargonize the documents. Making it easy for students to read the bulky document and precisely point out the important points.

-Not miss anything important. Specially non-economics students risk

-Ensure all conceptual details are covered.

Core faculty

The session is being conducted by our stellar faculty –

Sajal Singh

MS in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.

MS in Financial Economics from Carleton University Canada.

NET(JRF) in Economics qualified.

See a sample video of his teaching of Economic concepts here:

Few reviews about his teaching

Join the program here

Introductory price – Rs. 2000 + taxes – Join Here

Samanvaya Code of Conduct to be followed

Click here to fill the form. We will call on a first come, first serve basis

Fill the form below or click here. 

All aspirants who are giving tomorrow’s test should discuss all there doubts/queries about any question on this thread and not in the comments section of the test

Around 20 questions of the test can be solved using Tikdam method

Tikdams explanations in those selected questions are given in the explanation column itself

By closely observing those questions after every test you will gradually learn the art of Tikdams which will assist you in clearing the UPSC prelims

Highlights of tomorrow’s test:

Q.1) ​With reference to the ‘Clean Seas Campaign’ which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a Campaign launched under the aegis of the UNEP.
2. The campaign contributes to the goals of the ‘Global Partnership on Marine Litter’.

Select the correct option using the codes given below.

a) 1 only
b) Both 1 and 2
c) 2 only
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) With reference to the ‘Hot Jupiters’ which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. They are a class of exoplanets.
2. They have very long orbital period which is a same characteristic as Jupiter.

Select the correct option using the codes given below.

a) Both 1 and 2
b) 2 only
c) 1 only
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q.3) Recenty, a Satellite ‘Sentinel-5P’, was in news. The satellite was designed for working in the area of

a) Gravitational Waves
b) Air Pollution
c) Astronomical observation
d) Water Pollution

Q.4) With reference to the ‘United Nations Convention against Torture,’ recently seen in news, consider the following statements:

1. India has neither signed nor ratified this convention.
2. It is an international human rights treaty, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) Both 1 and 2
b) 1 only
c) Neither 1 nor 2
d) 2 only

Best of luck!

All aspirants who are giving tomorrow’s test should discuss all there doubts/queries about any question on this thread and not in the comments section of the test

Around 20 questions of the test can be solved using Tikdam method

Tikdams explanations in those selected questions are given in the explanation column itself

By closely observing those questions after every test you will gradually learn the art of Tikdams which will assist you in clearing the UPSC prelims

Highlights of tomorrow’s test:

Q.1) Consider the following statements regarding the Acts enacted by the Indian Parliament:

1. The Parliament can make acts on ‘extraterritorial legislation.’
2. The governor is empowered to direct that an act of Parliament does not apply to a scheduled area in the state.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Neither 1 nor 2

d) Both are correct

Q.2) Parliament of India can make laws in the State Field in which of the following situations?

1. When Rajya Sabha Passes a Resolution.
2. When States Make a Request.
3. To Implement International Agreements.

Select the correct option using the codes given below.

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1, 2 and 3

d) 1 and 3 only

Q.3) Which of the following Ministers constitute the Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council?

1. Union Home Minister
2. Five Union Cabinet Ministers
3. Chief ministers of all the states

Select the correct option using the codes given below.

a) 1, 2 and 3
b) 1 and 2 only
c) 2 and 3 only
d) 1 and 3 only

Q.4) With reference to the ‘Financial Emergency’ Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The power of President to proclaim a Financial Emergency is beyond Judicial Review.
2. Repeated parliamentary approval is not required for its continuation.

Select the correct option using the codes given below.

a) 1 only
b) Neither 1 nor 2
c) Both are correct
d) 2 only

Best of luck!

Mains 2017 Result is out-  Click to see the result

On 5th September 2017, the Government came out with a totally new Cadre Policy for All India Services (IAS, IPS and IFoS). Since then it has aroused much interest as well as confusion amongst new aspirants.

The aim of this post is to demystify the new cadre policy. Before we go further explaining the nitty gritty of the new policy, it would be good to first have a brief look into the previous cadre policies.

In the 90s until 2008, the cadre allocation was done through Roster System. In this either of these 2 things used to take place.

• A candidate will be given his / her home state
• Will be allotted a cadre based on a complex system based on alphabetical grouping of states.

Under this system if a candidate securing Rank 1 does not get her home state (due to lack of insider vacancy) then she could be randomly assigned any state.

This policy was discontinued in CSE 2008 which brought Choice Based system. Under this a candidate had to give preference for the states (1, 2, 3, .. 15, 16, …).

Now if a candidate secures Rank 1 then she is sure to get a cadre which is amongst her top 3 choices.

This system resulted in a situation where the students from North India mostly remained in North Indian states and vice versa. The Government felt that somewhere the sense of being in All India Service was getting lost.

To strike a balance between choice and maintaining the spirit of AIS the Government came up with this new policy.

In this system the states have been grouped into 5 zones.

Zone I

1. AGMUT
2. Jammu & Kashmir
3. Himachal Pradesh
4. Uttarakhand
5. Punjab
6. Rajasthan
7. Haryana

Zone II

1. Uttar Pradesh
2. Bihar
3. Jharkhand
4. Odisha

Zone III

1. Gujarat
2. Maharashtra
3. Madhya Pradesh
4. Chhattisgarh

Zone IV

1. West Bengal
2. Sikkim
3. Assam Meghalaya
4. Manipur
5. Tripura
6. Nagaland

Zone V

1. Telangana
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. Karnataka
4. Tamil Nadu
5. Kerala

Now a candidate has to first give preferences for zones and then within that zone give preferences for states.

For instance let’s consider a hypothetical case where a student has given preferences like this.

1. Zone 4 : 5, 2, 4, 1, 6, 3
2. Zone 2 : 3, 1, 4, 2
3. Zone 5 : 1, 5, 3, 2, 4
4. Zone 1 : 2, 1, 5, 6, 3, 4, 7
5. Zone 3 : 2, 4, 3, 1

Now when it comes to allocating cadre, the cycle would be as follows:

• 1st preference in Zone 4
• 1st preference in Zone 2
• 1st preference in Zone 5
• 1st preference in Zone 1
• 1st preference in Zone 3
• 2nd preference in Zone 4
• 2nd preference in Zone 2
• ……
• ……
• 3rd preference in Zone 4
• 3rd preference in Zone 2
• ….
• ….

Thus if one doesn’t get 1st preference of a particular zone then one would be considered for 1st preference of next preferred zone rather than 2nd preference within same zone.

Since zones are grouped region wise instead of alphabetically therefore the chances of getting a cadre within same zone reduces significantly since 4 other states from other zones separates 1st and 2nd preferences within same zone.

With this new system the government hopes to address the regional imbalance in cadre allocation.

The other aspects related to cadre allotment like insider-outsider ratio, reservation would remain unchanged.

For the last several years there was a certain predictability in cadre allotment which is likely to end now with the new system in place.

This is a guest post by Ms. Ila Tripathi, Rank 51, IAS- Read this and all her blogs here

All aspirants who are giving tomorrow’s test should discuss all there doubts/queries about any question on this thread and not in the comments section of the test

Around 20 questions of the test can be solved using Tikdam method

Tikdams explanations in those selected questions are given in the explanation column itself

By closely observing those questions after every test you will gradually learn the art of Tikdams which will assist you in clearing the UPSC prelims

Highlights of tomorrow’s test:

Q.1) Consider the following statements about Fame India Scheme

1. It has been launched with the objective to support hybrid/electric vehicles market development and Manufacturing eco-system.
2. It has been launched by Department of Heavy Industry.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

 

Q.2) Consider the following statements about Private Members Bill

1. A bill introduced by a government member is known as Private member bill.
2. A private member can give a maximum of three notices for the introduction of Private Members Bills during a Session.
3. President cannot use his powers of absolute veto and cannot discard a private member bill.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3

Q.3) Consider the following statements about Electoral Bonds

1. These bonds are likely to be issued by the RBI and some public sector banks and will have a limited validity during which these can be deposited into designated accounts of the political parties.
2. These bonds will be allowed to be traded.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

a) Only 1
b) Only 2
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q.4) What are ‘Carbapenems’, recently seen in the news?

a) Bacteria
b) Antibiotics
c) Virus
d) Superbugs

Best of luck!