India Civil Service Examination: April 2008

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Bengalooru Coaching Centres

KADAMBA IAS ^*
Address KRPURAM
City BANGALORE
State/Province KARNATAKA
E-Mail ravindravindrakumarms@yahoo.com
Additional message Proffesor in history and sociology

JICE IAS STUDY CENTRE ^****
Address NEAR CITI BANK ATM , MANUVANA ,VIJAYANAGAR
City BANGALORE
State/Province KARNATAKA
Phone 9901899477/9880285332
Web Site www.jiceias.com
E-Mail vinaykumar@jiceias.com

UNIVERSAL COACHING CENTRE ^****
Address #2922/20,CHORD ROAD,RPC Layout,Near vaaaaaaaattiguppe Bus Stop,Vijayanagar
City Bangalore
State/Province Karnataka
Phone +919845512051
E-Mail upendrashetty@rediffmail.com

Prof.B.R.A.Raos Institute

Address 640 I Main, I Stage, Indiranagar
City Bangalore
State/Province Karnataka
Phone 25250837
Web Site http://www.profbraraosinstitte.com
E-Mail profbrarao@gmail.com

JICE ^*****
Address 1173 , 1st MAIN , 4 th CROSS , MANUVANA,, VIJAYANAGAR
City BANGALORE
State/Province KARNATAKA
Phone 99018 99477
Web Site www.jiceias.com
E-Mail vinaykumar@jiceias.com

JSS Training Institute ^*
Address JAYANAGAR
City BANGALORE
State/Province KARNATAKA
Phone 9845540282
E-Mail pawan_6814@yahoo.co.in

JICE ^****
Address vijayanagar ,near city bank
City Bangalore
State/Province karnataka

A3C ^***
Address #1215, 3rd Main,4th Cross,New Thippasandra, HAL 3rd Stage
City Bangalore
State/Province Karnataka
Phone 080-25293489, 98443 54803
Web Site a3c.in
E-Mail patilbangalore@yahoo.co.in
Additional message After 5 years of indepth study and research a3c is established for counscelling and coaching to take on Competetive examinations.

christ college^*
Address near forum mall
City bangalore
State/Province karnataka
Additional message cont Mr.B.Thomas

Himalai Ias centre ^*
Address 173/B, 4th Block Opp sukshema clinic rajaji nagar
City Bangalore
State/Province Karnataka

JSS Training Institute^*
Address 38th cross, 1st main, 8th block,
City Bangalore
State/Province karnataka
Phone 080-26655086
E-Mail itsmanjaryhere@yahoo.com
Additional message coaching for IES-Engineering Services-08 Civil Engineering

Anna Institute ^*
c/o. A.s.fancy stores, bangalore, karnataka
98805 00469
bduraisw@apcc.com

Krishik Sarvodaya ^***
Address: no.15, golf view road, off airport road, Kodihalli, Bangalore
Phone 25202299

Universal Coaching Centre
Vijayanagar,bangalore,karnataka
ph: 23112628.

Meera's Academy
IAS / KAS Coaching Centre
(A Unit of Arya Varta education Trust)
SBRR Mahajana P.U College Compound,
Jayalakshmipuram, Mysore 570012
Ph : 2416745

KLE Society’s S NijaIingappa College
Coaching centre for Competitive Exams conducts coaching classes for KAS/IAS in Kannada and English Medium. Contact Prof S K Kabburi, Co-ordinator coaching centre (KAIFE). Ph: 23325020, 28377262. Mobile: 9886068664.

Pre Examination Training Center Direcotrate of social welfare,
Bangalore
http://sw.kar.nic.in/emptrng_files/empNtrng-pre-exam.htm

Swarnavalli Institute of Administration and Management (SWAIAM),
No 568/26, Hegde Complex, 2nd Floor,
8th Cross, Mathikere Main Road,
Yeshwanthpur,
Bangalore - 560 022.

Innovative Academy
Near Rotigar, Gandhi Bazar
Bangalore
Phone: 9845439650

Confluence Academy For Excellence
15, Church Road, Near Armugam Circle,
Basavanagudi, Bangalore - 560004
Phone: 6611341, Mobile: 98440-41704

JSS Training Institute*
for Competitive Exams
38th cross, 1st main, 8th block,
Jayanagar,
Bangalore.
phone: 080-26655086

Himalai IAS Center *
173/B, 1st floor,
7th main, 4th block,
Opp. Sukshema clinic,
Rajaji nagar
Bangalore
Phone: 080-56691218

Spardachaitra*
vijayanagar, Bangalore, Karnataka

RAOS *
BANGALORE, KARANATAKA
9880500469
guru_8103@indiatimes.com

Free Coaching Class in Chennai

Free coaching for civil service exams

BSA Crescent IAS Academy will conduct a six-month, free coaching class for students appearing for the Civil Services (IAS and IPS) Preliminary Examination 2008. Coaching will be held at BSA Crescent Engineering College Campus, Vandalur, Chennai, from the third week of this December. A written test will be held in 15 centres, including Bangalore, Mysore and Bijapur, on December 8. Interviews will be conducted in December. More details can be had on Ph: 044-22751155.

M.F. Khan, Director of the BSA Crescent IAS and IPS Academy informed that free coaching classes would be conducted for the preliminary examinations for the year 2008 will commence from the third week of this December. Admission would be open to all students including backward, most backward, SC/STs and minorities.

Intensive coaching

Counselling and guidance, lecture sessions, seminars, group discussions and periodical weekly and model revision tests would form the components of the coaching programme. Intensive coaching would be offered for all popular optional papers and general studies by a team of experts. Admissions would be based on a written test and oral interview.

Written test

Written test would be conducted in fifteen centres including Coimbatore and would be on December 08. The oral personal interview would be conducted at Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Tiruvananthapuram in the first week of December. Separate hostel facilities would be provided for girls and boys.

Application form and prospectus in Chennai from BSA Crescent IAS Academy, Engineering College campus, Vandalur, Chennai 600 048 on payment of Rs 125 in cash or by money order or by sending demand draft drawn in favour of the Secretary, BSA Crescent IAS Academy or could call up 044-2275115.

Management books list

Paper I

1. Organisational Design: Khandwala; Madhukar Shukla (both)
2. Organisational Behaviour: Luthans and Robbins- for some portions Blanchart is also good.
3. Strategic Cost Management: Business Today supplements
4. Economics: Any good economics book
5. Management: Terry and Franklin; Koontz and Donnel ; Koontz and weihrich (any one)
6. Strategic Management: Michael Porter

Paper II

1. Marketing: Kotler and any one Indian author book(Saxena/Ramaswami etc.)
2. Financial: Pandey/Chandra/Khan & Jain/Bearley - Any two
3. Information Technology: Any good book which gives holistic view covering all the topics along with Internet based notes.
4. International: Business Media and Government Rules on export procedures, transfer pricing etc.
5. Operations: Adams/Taha
6. HRD: Mammoria/Monappa/Prasad/Flippo - Any two.

Urdu books list

Paper I

Urdu ki Lisani Tashkil - Mirza Khalil Ahmad Beg [Educational Book House, Aligarh]
Mokqadwa; Tarikh-e-Zuban-e-Urdu - Prof. Maswood Husain Khan [Educational Book House, Aligarh]
Ansaf-e-SuKhan aur Sher Haiyyaten - Shamian Ahmed

Paper II

Urdu Shairi ka Tauqidi Mutala - Suenbul Nigar [Educational Book House, Aligarh]
Urdu Nasr ka Tauqidi Mutala - Suenbul Nigar [Educational Book House, Aligarh]
Urdu Adab Ki Tarikh - Noorul Hasan Naqvi [Educational Book House, Aligarh]

Pali books list

History of Indian Literature (Vol. II) - Winternitz
Origin of Pali Literature (Vol. I & II) - B.C. Lal
Compendium of Abidhamma Philosophy - B. Jagdish Kashyap
Pali Essays - Hari Shanker Shukia
Pali Grammar - L.N. Tiwari

Zoology books list

Cell and molecular bilogy - De Robertis, C.B. Powar
Genitics - P.K. Gupta, Gardner, Ahluwalia, Vir Bala Rastogi
Invertebrates - R.L. Kotpal, Nigam, Jordan
Vertebrates - R.L. Kotpal, Nigam, Jordan and Varma
Comparative anatomy of vertebrate zoology - Kent
Animal physiology - H.R. Singh, Vander
Biochemistry - Harper, Leninger, Stryer, Rao
Embryology - Balinsky, A.K. Berry, Vir Bala Rastogi
Organic evolution - Veer Bala Rastogi
Ecology - P.D. Sharma, Odum, Vir Bala Rastogi and M.S. Jayaraj, Kotpal and Bali
Economic Zoology - Shukla and Upadhaya, Kotpal Series, Kotpal- Khetrapal - Aggarwal
Ethology - Reena Mathur, Magazines like Science Reporter, Nature etc.
General Zoology - Storer and Usurger
Physiology - H.R. Singh
Evolution - Vir Bala Rastogi
A Dictionary of Entomology - Leftwich

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Statistics books list

Introductory Probability and Statistical Applications - Paul Meyer
An Introduction to Probability Theory & Mathematical Statistics -V K Rohtagi
Fundamentals of Statistics (2 Vol.)- A M Goon, M K Gupta and B Dass Gupta
An Outline of Statistical Theory (2 Vol.) -A M Goon, M K Gupta and B .Dass Gupta
Fundamentals of Mathematical Statistics-A C Gupta and V K Kapoor
Fundamentals of Applied Statistics-S C Gupta and V K Kapoor
Sampling Techniques-William G. Cochran
Sampling Theory of Surveys with applications - B. V Sukhatme & B V Sukhatme.

Sociology books list

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

1. IGNOU Material
2. Sociology - Sachideva & Vidhya Bushan.
3. Sociology - T.B. Bottomore.
4. Sociology Themes & Perspectives - Moralambose & R.M. Heald.
5. Unique Guide.
6. Dhilion Guide.
7. Spectrum Guide.
8. Sociology Dictionary - William P. Scott.
9. Social Demography - Asha & Bandhi.
10. Social Anthropology - Madan & Majumdar.
11. Political System - Smelser.
11.Cultural Anthropology -Madan and Majumdar
12.Sociology - Horton and Hunt
13. Harlambus - Introduction to Sociology
14. Tribal India - L.P. Vidhyarthi
15. Modernisation of Indian Tradition - Y. Singh
16. NCERT tests on sociology
17. Oxford Dictionary / Collins
18. Chapters from a good book on Demography and Urban geography

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR MAINS EXAMINATION :

1. Ram Ahuja: Society in India
2. Ram Ahuja: Social problems in India
3. IGNOU notes (especially for thinkers and topic on Indian system)
4. Caste its 20th Century Avatar - M.N. Srinivas
5. participation as freedom - Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze
6. Y. Singh - Modernisation of Indian Tradition
7. Y. Singh - Social tradition in India
8. L.P. Vidhyarthi - Tribal India
9. Yojana (Independence day special 2001 on population)
10. Y. Singh - Social Change in India
11. Niel J. Smelser for Economy and Society
12. Abraham and Francis - Sociological theory

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

Sociology - T.B. Bottomore
Sociology - Harry M. Johnson
Sociology: An introduction and analysis - Maclver and Page
Handbook of sociology - Ogburn and Ninkoff
Social anthropology - Madan and Majumdar
Social Thought - Abraham and Morgan
Social structure - M.N. Srinivas
Dictionary of sociology - Dunean and Mitchel or Penguin

TOPICWISE SUGGESTED BOOKS

Introductory sociology: T.B. Bottmore
Basic contribution of sociological and anthropological thinkers: dictionary of sociology, Social and cultural process: Maclver and Page and Madan & Majumdar
Deviance and central: Social stratification - Harlambos and T.B. Bottomore
Illustrations - Johnson
Political institutions - Bottomore
Religious and social institutions - Madan & Majumdar
Basic Concepts of Indian sociology - Y Singh (Modernization of Indian Tradition), Villavge, Town, City, Maclver & Page

Public Administration books list

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

1. Indian Administration - Ramesh K. Arora & Rajni Goyal.
2. Indian Administration - S.R. Maheswari.
3. Administrative Theory - Avasti & Avasti
4. Public Administration - Avasti & Maheswari.
5. Administrative Thinkers - R. Prasad and Prasad.
6. Administrative Thinkers - S.R. Maheswari.
7. Public Administration - Sadan and Sharma
8. Local Government - S.R. Maheswari.
9. New Horizons of Public Administration - Mohit Bhattacharya.
10. Public Administration Theory and concepts - Rumki Basu
11. Public Administration (Manual) (TATA MC Graw Hill) - Laxmikanth.
12. Indian Constitution - D.D. Basup (or) Pandey.
13. Public Administration and Public Affairs - Nicholas Henry.
14. Modern Public Administration - Nigro and Nigro.

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

To put the subject in its proper context the historical development (evolution of public administration discipline) of the subject should be studied with great emphasis.

Public administration in theory and practice - M.P. Sharma and B.L Sadan
Public administration - Mohit Bhattacharya
Modern public administration - Nigro and Nigro
Theories and principles of administration : Administrative thinkers - Prasad & Prasad
Principles of management - Terry and Frankline
Administrative Behaviors: Managing organizational behavior - Paul Hersey & Kenneth Blanchard
Personal Administration - Public personal administration - O. Glennstal
Financial administration: Financial administration of India - M.J.K. Thavaray
Comparative administration : public administration a comparative perspective - Ferrel Heady or Comparative public administration - Ramesh
Control over administration : Public administration - Avasthi & Maheswari
Central administration in India: Central administration - A. Avasthi
Civil Services in India : Indian administration - S.R. Maheswari, State
District and local administration: State administration - J.D. Shukla
District administration -- S. S. Khera
Local Government in India - S.R. Maheshwari
Laxmikant's guide (for clearing conepts)
IGNOU Study Materials
IJPA articles on relevant topics
Current News Papers

Psychology books list

General Psychology

1. Morgan & King
2. Atkinson
3. Baron
4. Eysench - "Psychology-Ashrdent's Handbook"
5. Chaplin and Kraweik - Systems and theories of psychology

Books for specific topics

1. Theories of personality - Hall and Lindxy
2. Abnormal psychology and modern life - Cokman Vead, well being & Mental disorders, therapeutic approaches and coping mechanisms.
3. Community psychology - Pande
4. Organisational behaviour - Stephen P. Robbins
5. Educational psychology - Mattur
6. Social psychology - Baros & Bryne
7. Psychological testing - A.K. Singh
8. Statistical Analysis Garette
9. Development psychology - Hurlock

Political Science books list

SOME SUGGESTED READINGS FOR YOU :

by Subhash C Kashyap ---
1. Our Constitution
2. Our Parliament
3. Perspective on Constitution (ED)

by P.M Bakshi --
1.Constitution

by D.D. Basu --
1. Introduction to the Constitution

Others
IIPA Journal
The Hindu
Frontline

Prelims

Section- A Problem of Philosophy
1. Dr. C.D. Sharma (Indian Philosophy)
2. Dr. Deo Raj (Indian Philosophy)
3. Dr. Y.Masiaha (Western Philosophy)
4. Dr. Daya Krishna (Western Philosophy)
5. Dr. Franckena Thilly (Western Philosophy)
6. Dr. B.K. Lal (Contemporary Western Philosophy)

Section- B Logic
1. Dr. Irvin M. Copi
2. Ashok Verma (Symbolic logic)

Section- C Ethics
1. Dr. Divakar Pathak (Indian Ethic)
2. Dr. V.P. Verma (Western Ethic)
3. Dr. B.N. Singh (Ethics)
4. Lilly (Ethics)

Section- A Western Philosophy
1. By Franckena Thilly
2. Dr. C.D. Sharma
3. Dr. Dayakrishna
4. Dr. Y.Masiaha
5. Dr. B.K. Lal
6. Dr. Lakshmi Saxena
7. D.M.Dutt

Section- B Indian Philosophy
1. Dr. C.D. Sharma
2. Dr. Deo Raj
3. Dr. Hiriyanna
4. Dr. Radha Krishnan
5. D.M.Dutt

Section- C Socio Political Philosophy
1. Dr. J.P. Sood Vol IV
2.Dr. Shiv Bhanu Singh
3. Dr. O.P.Gauba
4. NCERT Books

Sec. B Philosophy of Religion
1. Dr. Y.Masiaha
2. John Hick
3. Dr. V.P. Verma

Specific Books — Six ways of knowing by D.M. Datta.

Medical Science books list

Topicwise Suggested Reading

Anatomy - Megraper or Snell
Human Anatomy (3 Vol.) - Chaurasia
Medical Physiology - Gyston
Human Physiology - Chatterjee
Pathology - Muirs or Robbins
Microbiology - Anand Narayan or Chatterjee
Principal and Practice of Medicines - Davidson
Social and Preventive Medicine - Park & Park
Surgery - Love and Bailey
Essentials of Bio-chemistry - M C Pant
Review in Bio-chemistry - Harper
Heinmann Medical Dictionary - Janife
Heinmann Dental Dictionary - Lennox

Paper-I

1. Linear Algebra - K.C. Prasad, K B Datta
2.Calculus - Santhi Narayan
3.Analytic Geometry - Shantinarayan, HC Sinha, DK Jha and Sharma
4.Ordinary Differential eqs:- MD Raising Lumina, Golden seris-NP Bali
5. Dynamics, Statitics and Hydrostatics - M.Ray
6. Vector analysis - Shantinarayan

Paper-II

1.Algebra - K C Prasad, KB Datta
2. Real Analysis - Shantinarayan,Royden
3. Complex Analysis - GK Ranganath
4. Linear Programming - SD sharma
5.Partial Diff.eqs. - Singhania
6. Numerical analysis and Computer Progg. - V. Rajaraman, SS Shasri
7. Mechanics & Fluid dynamics - AP Mathur, Azaroff leonid

Other Books

Modern Algebra - A. R. Vashisth
Algebra - J. N. Sharma and S. N. Goyal
Linear Algebra - Schaum Series (Lipshutz) or Sharma and Vashisth
Matrices - Schaum Series (Frank Ayres) or Vashisth
Calculus - I. A. Menon
Coordinate Geometry - R. L. Soni
Differential Calculus - Gorakh Prasad
Analytical Solid Geometry - Shanti Narayanan
Text Book of Coordinate Geometry - Rai Ballabh
Mechanism - D. S. Mathur
Statistical Mechanism - Carson Horg .
Solid Mechanism - Kazmioo
Mathematics Dictionary - James
Differential Equations - Schaum Series (Frank Ayres) or N.M. Kapur or Raisinghania
Numerical Analysis - S.S. Sastry
Complex Analysis - Schaum Series or J.N. Sharma
Operations Research - Kanti Swaroop or Manmohan

Law books list

Topicwise Listing of Suggested Books

Indian Penal Code
-- Atchuthen Pillai
-- Ratanlal Dhiraj Lal

Law of Tort
-- Atchuthen Pillai
-- R.K. Bangia
-- Winfield

Constitutional Law
-- V.N. Shukla
-- S.K. Kapoor
-- J.N. Pandey

Merchantile Law
-- R.K. Bangia
-- Avatar Singh
-- Pollack and Mulla

Jurisprudence
-- P.K. Tripathi
-- Dias

Indian History books list

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

ANCIENT INDIA :
1. Wonder that was India - A.L. Bhashem.
2. Ancient India Social and Culture - Luniya
3. Ancient India - an introductory outline - D.N.Jha.
4. An Advanced History of India - R.C. Majumda, H.C. Raychaudhurai, - Kalikinkar Datta
5. Ancient India - L.Mukherjee
MEDIVAL INDIA
1. Advanced study in the History of Medival India - Volume I, II, III J.L. Mehta
2. Medival India - Volume I & II Satish Chandra
3. Wonder that was India - Rizzvi
4. Medival India - L. Mukherjee
MODERN INDIA
1. Modern Indian History - Groover & Grooover.
2. A struggle for Independence - Bipin Chandra
3. Freedom Struggle - Bipinchandra
4. Modern India - L. Mukherjee
NCERT
VIII, IX, X,XI,XII History
GUIDE
1. Indian History - Krishna Reddy
2. Indian History - Agnihotri
3. Competition Wizard Workbook.
4. IGNOU Material
5. Y.D.Mishra

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

ANCIENT INDIA

NCERT (11th)
The Advanced History of India - Majumdar, Raychaudhuri & Datta
The wonder that was India - A. L Bashaon
Indus Civilization - (a) IGNOU booklet no. 2
The rise of civilization of India and Pakistan - Bridget and Raymond Allchin
Ancient India in historical outline (Revised and enlarged edition - 98) - D.N. Jha
Mauryan : Ashoka and the decline of mouryan empire - Romila Thapar
Indian Feudalism - R.S. Sharma

MEDIEVAL INDIA

NCERT (11th)
The Advanced History of India - Majumdar, Raychaudhuri & Datta
Social life and cultural life of both Delhi Sultanate and Mughal India - J.L. Mehta
A history of South India - K. A. Nilakanta Shastri
IGNOU material (specially on agriculture and agrarian relations and culture)

MODERN INDIA

NCERT (12th)
A new look into the modern Indian history - B.L Grover
Freedom struggle - Bipin Chandra, Varun Dey and Amlesh Tripathy (NBT)
India's struggle for independence - Bipin Chandra
Modern India - Sumit Sarkar
IGNOU material (specially on freedom struggle)

Geology books list

Geology: An Introduction - Kronaris and Krambine
Text Book of Geology - P.K. Mukherjee
Text Book of Physical Geology - Mahapatra
Geomorphology - Woolridge or Tharnbury
Principles of Petrology - G.W. Turrel
Petrography - Williams
Mineral and Crystal Science - V.C. Jesh
Sedimentary Rocks - Petti John
Underground Hydrology - David Keith Toad
Igneous Rocks and Metromorphic Petrology - Turner
Ocean - Squaredrop, Johnson and Bliming
Simple Geological Structure - Plate and Charlincr
Soil Minerology - I. E. Grim
A Dictionary of Geology - Morrison

Geography books list

Booklist in the perspective of changed syllabus Geomorphology

The Earth's Dynamic Surface - By K. Siddhartha
Geomorphology - By Bloom
Geomorphology - By Sparks
Economic Geology - By Shackleton
Environmental Geology - By Valdiya
Climatology
Atmosphere Weather and Climate - By K. Siddhartha
Climate History and Modem Man - By Chorley
Science and Wonders of Atmosphere – By Gedzelman
Bio & Environmental Geog. Biosphere A Geography of Life - By Dr. Thomas and K. Siddhartha
Environmental Geology -ByValdiya
Living in the Environment - By Miller
Settlement Geography- Cities Urbanization and Urban System - By K. Siddhartha & S. Mukherjee
Urban Geography - By Herbert Thomas
Indian Industrial Geography Indian industry a geographical perspective - By S. Mukherjee and K. Siddhartha
Indian Economy - By Uma Kapila
General Reading environmental concerns and strategies - By T. N. Khoshoo
Development Indicators -Oxford University Press.
Environmental Hazards - published by Ministry of Environment and forest.

How to prepare
These changes are not at all mind boggling. They can be tackled with élan if thoughtful inputs goes into the preparation. And here comes the role of coaching institutes. Quality education to IAS aspirants will be of paramount importance in their preparation. What an individual candidate can accumulate in a year or so, institutes can make the candidate assimilate in a couple of months.

Also, to add to our discussion, these changes in the syllabus are also beneficial to the aspirants in some way. Like, as Geography is tending to become multi-disciplinary it would provide more coverage for general studies. Furthermore, the non-serious candidates can be weeded out by this process. =============================X===========================

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

1. 6th to 12th NCERT Books for Geography.
2. Certificate of Physical Geography - Goh Cheng Leong.
3. Physical Geography -Savindra Singh
4.Physical Geography - Made simple series - Rupa Publications
5. Economic & Commercial Geography - Made Simple Series - Rupa Publications.
6. Human and Economic Geography - Leong & Norgan
7. Human Geography - Majid Hussain.
8. Geographical thoughts - Majid Hussain.
9. Field Work - 11 th NCERT.
10. Cartography - R.L. Singh
11. Geography of India - Gopal Singh
12. Economic & Commercial Geography of India - C.B. Memoria
13. Orient longman - Atlas.
14. TTK - Atlas
15. Dictionary of Geography - Penguin
16. Spectrum guide for Geography.
17. Siddhartha - Preliminary Question Bank.
18. Geography Guide - Narmadeshwar Prasad.
19. Brilliants

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR MAINS EXAMINATION :

Paper - I

Physical geography - Savinder Singh
The Earth's dynamic surface - K. Sidhartha
Physical geography - Strahler & Strahler
Climatology - D.S. Lal
Physical geography made simple - Rupa
Oceanography - Sharma & Vital
Biogeography - Savinder Singh
Evolution of geographical thoughts - Majid Hussain and Adhikari
Economic geography - K. Sidhartha
Economic and social geography made simple - Rupa
Urban geography - K. Sidhartha
Human geography - Majid Hussain
Geography of population - R.C. Chandra
Regional Planning in India - hand & Puri
Political geography - Dixit

Paper - II

Physical environment - NCERT
NCERT Class XII
India: Physical aspects - K Sidhartha
Geography of India - Mamoria
Agricultural geography - Majid Hussain
Agricultural problems in India - Sadhu and Singh
Economic & Commercial geography of India - Mamoria
India's urbanisation and urban systems - R. Ramachandran
Regional planning in India - Chand and Puri
Political geography - Dixit
India: political aspects - K. Sidhartha

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

NCERT Vol -1
Physical Geography - Bunnett
Certificate physical and human geography - Goh, Cheng Leong
Physical Geography made simple

HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Human and Economic Geography - NCERT
Economic Geography, Economic and Social Geography made simple
Penguim masters studies on geography
The Cultural Landscape - Rubeistein

INDIAN GEOGRAPHY

Indian geography - Rammorthy Gopalakrishnan
Physical geography of India - S.M. Mathur
General geography - NCERT
Mineral of India - NBT (Wadia)
Resources and regional development - NCERT
Catography - R.L. Singh
World regional geography - Fellnan
Work book - K. Siddhartha and S. Mukherjee
Question Bank - Surendra Singh, 1000
Geography quiz - Muthiah

Electrical Engineering books list

Modern Central Engineering - Ogata
Electrical Technology - Thereja
Electrical Power - Star
Physics of Semiconductor Devices - Sze
Automatic Control System - Kuo
Elements of Engineering Electromagnetics - Rao
Electromagnetic Waves and Radiating System - Jordan & Balmain
Integrated Circuits - D. Roy Choudhary
Network Analysis - Valkenbury
Basic Current Analysis - Murthy
Electromagnetic Waives and Field - R.N. Singh
Control Systems Engineering - Nagrath Gopal
Semi Conductor - Nagchoudhary
Principals of Electronics - V.K. Mehta
Radio Engineering - G.K. Mithal
Circuit Analysis - Gupta

Economics books list

Dictionary of Economics - Ghaham Bannock; T.E. Baxter, Ray Rees (Penguin)
Economics (Read Relevant Chapters) - Paul A. Samuelson
The Hindu: Survey of Agriculture & Survey of Industry
An Introduction to Economics - A.W. Stonier and D.C. Hauge
Monetary Theory and Public Policy - Kenneth Kurihara
Economic Survey : Eighth Five Year Plan: New Industrial Policy - Government of India
Outline of Monetary Economics (Read Relevant Chapters) - A.C.I. Day
Public Finance - H.L. Bhatia
Modern Banking (Read Relevant Chapters) - R.S. Sayers
Indian Economy - Mishra and Puri
Macro Economic Analysis - Edward Shepiro
Indian Economy - R. Dutt and KPM Sundaram
Money Supply in India: Concepts, Compilation and Analysis (Sec.1-3 New Series only): Functions and Working (Read Relevant Chapters) - Reserve Bank of India
Economic Growth and Development - Mayer and Baldwin
Public Finance - K.K. Andley and Sundharam
International Economics - Bo Soderston
National Income Accounting - Bakerman
Economics Choice - Koutsweanik
Banking - S.B. Gupta
International Trade - Bo Soderston
The Economic Times and Economical and Political Weekly.

Commerce books list

General Study List

Company Law: N.D.Kapoor

Management: Kunj

Auditing: Dinkar Pagare

Management Concepts: C.V.Gupta

Topics Study List

Financial Accounting: Grewal, Monga

Cost Accounting: Maheshwari & Mittal

Taxation: Singhania, Girish Ahuja

Auditing: Kamal Gupta

Financial Institution: Anand Jain

Financial Management: I.M.Panday

Organisation Theory: L.M.Prasad, Rao Narayanan, R.S.Sharma

Industrial Relation: Mamoria, Singh & Chabra, Monappa

Civil Engineering books list

Topicwise Listing of Suggested Books

Strength of material
-- Gere and Timoshenko

Concrete Technology
-- M.S. Shetty

R.C.C. (WSM)
-- Shyal and Goyal

R.C.C. (LSM)
-- A.K. Jain

Steel Structure
-- L.S. Negi

Soil Mechanics
-- K.R. Arora

Fluid Mechanics
-- Modi & Seth

Theory of Structure (Vol - II)
-- Vazirani and Ratwani

Irrigation Engineering
-- S.K. Garg

Prestress Concrete
-- N. Krishna Rajee

Engineering Hydrology
-- K. Subramanya

Chemistry books list

PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY

Gaseous state, Thermodynamics, Phase rule, solutions, Colligative properties, Electro Chemistry, Catalysis, Colloids - Principals of physical chemistry - Puri, Sharma & Pathawa
Chemical kinetics - Advance physical chemistry - Gurdeep Raj
Photo chemistry - A text book of physical chemistry (Vol. - IV) - K.L. Kapoor
Advance physical chemistry - Gurdeep Raj.

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Bonding and shape of organic molecules, Stereo chemistry of carbon compound - Reactions and reagents - O.P. Agarwal
A guide to mechanism in organic chemistry - Peter Sykes
Rest all the chapters - A text book of organic chemistry - Bahl & Bahl

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Atomic Structure - Principle of physical chemistry - Puri, Sharma & Pathwa
Advance inorganic chemistry - J.D. Lee
Chemical Periodicity, Chemical bonding,Coordination compound - Selected topics in inorganic chemistry - Maden, Malik, Tuli
Theoretical principles of inorganic chemistry - G.S. Manku,
Extradiction of metals, Principle of inorganic chemistry - Puri, Sharma, Jauhar.
Rest all the chapters - An advance inorganic chemistry - J.D. Lee
Pollution and its control - A text book of environmental chemistry and pollution - S.S. Dara.

Botony books list

Microbiology: Powars's two books on microbiology are more than enough.

Pathology: Singh's book along with a foreign author

Cryptograms B.R. Vasista (alage and fungi), P.C. Vashishta (Pteridophytes gymnosperms) along with both volumes by Pandey and Trivedi

Embryology: Bhojwani and Bhatnagar

Plant Anatomy: Esau or B.P. Pandey

Taxonomy: Nair along with Datta

Cell Biology: De Robertis & Ambrose and Easy or Powar

Genetics: Strickberger or Vir Bala Rastogi

Physiology and Biochemistry: Salisbury and Ross or Fritz and Noggle

Ecology: Vir Bala Rastogi and M.S. Jayaraj and P.D. Singh

Economic Botany: Kochar or Verma

Anthropology books list

Paper I

(Part I) (Upto Topic 7)
1. Beattie : Other Cultures
2. Beals & Hoijer/ : An Introduction to Anthropology
3. Haviland : An Introduction to Anthropology
4. Vaid : Economy and Social Relations
5. U.S. Mishra : An Introduction to Social-Cultural Anthropology (in Hindi)
6. Mishra & Hasnain : Unifying Anthropology
7. Honigman : he World of Man
8. Herskovits : Cultural Anthropology
9. Majumdar & Madan : An Introduction to Social Anthropology
10.Sagar Preet : Basic Concepts in Sociology and Anthropology
11. Abhik Ghosh : Meetings with the Other (on Fieldwork Techniques)
12. Gaya and Pandey : Cultural Anthropology

Paper I

(Part II)
1. Harrison et. al : Human Biology
2. Shukla & Rastogi : Physical Anthropology & Human Genetics
3. Stein & Rowe : An Introduction to Physical Anthropology.
4. Vaid & Pandey : Jaivik Manavshastra (in Hindi)
5. B. Janusch : Origins of Man
6. Virender Kumar : Evolution of Genus Homo
7. Surender Nath : Forensic Anthropology
8. Surender Nath : Nutritional Anthropology
9. M. Harris : Rise of Anthropological Theory
10. U.S. Misra : Anthropological Thought (in Hindi)
11. Herskovits : Cultural Anthropology
12. Booklet published by Jawahar Publishers

Paper II

1. NCERT : Indian Society, Social Change
2. Bhattacharya, D.K. : An Outline of Indian Prehistory
3. Srinivas : Caste in India & Other Essays
4. Srinivas : Social Change in Modern India
5. Y. Singh : Modernisation of Indian Tradition
6. Vidyarthi & Rai : Tribal Cultures of India
7. N. Hasnain : Indian Anthropology
8. N. Hasnain : Tribal India
9. R.C. Verma : Indian Tribes
10. Vaid : Who Cares for Tribal Development (Hindi & English)
11. A.L. Basham : The Wonder that was India
12. G.S. Bhatt : Bharatiya Samajik Vichar (in Hindi)
13. Sagar Preet : Reservation for Backward Classes a Perspective

Topic Wise Reference

Paper I (Part I) (Upto Topic 7)
1. Beattie : Other Cultures
2. Beals & Hoijer/ : An Introduction to Anthropology
3. Haviland : An Introduction to Anthropology
4. Vaid : Economy and Social Relations
5. U.S. Mishra : An Introduction to Social-Cultural Anthropology (in Hindi)
6. Mishra & Hasnain : Unifying Anthropology
7. Honigman : he World of Man
8. Herskovits : Cultural Anthropology
9. Majumdar & Madan : An Introduction to Social Anthropologyv 10.Sagar Preet : Basic Concepts in Sociology and Anthropology
11. Abhik Ghosh : Meetings with the Other (on Fieldwork Techniques)

Paper I (Part II)
1. Harrison et. al : Human Biology
2. Shukla & Rastogi : Physical Anthropology & Human Genetics
3. Stein & Rowe : An Introduction to Physical Anthropology.
4. Vaid & Pandey : Jaivik Manavshastra (in Hindi)
5. B. Janusch : Origins of Man
6. Virender Kumar : Evolution of Genus Homo
7. Surender Nath : Forensic Anthropology
8. Surender Nath : Nutritional Anthropology
9. M. Harris : Rise of Anthropological Theory
10. U.S. Misra : Anthropological Thought (in Hindi)
11. Herskovits : Cultural Anthropology
12. Booklet published by Jawahar Publishers

Paper II
1. NCERT : Indian Society, Social Change
2. Bhattacharya, D.K. : An Outline of Indian Prehistory
3. Srinivas : Caste in India & Other Essays
4. Srinivas : Social Change in Modern India
5. Y. Singh : Modernisation of Indian Tradition
6. Vidyarthi & Rai : Tribal Cultures of India
7. N. Hasnain : Indian Anthropology
8. N. Hasnain : Tribal India
9. R.C. Verma : Indian Tribes
10. Vaid : Who Cares for Tribal Development (Hindi & English)
11. A.L. Basham : The Wonder that was India
12. G.S. Bhatt : Bharatiya Samajik Vichar (in Hindi)
13. Sagar Preet : Reservation for Backward Classes a Perspective

Agriculture books list

Monday, April 28, 2008

books list for general studies

1. Indian History - India Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra; NCERT Books ( XI & XII )
2. Geography - Spectrum
3. Indian Polity - Constitution of India by Bakshi
4. Indian Economy - Plus One, Plus Two Books, Pratiyogita Darpan
5. General Science - Tata Mc Graw Hill Guide
6. Mental Ability - Quantitative Apitude by R.S. Aggarwal
7. Current Affairs - Some magazines and Newspapers

i. The Hindu/The Times of India
ii. Frontline
iii. Civil Service Chronicle
iv. Chanakya
v. Competition WIZARD
vi. Civil Services Today

8. Guides

1. Tata Mc Graw Hill
2. Spectrum
3. Unique

Topic Wise Reference On General Studies

Indian History & Culture:
NCERT (+ 2 level) — Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India.
Publication Division : Gazetteer of India (Vol 2 : History & Culture)
Gandhi Nehru Tagore & Ambedkar — Gopal Krishna
Bipin Chandra - Modern India
A.C.Banerjee - History of Modern India Raghavan Aiyer — Mahatma Gandhi

Geography:
NCERT : Physical Geography of India for X - XII Std
A Good School Atlas
Sharma & Cotinho : Economic and Commercial Geography of India.
Khullar : India- A Comprehnsive Geography
Charles Farro : General Principles of World Geography
Charles Farro : Monsoon Asia Reports published by Centre for Science and Enviornment And Tata Energy Research Institute
National journal - Kurukshetra, Yojana etc.
Down to earth

Indian Economy:
NCERT (+1 level)—Evolution of Indian Economy(I C Dhingra).
Mishra & Puri or Dutt & Sundaram - Indian Economy
Economic Survey
The Economic Times,Business Standard
Yojana

Social and National Issues :
Social Problem - Ram Ahuja
Social Welfare Magazine - Published by ministry of social welfare
Yojana/Kurukshetra
IIPa Journal

Indian Polity:
NCERT (+1 level)—Indian Political System
N.L. Madan : Bhartiya Rajya Vyavastha
D.D. Basu—Indian Constitution
Kashyap—Constitution of India
Publication Division—Subhash C. Kashyap : Our Parliament
P.M. Bakshi—Indian Constitution
Our Constitution : Subhash C. kashyap
Perspective on Constitution : S.C. Kashyap
Frontline Magazine
IIPa Journal

Science & Technology:
NCERT : (10 level) : Science, (+2 level) : Biology.
Popular Science Series (CSIR)
Reports Of the Ministry of Science and Technology Yojana
Science Reporter
Science and Technology in India - Spectrum

Statistics:
(NCERT +1 level) Elementary Statistics
S.C.Gupta : Statistical Methods

India and the World :
Journal of peace Studies
World Focus
Strategic Analysis
South Asian Journal

Other Books for General Studies:
1. India Year Book latest
2. One competitive Magazine
3. Guides like Tata Mc Graw Hill, Spectrum or Unique For General Reference 4. The Pearson General Studies Manual

Stratergy for preparing Management

Suggested Strategy for Management

Cover the full syllabus exhaustively
Prepare short notes on each topic
Write crisply and focus on the operational part of the question
Give examples
Maintain a list of cases related to each topic
Don’t show off your knowledge - theoretical reference should be given in a pointed and directed manner.
Prepare with special focus: Organization Design and chapter one topics: key areas like nature and functions of management, organizational goals and newer organizational formats in 21st century.
Attempt finance question only if conceptually very clear on that question.
If possible, write at least one question from international trade.

Stratergy for preparing Anthropology

2008 Anthropology Strategy and Syllabus

ANTHROPOLOGY IS NOW SAFER THAN THE SAFEST

Anthropology is perhaps the only optional the syllabus of which has been cut drastically. While geography may not remain as lucrative because of significant enhancement in syllabus but more importantly because of elimination of map question in paper I, public administration and philosophy, despite revision of syllabus may not gain much, History, become of its more channelized syllabus, may become better optional for scoring. Science subjects, despite being scoring, may remain as elusive.

Though Anthropology may not gain its old glory soon, it is definite to see good days again. Because of deletion of topics - Twins, Reproductive Biology, Development Anthropology, Ethnicity etc. - it is likely to be popular again with aspirants, of social sciences/commerce background. Because of reduction in the content of anthropological thought, research methodology and demography,it is likely to regain its popularity among aspirants with science/commerce background.

Now Anthropology syllabus can be read as :

Paper I - Part I
(i) Introduction (Meaning & Scope)
(ii) Institutions (Marriage, Family, Kinship etc.)
(iii) Anthropological Thought (much reduced, specified)
(iv) Medical Anthropology
(v) Communication Anthropology (Added)
(vi) Research Methodology (Reduced)
(vii) Cultural Evolution

Paper I – Part-II
i) Evolution and Genetics (without twins, reproductive biology)
ii) Primates
iii) Race (Reduced)
iv) Human physical growth
v) Human adaptability
vi) Genetical demography (reduced significantly)
vii) Applications (Reduced)

Paper- II Added – Ethnoarcheology;otherwise no significant change.

As a whole anthropology has become favourable to everybody as second optional (optional for mains only).

The new syllabus is much more streamlined and vagueness,discrepancies,repetitions etc. of previous syllabus have been removed to a major extent-through some still persist. For example Dollo’s (wrongly written as Dolls, as in old syllabus) & Cope’s etc. laws are archaic. Outdated topics which are not discussed even it today’s evolutionary biology, from which these have been borrowed, but find a place once again (Readers must remember that these have never been asked as questions ever since these were introduced in the year 2000).

But, as a whole, the revised syllabus is much more well –defined. For example, the previous syllabus (in paper II topic five) read- “Approaches to the study of Indian society”. Now it has been made explicit, as was the case in pre-1995 syllabus.

Strategy However, candidates do not need to change their strategy as discussed by me in these pages, a couple of months ago. Then, for IAS 2007 exam I had suggested that in paper I there must be at least one question from genetics, another one form Races – Growth Ecology while a third one from institutions. In the paper, there was one question each on genetics and ecology, but there were two from institutions (pol. organization and religion).The same trend may continue for IAS ’08.

However, small new topics (e.g. dating methods, ethno –archeology) may be asked as short notes while primitive tribal graphs (PTGs) may be asked as essay-type.

Let me warm you that be selective only after having the knowledge of all the fundamentals of the syllabus. Otherwise the strategy may back fire.

===========================X===============================

Like every new subject, the first thing to do is to understand fundamentals including terminology. A good Dictionary of Anthropology (e.g. McMillan’s) and basic books (e.g. Haviland or Ember & Ember & NCERTs) should be really helpful. As Anthropology, by its origin, is oriented scientifically, the answers should be pin-pointed and to the point. For this you should have good practice of writing answers and getting evaluated from some-one who not only knows the subject but also understands the requirements of this particular exam. The new syllabus (of 1995) is about 25 percent more in quantity, (but almost same at conceptual level), yet it is at least 10 percent more scoring. The latest syllabus is much more scoring and scoring 200 marks in Paper I now is not too diffifuclt a task. With this knowledge, opting Anthropology as second optional for Mains is not a bad bargain.

Stratefor preparing Zoology

The syllabus of Zoology is vast and thus not repetitive. Students are advised to leave those areas which appeared in last year's paper. The answers should be diagrammatic and be less verbose. Students should also not hesitate in drawing colour diagrams.

Paper I

Section A
Non-chordata and chordata:

Students should do classification thoroughly as it's given in Barnes' textbook
Pay attention to general essays rather than type studies
Always correlate things from evolutionary viewpoint -Draw as many diagrams and flow charts as possible
Origin of chordates is an expected topic this year. Students should cover all theories.
In chordate description, compare the phyla phylogenetically and anatomically. Comparative anatomy diagrams must be coloured.

Section B
The most scoring parts are Economic Zoology, Bio Stats and Bio Instrumentation. Students should prepare Ecology and Animal Behavior only for short notes. India-centric data is must wherever it's required. The section on Ethology can be ignored during final stages of preparation. Students need to focus on topics related to developments in India in Economic Zoology.

Paper II

Section A
To prepare Cell Biology and Genetics, students need to follow the same advice as provided for these two topics in Botany. However, you need to correlate cellular processes with human physiology and human disease conditions. In Genetics, student should also mention the possible human welfare applications. For this year's mains paper, the human genome project appears important because of media reports on this topic during the last one year. In Evolution, students should prepare exclusively for short notes and identify important topics from previous years' papers. The section on Systematics can be ignored or students just need to stick to the present course structure. No peripheral questions asked.

Section B
Biochemistry and Physiology
Practical Bio-chemical pathway with structural formula of molecules are important in this year's paper. Prepare from medical bio-chemistry and physiology books. Represent most information through flow charts. Always draw relevant anatomical diagrams.

Development Biology
If physiology and biochemistry are prepared thoroughly, then this part can be prepared only for short notes. Colored drawings are a must. Students need to practice them properly.

For General Studies (GS)

Topics related to ecology and environment can be ignored while preparing for GS paper. Different aspects of biotechnology are routinely asked in GS for which no separate preparation is required.

Stratergy for preparing Sociology

Paper I

For short notes, these are the important sections in paper I:

Sociology - The Discipline
Scientific Study of Social Phenomena
Techniques of data collection and analysis
Economic System
Political System
Educational System
Science & Technology

To prepare for the long questions in paper I, students are required to thoroughly prepare Pioneering contributions to Sociology. This includes

Karl Marx: Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation and class struggle.
Emile Durham: Division of labour, social fact, religion and society.
Max Weber: Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.
Talcott Parsons: Social system, pattern variables.
Robert K Merton: Latent and manifest functions, anomie, conformity and deviance, reference groups.

While revising Pioneering contributions to Sociology', students need to focus on areas like socio-economic and political background, views of thinkers, their analysis, contemporary perspective and evolution. The section on `Pioneering contributions to Sociology' is the most important part of paper I. It helps to understand the theoretical inferences of paper II. So, if you are thorough with this section, it will be easier for candidates to get a gist of sections like Social Stratification, Economic System, Political System, Educational System, Social Movements and Social Change and Development.

Candidates are required to understand argumentative aspect of thinkers like Karl Marx, Emile Durham, Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, Robert K Merton, with an eye to use their arguments in other sections of paper I. The theoretical inference of these thinkers need to be carried forward in paper II wherever required.

For long questions, students need to focus on topics such as Pioneering Contributions to Sociology, Marriage and Family, Social Stratification and Mobility, Political System, Social Movements and Social Change and Development. Students who can thoroughly focus on these sections are expected to answer 70% of queries in paper I. They should, however, have an overall view of the paper with focus on emerging trends like education, religion and economic developments.

Paper II

While preparing for this paper, students should ensure that they should not confine their preparation in terms of different sections. They need to focus on interrelation between different topics. Students need to have an analytical eye with focus on continuity and change. Like, despite so many changes, why caste system is still prevalent in our country. Or, despite the break-up of the joint family system, the mentality of joint family still exists among Indians.

For short notes, the important sections are:

Historical Moorings of the Indian Society
Class Structure
Marriage, Family and Kinship
Education
Political System
Population Dynamics
Social Movements
Social Problems

For long questions, the important sections are:

Caste System
Class Structure
Agrarian Social Structure
Industry and Society
Political Processes
Tribal Societies
Social Change
Social Movements
Women and Society

Apart from these, students need to keep an eye on sections like Caste System, Agrarian Social Structure and Tribal Societies. You can always have short or long questions from these three sections. Paper II actually works like mathematics and it is a high-scoring paper.

There are many topics in paper II which seem to be essay-type. But in Sociology, they need to be approached through sociological perspectives. Suppose you are asked a question on poverty, this can have theoretical inferences. You need to give empirical or sociological or case studies examples to analyse the topics.

Writing Short notes:

You need to directly start answering the question. Avoid flowery language with an eye on all perspectives while answering the question

Long questions:

Perspectives which have been asked needs to be kept in view while answering the question. Theoretical dimension are to be substantiated with analysis.

Stratergy for preparing Public Administration

Given the time constraint, a well-thought out strategy makes the difference between success and failure. Intensive and focused approach built on analysis needs to be scrupulously adhered to. Some ingredients of a 'smart strategy' are:

Building a general overview
Perusal of question papers of previous years
Identification of 'thrust areas' for concentrated pursuit
Examination-bias
Adequate writing practice for time management and evolving right content
Continuous review of performance and appropriate corrections
At least two weeks before the examination, writing exercises should be stopped and the entire attention should be on revision.

Every candidate appearing for the mains examination should be conversant with the fundamentals of the structure, process, behaviour and environment of the administrative system. It's equally important that the student should be conversant with the contemporary and the current developments of socio-political and economic nature that have a close bearing on the functioning of the administration. For example, changing governors; direct grants to panchayats; economic reforms with a human face; globalisation and administration; second generation reforms and the social infrastructure; right to information and participative development.

Amassing information is a big 'don't'. Candidates should be able to identify 'core areas' which cannot be avoided in the context of the mains examination and consolidate. Most importantly, study and writing practice should reinforce each other. Writing practice holds the key to success. It ensures legibility, time management and adherence to word limit. Effective introduction, logical build up and balanced conclusion send the right signals to the evaluator. Every question needs to be studied carefully to understand the exact requirements. For instance, some years ago, in the mains examination, the office of the Prime Minister was given and some took it for Prime Minister's Office. Several times, the questions are general in nature and not direct. For example, criminalisation of politics and politicisation of crime; public sector enterprises are neither public nor enterprises; recruitment of recruiters needs to be streamlined and planning in India needs to be depoliticised.

For short questions, answers should be direct and precise. In a long essay, introduction should be appealing and effective. Elaboration of the theme should be properly prioritised. Sequencing should be done in such a manner that one paragraph logically follows from another. Depending upon the paper I or II, apt illustrations add value. While answering a question on welfare administration, the concept of welfare needs to be supplemented with the initiatives undertaken by the government highlighting the different types of programmes, the coverage and the resource profile. Unlike general studies, public administration requires interpretative skills, ability to correlate theory and practice; and synchronise conventional with the current. For example, presidential activism in India; budget as an instrument of socio-economic transformation; citizen-administration interface and e-governance; regulation and development; development and delivery models.

Paper I
Administrative theory : Section - A

Theories of Administration: Scientific Management, Human Relations' School, Bureaucratic Theory and Systems Approach - These are all essential theories and students need to focus on critical aspects, which is not there in General Studies (GS). Students need to be exhaustive with their preparation, which should be based on 3Cs - comprehensive, clarity and critical approach.

Structure of Public Organisations: In GS, a general approach to public sector is required whereas in Public Administration, the approach to this is actually amplification of government policy. Few years ago, a question in the main stage in the Public Administration paper was, `Welfare obligation of public sector has been abandoned in the era of liberalisation''.This question will never come in GS.The nature of this question is provocative and you need to respond with a positive attitude. Your reply could begin with:''Public sector still fulfil nation's goal of welfare....'' Or, there might be a question which says, ''Since 1967, position of governor has been politicised''.

Administrative Behaviour: This topic is a real challenge and students need to be thorough with a concept like motivation. They need to be thorough with atleast three thinkers which include Maslow, Herzberg and Macgregor. They need to make a comparative account of all three of them. The year preceding, a quotation from Macgregor's original book of quotation was given.

Accountability and Control: We are in a parliamentary system and students need to be clear about Parliament and its functions. They should read books on governance by Arun Shourie and Bimal Jalan. They also must be conversant on how Parliament functions in all aspects.

Section B

Administrative Reforms: This is a dynamic area as the emphasis is on technology. Students need to be thorough with legislations like Right to Information, rendering administration through people-centric institutions like panchayats and nagar palikas. Concepts like social auditing and participatory governance need to be studied in detail.

Comparative Public Administration: You need to read thinkers like Riggs. Earlier, public administration was centred around Western concepts whereas the focus is now on third world countries like India. Students are expected to be familiar with issues like governance, rural development, privatisation and human rights in Brazil, China and South Africa.

Development Administration: Students need to approach this topic with an open mind and with some amount of reading. They need to follow international trends on how technology is impacting administration across third world and elsewhere. This is relevant for India as there is a political dimension to the whole concept as it deals in issues like federalism and decentralisation. It has a dimension of administration where you deal with various aspects like poverty alleviation, empowerment, retraining and administration machinery.

Public Policy: It's a challenging topic and students need to be aware about Dror who spoke maximum on issues related to public policy. Students need to be aware of how the country is developing particularly on issues related to disinvestments. Students need to be aware of anti-poverty programmes and how employment-generation schemes have evolved all these years.

Financial Administration: This topic is routed in Indian practices. You have issues like Parliament and Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and how do they function but students have to be absolutely clear on these issues.There is premium on latest knowledge like the PM's and finance minister's recent speeches as well.

Paper II
Indian Administration : Section - A

Evolution of Indian Administration: Areas which are crucial include criminalisation of politics and politicisation of crime, President's rule, Federal system in context of coalition government, fiscal and monetary policy.

Constitutional framework: President, Parliament and judiciary: These are important but students should not follow the conventional mode while preparing for main paper. Questions are generally twisted and they need to muster facts while giving right interpretation. Like in GS, the questions will deal with discretionary power of Governor (Article 116) whereas for public Administration, they might ask, ''Governor is an agent of centre''. Similarly in GS, the question might be based on Panchayati Raj System based on 73rd amendment. In Public Administration, they might ask, ''Panchayats are not development delivery vehicle, they are an independent tier of governance in true Gandhian spirit''. Students need to read national dailies to prepare for these kind of topics.

Union Government and Administration: The focus is on Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Cabinet Secretariat. The PMO has acquired enormous importance during the last three to four decade. Students should focus on how the relationship between PMO and Cabinet Secretariat has evolved under these c i rc u m s t a n ce s. Newspapers and journals should be good source of information on this issue.

State Government and Administration: Students need to be thorough with the Sarkaria Commission's report on Centre-State relations and National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution report which was submitted in 2002

District Administration and Local Government: The changing role of collector vis-a-vis technology, District Rural Development Authority, District Development Authority, structure of panchayats and nagar palikas. There should focus on on issues like Right to Information, Cyber Governance.

Section B

Public Services: There should be focus on UPSC, State Public Service Commissions and how ''recruiters should be properly recruited''. The constitutional aspect and functions of these institutions need to be studied.

Control of Public Expenditure: Sections like Parliament and CAG have already been dealt in paper I. They need to further focus on Public Interest Litigation, judicial activism which includes extra ordinary intervention by Supreme Court and High Courts in order to restore dwindling public faith in system because of declining public morality at highest level.

Administrative Reforms: Queries on Right to Information, social audit, panchayati raj, Voluntary R e t i re m e n t Schemes are part of the administrative reforms.

Machinery for Planning: Student need to focus on Planning Commission and how the role has changed during all these years. They need to find out that whether Planning Commission should be merged with Finance Commission in the context of liberalisation. Students can gather information from national newspapers, periodical and journals.

Administration of Law and Order: The role of central and state agencies in the maintenance of law and order and articles published on these issues should be given top priority

Welfare Administration: This is an evolving area and there is no specific reading material available on this issue. Students need to go through annual report of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Writing: Application is the key while writing this paper. Avoid jargon and abbreviation, be precise. Premium is on accuracy, insightfulness and application.

Stratergy for preparing Psychology

Students need to have an integrated approach alongwith having an overview of the whole syllabus when they prepare for both the papers of Psychology. Questions in paper I can be based on information from paper II and vice versa. For example a question in attitude will have link with communication and prejudice (paper II) and vice versa.

Important portions in Paper I Section A

Introduction: Psychology as a Science: Definitions and perspective. Psychology in relation to other social and natural sciences. Use of interdisciplinary approach

Methods of Psychology: Characteristics and components of methods in psychology (induction, deduction and introspection). Observation, survey, laboratory and field experiments. Clinical and case study.

Development of Human Behaviour: The nature, origin and development. Role of genetic and environmental factors in determining human behaviour. Influence of cultural factors and socialisation. Life span development-the critical periods and their handling, Mastery of the developmental tasks.

Learning: Concepts and theories of learning (Pavlov, Skimer and Piaget). The processes of extinction, discrimination and generalisation. Programmed learning, probability learning, self-instructional learning, concepts, types and the schedules of reinforcement.

Memory: Concepts and definition of memory and forgetting, 7+/-2 concept and clumking encoding, storage and retrieval. Factors influencing retention and foregetting. Theories of forgetting (Repression, Decay and I n te r fe re n ce theories). The concept of reminiscence

Section B

Thinking and Problem Solving : Concept formation processes. Reasoning and problem solving. Creative thinking and fostering creativity. Information processing. Decision making and judgement

Intelligence and Aptitude: Concept and definition of Intelligence and aptitude, Nature and theories of intelligence. Measurement of Intelligence and aptitude.

Attitudes, Values and Interests: Definitions, concepts of attitudes, values and interests. Components of attitudes, values and interests. Formation and maintenance of attitudes. Measurement of attitudes, values and interests.

Paper II Section A

Psychological Measurement of Individual Difference: The nature of individual differe n ce s. Characteristics and construction of standardised psychological tests. Types of psychological tests.

Therapeutic Approaches: Psychodynamic therapies. Behaviour therapies. Clientcentered therapy. Cognitive therapies. Indigenous therapies (Yoga, Reiki, Meditation) Biofeedback therapy.

Work Psychology and Organisational Behaviour: Personnel selection and training. Use of psychological tests in the industry. Training and human resource development. Theories of work motivation.

Community Psychology: Definition and concept of Community Psychology. Role of community psychologists in social change. Use of small groups in social action. Arousing community consciousness and action for handling social problems. Group decision making and leadership for social change

Section B

Application of Psychology to disadvantaged groups: The concepts of disadvantaged, deprivation and socially deprived. Social, physical, cultural and economic consequences of disadvantaged and deprived groups. Educating and motivating the disadvantaged towards development.

Psychological and the problem of social integration: The concept of social integration. The problem of caste, class, religion and language conflicts and prejudice. Nature and manifestation of prejudice between the ingroup and outgroup. Casual factors of such conflicts and prejudices.

Other applications of psychology: Sports psychology - improving performance of sports, personnel, psychology and understanding of political behaviour.Voting behaviours.

Writing

Don't exceed limit in shortanswer questions
Try to make the introduction catchy while answering short and long questions. Students should use real-life examples to make the answers lively
Highlight the important points Short sentences should be order of the day. Conclusion should consist gist of entire discussion
Make a framework of the answer like what would you write in the lead paragraph, body text and the conclusion before you proceed with writing the answer
Time management is key and candidates should ensure that they have atleast 25 minutes on hand before they attempt the last question

Stratergy for preapring Political science

2008 Strategy for Political Scirnce

Political science is a dynamic and ever –changing subject. Candidates aspiring to opt for it should be more aware of the shift in focus than the skeletal changes in the revised syllabus. It helps candidates in updating their knowledge of the current events and provides a fresh perspective on the burning domestic and foreign policy issues. About half of the general study paper is basically related to the two papers of political science for the main examination. Besides, that be the best subject to ensure a sound sleep during the interview days simply because you have readymade answer for almost all the question being asked by the board members.

Key Strategy
UPSC move of revision of syllabus of political science has generated golden opportunity to score especially high marks in the subject. In fact as of now, even those students who don’t have the background of political science have fared better in many respects. Provided one becomes dynamic and innovative enough to evolve new scientific strategy being in conformity with the changed requirement of the new syllabus.

Since almost all purely factual aspects of the syllabus have been deleted. On the other hand, certain current topical themes have been added under new syllabus thereby making study more relevant. For instance, after revision major highlights of the syllabus are feminism, globalization, terrorism, environment, nuclear threat/nuclear proliferation, recent developments in Indian Foreign Policy etc. The purpose of this write- up, however, is to make you warmed about the subject in the context of revised syllabus.

Political Science even prior to revision of the syllabus too was a bit scientific nature but under new syllabus exceptionally great deals of current topical applied themes have been included. In the light of the revised syllabus, certain amount of exposure to the relevant contemporary emerging issues (such as globalization, environment etc.) EMERGING TRENDS IN INDIAN GOVT & POLITICS SECTION

(a) All Indian nationalists (such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Tilak, Saverkar,Jayprakash Narain,Subhash Chandra Bose,Ambedkar,Ram Manohar Lohia) except Gandhi and Nehru have been deleted (from paper 1 section B topic no 1 of the previous syllabus)

(b) Factual themes from topic no.4 paper 1 section B of previous syllabus have been completely deleted without any addition.

c)Major area of focus under new syllabus is on applied dimensions. For instance actual working of principal organs of the Union Government and those of the state government (paper 1 topic no 4(a) & (b). Changing nature of centre- state relations, inter-state disputes (paper 1 topic -7) (ii) Certain themes purely related to Indian Economy (i.e. G.S.) have been incorporated under new syllabus. For instance planning and economic development-Nehruvian and Gandhian perspectives, role of planning and public sector, green revolution, land reforms and agrarian relations, liberalization and economic reforms. iii) Similarly certain emerging issues/trends too have been added. iv)Subaltern themes/movements such as civil liberties and human rights movements, women’s movements, environmentalist movement (paper 1, topic no.11) are the major highlights of the new syllabus These new social movements( (i.e. G.S) constitute major part of G.S. & essay paper as well interview plan.

Emerging Trends In Paper –I Political Theory section

Under new syllabus of political science paper I, political theory section has been made to be exceptionally easier and simpler wherein specialized background of the subject. For instance following topics have been completely deleted from paper I, political theory.
State sovereignty- Marxist and pluralistic theories, globalization and the state (topic no 3). Theories of political culture – Culture and politics in third world countries (topic no 5) Theories of political economy – classical and contemporary (topic no 6)
ii) Similarly from topic no 8 almost all theorists (such as pareto,mosca,mitchels,C.wright mills,weber) except two scholars gramsci & Hannah arendt have been deleted from the syllabus without any addition at all.
iii) Moreover, from topic no 10 out of four Marxian theorists (in the old syllabus),exept Karl Marx all three Marxian scholars such as Lenin, Mao and Rosa Luxemberg have been deleted without any addition
iv)Contemporary theme like feminism has been added (under topic no 2 & topic no 8) which is otherwise relevant for the purpose of G.S.,essay as well as interview
v)Instead of theories of human rights (paper 1,section A topic no 4 of previous syllabus),now under new syllabus merely “concept of human rights is to be studied
vi) Further exceptionally easier and simpler conception of justice under new syllabus is supposed to be studied with specific focus on John Rawls and communitarian critiques.
vii) Meanwhile under paper I topic no 9 (i.e. Indian political thought) few scholars have been added by replacing few ither less important scholars.

Now new syllabus constitutes following five major discourses
Ancient Indian discourses – Dharmashastra and Arthashastra
Dalit Discourse –B.R.Ambedkar and Buddhist tradition
Islamic Discourse –Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
Hindu Discourse-Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
Gandhian Discourse- M.K. Gandhi
Humanist Discourse – M.N.Roy
Emerging Trends in paper II
Under paper II change of syllabus constitutes following major emerging themes
Applied dimensions of state (paper II,topic no 2),Politicl parties,pressure group and social movements (paper II,topic no 3) are supposed to be studied under new syllabus ii) operational dynamics of globalization (paper II,topic no 4,topic no 6) is another major highlight iii) Infact more current topical themes related to G.S. and essay paper have been incorporated under new syllabus topic no 7 (a) & (c) iv) Similarly fair amount of assessment of role of the UN in practice is desirable under new syllabus with due focus on the Need for UN-reforms (topic no 9) v)Finally a new topic under the broad headline of Recent developments in Indian foreign policy.India’s position on the recent crisis in Afghanistan,Iraq and West Asia,growing relations with US and Israel,vision of a new world order (paper II),topic no 8) has been added with is otherwise purely a part of current affairs (i.eG.S.)

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Political Science is a dynamic and ever-changing subject. Candidates aspiring to opt for it should be more aware of the shift in focus than the skeletal changes in the revised syllabus. Opting for Aristotle's Master science, the aspirant should master the techniques to make best use of these changes like a crafty politician. The advantages of picking political science as a favourite optional are manifold. It helps candidates in updating their knowledge of the current events and provides a fresh perspective on the burning domestic and foreign policy issues. About half of the general studies paper is vitally related to the two papers of political science for the main examination. Besides, that is the best subject to ensure a sound sleep during the interview days simply because you have readymade answer for virtually all the question being asked by the board members.

The recent years' trend also reveals that the candidates with political science as an optional have fared better in many respects. The rate of success is going higher and higher. The purpose of this write- up, however, is to make you w armed about the subject in the context of revised syllabus.

A cursory view of the changed syllabus indicates towards the modification at two levels: (a) new addition, and (b) shift in focus. Interestingly, what appear to be additions are really the extended and focused parts of the existing topics. This means that students will have to prepare for the same old themes but in a changed context. This sounds appropriate as much water has flown down the Gangas since the previous paper was set up. More so in the context of political science where changes start reflecting realities, both at the domestic and external planes. The centralised polity of India has finally given way to coalition politics, and now it seems the coalition culture is here to stay in one way or the other. The rehearsing of International relations paper was highly imperative in the context of Collapse of Soviet Union, the end of cold war, and the emergence of a new world order shaped and designed by the United States-led Unipolar World.

We have seen a lot of face lifting and reading, real changes are not drastic and metamorphic. The topics that were included as subtopics in the old syllabus have been given a separate and independent status in the revised course. Yet, a few substantial changes are the additions like Nationalism and Internationalism and the theories of international relations, primarily corresponding with the international relations paper in the Mains. So far freshers opting for political science used to get abruptly exposed to the strangers zone called international politics. Now, they will have some idea about the world political scenario with the help of the new topics.

A brief survey of the significant additions in the section (A) of the political science paper reveals that a couple of unexplored areas have been taken in. The meaning, nature and scope of political science and its relations with other subjects; concepts of nationalism and internationalism, major theories of International Relations; .Social movements; and the bureaucracy are the major themes brought under focus in the revised syllabus.

Section (B) of the prelims has also registered a few additions signifying both structural and spiritual shift. Approaches to the study of governments; classification of political systems; the constituent assembly, the party system in India, the interaction of government and the local-self governments; bureaucracy and development, and the challenges to the Indian Democracy are major additions. The students should specifically focus on the themes like 73rd constitutional amendment, the political parties and the bureaucracy. It would be advisable to tell about the clarity of concepts and the grasp of knowledge both in vertical and horizontal dimensions to qualify the prelims. More you have read, more facts will strike your memory while searching for the right answer through the process of examination. That is why, a serious and hard working student proves better in answering the objective type test questions than an ill-organised and poor in knowledge candidate.

Stratergy for preparing Physics

Paper 1

Section A has three important areas: Classical Mechanics, Special Relativity, Waves and Geometrical Optics and Physical Optics. Since all these three sections give compulsory questions, it's best not to avoid any one. Yet, if you are hard pressed for time, you can be selective about any one section. But it's important that before getting selective you have identified the essential areas based on past trend analysis.

It's best not to be selective at all in Classical Mechanics. Moreover, there is no dearth of good material on this section. Most of the students find this section rather simple to handle. In Special Relativity, the older topics are more important than the newly added ones. So, the students should design the preparation strategy accordingly. In the Waves section, Damped and Forced Vibrations, Phase and Group Velocity should be given priority.

Section B contains: Electricity and Magnetism, EM Theory and Black Body radiation and Thermal and Statistical Physics. All the above three sections carry compulsory questions, hence none can be completely ignored. Questions which come on EM Theory are very simple and quite s c o r i n g . Hence this a re a should be well prepared and the students must not miss the question on this area.

Paper 2

All of the second paper except Electronics can be prepared from two sources, i.e. Quantum Physics by Resnick and Eisberg, and Modern Physics by Arthur Beiser. For value addition, you may require to undertake some extra reading from other standard books.

Electronics is now a prominent part in the course. Students coming from non-electronics background must make some extra effort to master this section thoroughly. Once prepared well, this part is scoring.

Study Tips

Do not leave any part of the course completely, be only smartly selective
Thoroughly analyze the past trends before you decide on your focus areas
There is no need to give derivation of equation, until you are specifically asked for it. It does not fetch you any extra credit
Read the question carefully, identify focus area and answer to the point
Clearly explain the units and terms used in the formula
Finally, practice a lot of problems before going to the examination hall.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Paper I

Paper II

Paper I

Paper II

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR MAINS EXAMINATION :

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

TOPICWISE SUGGESTED BOOKS

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

General Psychology

Books for specific topics

SOME SUGGESTED READINGS FOR YOU :

SUGGESTED READINGS TOPIC WISE :

Suggested Readings For Prelims

Suggested Readings For Mains

Prelims

Topicwise Suggested Reading

Suggested Reading for Prelims

Suggested Reading for Mains

Paper-I

Paper-II

Other Books

Topicwise Listing of Suggested Books

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

Booklist in the perspective of changed syllabus Geomorphology

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION :

REFERENCE BOOKS FOR MAINS EXAMINATION :

REFERENCE BOOKS OVERALL :

General Study List

Topics Study List

Topicwise Listing of Suggested Books

Paper I

Paper I

Paper II

Topic Wise Reference

Suggested Reading for Preliminary

Suggested Reading for Mains

Monday, April 28, 2008

Topic Wise Reference On General Studies

Suggested Strategy for Management

Paper I

Paper II

For General Studies (GS)

Paper I

Paper II

Writing Short notes:

Long questions:

Paper I Administrative theory : Section - A

Section B

Paper II Indian Administration : Section - A

Section B

Important portions in Paper I Section A

Section B

Paper II Section A

Section B

Writing

Paper 1

Paper 2

Study Tips

Blog Archive

About Me

UPSC Link Lists

Paper I
Administrative theory : Section - A

Paper II
Indian Administration : Section - A