To begin with, I must admire you for being firm in your decision to NOT join a coaching, And Searching for steps on How to Prepare For UPSC Civil Services Examination Without Coaching? That’s the first and the very right step. Not many have this clarity. When I started preparing, I thought only coaching can save me. I’m here to help you with your UPSC Preparation.

Problems Faced By The UPSC Aspirants

• The attribute of the Civil Service Examination that makes it utterly difficult is the vast syllabus. Hence, the lack of proper resources and expert guidance is one of the key problems faced by students who prepare without any formal upsc coaching in indore. 
• Students find themselves at sea when it comes to relevant booklist or study materials. Bookshops and internet resources are filled with materials that are never-ending. Hence, fresh aspirants always get in “too many books and too little time”!
• The strategy is the key area when it comes to covering the entire syllabus. There are many topics that can be skipped, many topics that are extremely important and scoring. Fresh aspirants may feel overwhelmed with the vastness of syllabus and free resources and may end up wasting a lot of time aligning the same.
• Next is proper time management. Coaching’s help in preparing a schedule for the aspirants. And hence, in lack of it, it is difficult to manage time efficiently. 
• You may also need help with your difficult areas, without upsc coaching it becomes quite impossible to meet this requirement.
• Furthermore, the evaluation of descriptive answers is something that no aspirant can do by himself. But does that mean it is absolutely necessary for a UPSC aspirant to join upsc coaching in indore? Well, still, the answer is no! But, there are some of the key factors one should consider while preparing for the IAS Exam without coaching. Let’s see what are they!

Stage I: How to start UPSC IAS Preparation

Please do read and finish your NCERTs in the least of times. They are essential but not sufficient. They help you assess where you stand, what you lack and what needs to be done.
After NCERTs, focus on standard textbook like GC Leong, Laxmikant, Spectrum, Shankar and Nitin Singhania notes. Here is also a difficult part. Do not be lured by your other friends who are reading different difficult books. The exam is cracked not by reading too many books but by reading same book, many times.

Then you must develop a habit of reading newspaper daily. Either the Hindu or Indian Express. This is very important. Current affairs are 60–70% of the question paper at all the three stages- Prelims, Mains, Interview.
By now you are also expected to have finalized on your optional. Be very careful here. Optional can make or break it for you. Please don’t be egoistic here- “MAin toh college topper tha maths mein, toh maths hi lunga” ( I will take Maths optional. Afterall I was the college topper). Despite my love for English, I did not have the courage to take English Literature optional because its performance ain’t good.
Over the time, also practice answer writing. And do solve previous years question papers.

One of the most challenging examinations conducted in our country is UPSC Civil Services exam. It is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission which is a central recruiting agency. The task of cracking UPSC 2021 Civil Services exam is not a piece of cake. The aspirants need to a lot of hard work in order to succeed.
This article will be giving some tips to become an IAS / IPS officer without investing money in the hands of coaching giants. IAS Exam aspirants will also get to know the eligibility criteria of the exam, UPSC exam pattern and the preparation tips.

The first thing you should do before starting your preparation is to know whether you are eligible for taking this exam. The aspirants must be a graduate and their age should fall under the given age limit. Check the Eligibility Criteria for UPSC Exam in the linked article.

The next thing which you should know is the exam pattern. The UPSC conducts civil services examination in three stages. They are:
I :- Prelims
II :- Mains
III :- Personality test

The Prelims examination is objective and the General Studies Paper II is qualifying in nature. The question paper is set in English and Hindi. The UPSC IAS Prelims examination consists of two papers.
• General Studies Paper-I
• CSAT Paper-II

The General Studies Paper I comprise of Geography, History, Economy, General Science, Environment and ecology, and current affairs.
The CSAT Paper II comprises is aptitude paper which has the quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, and comprehension skills.

When a candidate clear prelims exam, they must fill up a form called “Detailed Application form” (DAF). Mains examination consists of nine descriptive papers including one optional subject (2 papers). This is considered as the crucial stage which decides an aspirant fate.
Candidates who qualify the mains exam, are called for the final round, i.e., personality test or interview. This round decides your rank in the final list. To read more on the UPSC Exam Pattern, check the linked article.

Many candidates wrongly believe that they cannot crack the UPSC IAS exam without upsc coaching. If approached with the right strategies one can crack this exam in the very first attempt. Firstly, one needs a combination of both hard work and smart work for cracking this exam. One must make a study plan which works the best for him/her. They can start their preparation by reading NCERT books which are considered as the indispensable part of UPSC IAS Exam and an authentic newspaper like The Hindu.

We have already come up with the study plan and complete list of books including NCERT for UPSC civil services Examination.

1. Read NCERT and other standard books
2. Also Read a newspaper and make notes
3. Practice writing answers daily for UPSC Mains exam
4. Choose and excel in the optional subject for Mains examination
5. Practice UPSC previous year question paper as well as the mock test
6. Groom yourself for interview

To begin with, I must admire you for being firm in your decision to NOT join a coaching, And Searching for steps on How to Prepare For UPSC Civil Services Examination Without Coaching? That’s the first and the very right step. Not many have this clarity. When I started preparing, I thought only coaching can save me. I’m here to help you with your UPSC Preparation.

Problems Faced By The UPSC Aspirants

• The attribute of the Civil Service Examination that makes it utterly difficult is the vast syllabus. Hence, the lack of proper resources and expert guidance is one of the key problems faced by students who prepare without any formal upsc coaching in indore. 
• Students find themselves at sea when it comes to relevant booklist or study materials. Bookshops and internet resources are filled with materials that are never-ending. Hence, fresh aspirants always get in “too many books and too little time”!
• The strategy is the key area when it comes to covering the entire syllabus. There are many topics that can be skipped, many topics that are extremely important and scoring. Fresh aspirants may feel overwhelmed with the vastness of syllabus and free resources and may end up wasting a lot of time aligning the same.
• Next is proper time management. Coaching’s help in preparing a schedule for the aspirants. And hence, in lack of it, it is difficult to manage time efficiently. 
• You may also need help with your difficult areas, without upsc coachingit becomes quite impossible to meet this requirement.
• Furthermore, the evaluation of descriptive answers is something that no aspirant can do by himself. But does that mean it is absolutely necessary for a UPSC aspirant to join upsc coaching in indore? Well, still, the answer is no! But, there are some of the key factors one should consider while preparing for the IAS Exam without coaching. Let’s see what are they!

Stage I: How to start UPSC IAS Preparation

Please do read and finish your NCERTs in the least of times. They are essential but not sufficient. They help you assess where you stand, what you lack and what needs to be done.
After NCERTs, focus on standard textbook like GC Leong, Laxmikant, Spectrum, Shankar and Nitin Singhania notes. Here is also a difficult part. Do not be lured by your other friends who are reading different difficult books. The exam is cracked not by reading too many books but by reading same book, many times.

Then you must develop a habit of reading newspaper daily. Either the Hindu or Indian Express. This is very important. Current affairs are 60–70% of the question paper at all the three stages- Prelims, Mains, Interview.
By now you are also expected to have finalized on your optional. Be very careful here. Optional can make or break it for you. Please don’t be egoistic here- “MAin toh college topper tha maths mein, toh maths hi lunga” ( I will take Maths optional. Afterall I was the college topper). Despite my love for English, I did not have the courage to take English Literature optional because its performance ain’t good.
Over the time, also practice answer writing. And do solve previous years question papers.

One of the most challenging examinations conducted in our country is UPSC Civil Services exam. It is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission which is a central recruiting agency. The task of cracking UPSC 2021 Civil Services exam is not a piece of cake. The aspirants need to a lot of hard work in order to succeed.
This article will be giving some tips to become an IAS / IPS officer without investing money in the hands of coaching giants. IAS Exam aspirants will also get to know the eligibility criteria of the exam, UPSC exam patternand the preparation tips.

The first thing you should do before starting your preparation is to know whether you are eligible for taking this exam. The aspirants must be a graduate and their age should fall under the given age limit. Check the Eligibility Criteria for UPSC Exam in the linked article.

The next thing which you should know is the exam pattern. The UPSC conducts civil services examination in three stages. They are:
I :- Prelims
II :- Mains
III :- Personality test

The Prelims examination is objective and the General Studies Paper II is qualifying in nature. The question paper is set in English and Hindi. The UPSC IAS Prelims examination consists of two papers.
• General Studies Paper-I
• CSAT Paper-II

The General Studies Paper I comprise of Geography, History, Economy, General Science, Environment and ecology, and current affairs.
The CSAT Paper II comprises is aptitude paper which has the quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, and comprehension skills.

When a candidate clear prelims exam, they must fill up a form called “Detailed Application form” (DAF). Mains examination consists of nine descriptive papers including one optional subject (2 papers). This is considered as the crucial stage which decides an aspirant fate.
Candidates who qualify the mains exam, are called for the final round, i.e., personality test or interview. This round decides your rank in the final list. To read more on the UPSC Exam Pattern, check the linked article.

Many candidates wrongly believe that they cannot crack the UPSC IAS exam without upsc coaching. If approached with the right strategies one can crack this exam in the very first attempt. Firstly, one needs a combination of both hard work and smart work for cracking this exam. One must make a study plan which works the best for him/her. They can start their preparation by reading NCERT books which are considered as the indispensable part of UPSC IAS Exam and an authentic newspaper like The Hindu.

We have already come up with the study plan and complete list of books including NCERT for UPSC civil services Examination.

1.     Read NCERT and other standard books

2.     Also Read a newspaper and make notes

3.     Practice writing answers daily for UPSC Mains exam

4.     Choose and excel in the optional subject for Mains examination

5.     Practice UPSC previous year question paper as well as the mock test

6.     Groom yourself for interview

In the second wave of COVID-19 across the country, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has postponed the Civil Services 2021 preliminary exam date to 10 October. This delay in the examination process has triggered different reactions from UPSC candidates as they must once again change their preparation strategy. The Civil Services Examination is broadly divided into three successive stages - Preliminary, Main and Personality Test. Candidates need to qualify in all the three stages to make place in the final merit list.

Preliminary Exam Pattern & Syllabus

The first phase, known as prelims, consists of two papers: GS I and CSAT. General Studies I is an amalgamation of several subjects, which include History, Post-Independence era, Geography, Indian Polity, Economics, Environment, Science and Technology and Current Affairs. Whereas, Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) tests the analytical and aptitude skills of the candidates. It includes questions based on English Comprehension, Maths, Logical and Analytical Reasoning

Candidates will have to compulsorily appear in both the papers for evaluation. Both the papers carry a maximum of 200 marks. While GS I is a merit-based exam, CSAT is a merit test and candidates are required to score a pass to pass the paper. Prelims cut-off is based on GS I only. However, the marks obtained in the preliminary stage are not counted in the final merit list. GS - I question paper consists of 100 questions and CSAT paper consists of 80 questions in Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) format. There is a negative marking for each wrong answer in both the papers. 1/3 of the total marks allotted to a question is deducted for each wrong answer. Candidates must complete each paper within the allotted time of two hours.

Since the exam has been postponed, the candidates will have to work out a new strategy for the next four months. You can join any online revision batch for upsc coaching in indoreto brush-up.  Apart from modifying the static syllabus, candidates should also pay attention to the current events of the next three months. With the extra time available, candidates can study all the subjects with equal importance. Some additional important books which may be mentioned while reviewing is:

·        Certificate Physical and Human Geography by GC Leong,

·        Textbook for Environmental Studies by Erach Bharucha,

·        A New Look at Modern Indian History by BL Grover,

·        Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

NCERT is the best source to understand the basic concepts related to any subject of any subject. It is necessary that students see all the above-mentioned books only after revising the books prescribed for NCERT and all subjects in general. The main thing should be that more attention should be paid to quality than quantity of study material.

Main Exam Pattern & Syllabus

Once a candidate successfully clears the prelims stage, the next stage is to appear for the main exam. The main examination consists of nine papers, out of which seven are merit-based papers and two papers are of qualifying nature. All the nine papers are descriptive and are to be completed within the time limit of three hours. All papers except Language Papers A and B can be answered in English or any of the languages ​​listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. Optional papers can be answered in English even if no other paper in English language has been answered by the candidate.

The Civil Services main syllabus is diverse and covers different subjects in a single paper. General Studies 1 paper covers topics like India and Indian National Movement, freedom struggle, world history, Indian and world geography, Indian heritage and culture, social development and current events related to all these subjects.

General Studies II focuses on governance, constitution, politics, social justice, and international relations. It also includes topics such as welfare schemes by the government, various international institutions, and bilateral relations.

Whereas General Studies III deals in many disciplines including economics, environment and ecology, agriculture, internal security, disaster management, science and technology. It also includes topics like infrastructure, land reform, military force.

General Studies IV focuses on ethics, integrity and competence. This paper is divided into two sections where section A deals with theoretical questions and section B has questions based on case studies.

Apart from four general studies papers, the main examination consists of an essay paper, two elective papers and two language papers qualifying. The essay question paper consists of two sections, each containing four essay topics. Candidates need to attempt one topic from each section. Whereas, for optional papers, UPSC offers 25 subjects and 23 language literature subjects to choose from. Paper V and VI are based on selected optional subjects.

Writing skill is must to clear mains exam of upsc the questions asked in the exam are descriptive. If it is your first attempt of upsc then you need some directions in answer writing which comes by the experience and you can find this in some good upsc coaching in indore.  

Personality test

On passing the main examination, the selected candidates are called for a personal interview. This stage is conducted by the UPSC board to evaluate the suitability of the candidate for a career in civil services. The board assesses the mental ability, reasoning, and decision-making skills of the candidate by asking questions based on the information provided by the candidate in his/her Detailed Application Form (DAF). The personality test is of 275 marks.

The rank of a candidate in the UPSC Civil Services Final Merit List depends only on the marks obtained in Main and Personality Test together. The cut-off is calculated based on total 2025 marks.