UPSC-2015

1.How to kick start GS preparation

2.Newspapers, Notes making

1. GS-Core
Syllabus
failures:
Earlier
2. away=>from
Optional Syllabus
Far
scratch

Qatal ki Subh
~200 days

Closer=>mocks+GSM+Optional+Backup exams

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Polity
Economy
History
Geography and Agriculture
Environment & Biodiversity
Science
International Relation
PIN, Awards, Sports (Hardly in
UPSC)

GA | GK | GS

7/8 Pillars
@MCQ
stage

Tough

Agro. Tough

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Polity
Finishem 1st
Economy
History
Geography and Agriculture
Environment & Biodiversity
Science
International Relation (CDS, CAPF)
PIN, Awards, Sports (Hardly in
UPSC)

GA | GK | GS

7/8 Pillars
@MCQ
stage

Current Affairs Hindu

1. National- polity,
Development
2. Economy
3. Science-Tech
4. International
5. South India
6. Sports, PIN

RBI reduced Repo rate to 25 basis points.

NEW Player
Seasoned Player
15/1/15
Xyz Bank CMD said
____.
Xyz bank reduced
Repo 8% => 7.75%
home loan rates ___.
(Jan15)
Xyz Expert says
_____.
GDP boost
.

Notes making is essential for Mains.

Crispy notes only when CORE
Syllabus is finished.

Polity Books DD Basu, Kashyap, MV Paylee

Laxmikanth
9 out 11
Direct in
CSAT 2014

BEGIN
from
HERE

7. FR, FD, DPSP, Alien

th
8. Amendment, J&K, 5 &
6th
10.Local Governance [PRI,
ULB]
11.Bodies: Statutory,
Constitutional- str,
functions, Person in

Polity
Remaining
Blocks

Union-State-Concurrent
Table of precedence
Amendment list
Article list (selected)

Appendix

History at
last

CSAT 2014

Q1. Which one of the following is the

largest Committee of the Parliament?
A. The Committee on Public Accounts
B. The Committee on Estimates
C. The Committee on Public
Undertakings
D. The Committee on Petitions
1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

Find correct statements

A. The President shall make rules for the more
convenient transaction of the business of the
Government of India, and for the allocation
among Ministers of the said business.
B. All executive actions of the Government of
India shall be expressed to be taken in the
name of the Prime Minister.
C. Both Correct
D. None correct

1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

Types of MCQs

1. 2TF, 3TF, 4TF, 5TF (LAXMIKANTH by

heart)
2. Bodies: Appointment, function,
jurisdiction
3. Match the following: years, articles,
functions
4. Person in news (PIN)
1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

UPSC CDS(I)2014: NCERT Political science

Political theory ____.
1. deals with the ideas and Principles that shape Constitutions
2. clarifies the meaning of freedom, equality and justice
3. probes the significance of principles of rule of law,
separation of power and judicial review
Correct Statements are:
A. 1 and 2 only
B. 1 only
C. 2 and 3 only

D.1,2 and 3 (Class11, Page6)

1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

Polity

13.NCERT Political science,

Additional
Sociology
After
(Mrunal.org/DOWNLOAD)
Laxmikanth
14.India 2015: ch3 [Yearbook]
15.MCQs: Laxmikanth, GS
Manual, previous papers
16.Parliament Handbook
(ONLY if time permits)

Static Polity

1. GS-Core Syllabus
2. Optional Syllabus

Qatal ki Subh
~200 days

Bills, Act, Ordinance

Rights issues [SC Judgments,
Government schemes-policies]
Election [RPA: GS2]
TheHindu => National,
Columns
PrsIndia.org
Mrunal.org/Polity

Polity
Current

7 Pillars of Economy for UPSC

Pillar #1: Basics of Micro & Macro & Indian
Economy

Class11

Types of
Economies
LPG
reforms

Class12- MICRO
Selected only
Mrunal.org/econo
my

Class12: MACRO
GDP, NNP
National
income
Money &

7 Pillars of Economy

2. BankingFinance

Monetary Policy
Banking Sector
Capital Market
From next lecture

Fiscal
Policy

3.

Budget,
Taxation
Subsidies
Fiscal Deficit

4.

International

BoP, CAD
WTO & other
Org.
Policies

Economic SURVEY

5. Sectors of
Economy

Agriculture
MSME, Industries
Service sector

6.Infrastructu
re

Energy
Transport

RUR-URBAN

7. HRD
Skill
Development
Poverty line
Weaker
sections

Not Essential for Economy

At max. just selected

Chapters on
Poverty, Development,
Public-finance, Subsidies

Economy: Dutt Sundaram, Uma Kapila

Wait for 2015
Land reform
Cooperatives
Ashish Notes

Ch.6,7,13,19;21-24
MCQ

1,6,7
Others as per my lectures

Non-UPSC

Then what to prepare?

1.NCERT 11, 12
2.IYB-2015
3.Lecture +
Mrunal.org
4.Budget
10 Questions +Survey
in CSAT-14

170+ in Mains GS2+3

combined
5.TheHindu

Static Polity

1. GS-Core Syllabus
2. Optional Syllabus

Economy

Qatal ki Subh
~200 days

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Polity
Economy
History
Geography and Agriculture
Environment & Biodiversity
Science
International Relation
PIN, Awards, Sports (Hardly in
UPSC)

GA | GK | GS

7/8 Pillars
@MCQ
stage

Old NCERT
Geography
(USSR)
Economy
(academic)
Science
History:
TN state
Books

New NCERT (2007)

History (Art,
culture, religion)
Geography
Economy (11,
12)
Science
Pol.Sci., Socio

Old NCERT on flipkart.com

Oxford:
RS Sharma: Indias Ancient Past
Orient Blackswan
Satish Chandra: History of Medieval
India
Bipan Chandra: History of Modern
India
Arjun Dev: History of the World

How to approach History

How to approach History

first
Mains

EASY

CSAT-2014 General Studies

EASY

How to approach Freedom Struggle

Even before 1857

GG & their contribution
1857 reasons,
consequences
Revolts: peasant, Tribal
(Mrunal./Polity =>Land
reform)

Ancient | Medieval

Advent of
Europeans

1857: Freedom struggle

Prelim + Mains

1857: causes, events,

consequences
Reformers
Org. founders
Newspaper, books
Edu. Commission
(Hunter, Sadler..)

British Raj

1857 &
after

How to approach Freedom Struggle

British Raj

1. Congress: GK session,
Modern:
President
Moderate
2. Moderate, Extremist, Surat
s
split
3. Home Rule, Beasant vs Tilak
4. Swaraj Party, Nehru report
5. Provincial Ministries vs
Muslim League

1.Leaders
2.org., newspapers
3.Gadar-100 years (2013)
4.Conspiracy cases
5.INA trial (Netaji Files)
6.RIN Mutiny (Mains2014)

British Raj

Modern:
Revolutio
n

How to approach Freedom Struggle

1. South Africa (Mrunal /history)

2. Champaran, Abad, Kheda;
3. NCM, Khilafat, CDM, QIM,
Partition
4. Gandhi-Irwin, GandhiAmebedkar, Gandhi-Bose
5. Other freedom fighters
(mains)

British Raj

Gandhi

How to approach Freedom Struggle

1.Reforms: Morley
Minto; MontagueChelmsford
2.Acts: 1909, 1919,
1935 & 1947;
(Laxmikanth)

British Raj

British
Response

British Raj

1. Anti-Reforms: Rowlett,
Jalliyanwala, Simon, RTC,
British
Communal award
Response
2. Partition: Linlithgow offer,
Wavell plan, Cabinet
Mission , Cripps Mission,
Mountbatton (Make
revision table)

British Raj
Followup
IF TIME LEFT

MCQ
Timeline

Refining
Essay Points

CAPF-2014

Who translated Dinabandhu Mitras play

Neel Darpan into English?
A. Reverend James Long
B. Dwarkanath Tagore
C. Michael Madhusudan Dutta (correct,
Pearson)
D. Rabindranath Tagore
1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

CAPF 2014 (3rd March Hindu)

In March 2014 mortal remains 1857 mutineers
were exhumed from a well at ____. These
remains are of ____ soldiers.
Choices:
A. Jallianwala Bagh, 36 Regiment of Sikh Infantry
B. Lahore, 75 Regular Native Infantry Regiment
C. Ajnala, 26 Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
D. Satti Chaura Ghat, 19 Regiment of Bengal
Native Infantry

1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

How to approach History

Tamilnadu Class 11 and 12 (/download)

Ancient
Medieval
Freedom
struggle
World History

Ancient + Culture

Tamilnadu Class 11 | old NCERT

New NCERT
Lucent GK (Ready revision tables)
General Studies Manual (MCQ)
NIOS Culture (Download)
CCRTindia.gov.in
India Yearbook: Ch2

Harappa
Features
What found where?
Causes of decline
Vedic age basic (Sabha,
Samiti, litt.)

Ancient | Medieval

Ancient: What
to prepare?

1.Pillar doctrine
2.Sect, kings, travelers
3.Council
4.Places, monuments.
features

Ancient | Medieval

Buddism
Jainism
DETAIL

3 Mauryan Kings (victories,

policies, arch.)
1. Chandragupta Maurya
2. Bindusara
3. Asoka (pillar, messages)
+ Greek Envoys, Foreign
Travelers
+ caves, art form, authors
IGNORE: Bimbisara- Ajatshatru,
Udayin, Shisunag & Nanda.

Ancient | Medieval

Harappa
Vedic Age
Jain-Buddhism

1.Pushyamitra
2.RudraDaman
3.Kanishka
(Buddhism)

Ancient | Medieval

Only 3 After
Maurya

1. Samudragupta &
Vikramaditya
2. Harshavardhan & Huien
Tsang (TN)
3. Pala-Pallav-PratiharRahstrakuta (CultureArchitecture)

Ancient | Medieval

Gupta Age &

after

1. (culture) Sangam
literature- Manimekalai,
Tolkapiyam
2. Chera-Chola-Pandya:
emblem, temples
[Rajendra Chola: 1000
years]
3. Hoysala Architecture

Ancient | Medieval

South India
Ancientmedieval

How to approach History

2nd

cult
ure
first
Mains

CSAT-2014 General Studies

Religion & Architecture

1. Sufi, bhakti, Sikh
2. N.India: Kings
(Administrative), Poets,
Mosques, Tombs,
Architecture [ASI restore]
3. S. India: Vijayangar,
Temples, Europeans=>
Modern India

Ancient | Medieval

Medieval

CSAT-2013: following Bhakti Saints

1. Dadu Dayal
2. Guru Nanak
3. Tyagaraja
Who among the above was/were preaching when
the Lodi dynasty fell & Babur took over?
A. 1 & 3
B. 2 only
C. 2 & 3
D. 1 & 2

1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

CSAT 2014

In medieval India, the designations

Mahattara and Pattakila were used
for
A. military officers
B. village headmen
C. specialists in Vedic rituals
D. chiefs of craft guilds
1. Skip

2. Attempt

3.

History: Culture

1. NIOS (Mrunal.org/download)
2. CCRtIndia.gov.in
[Mrunal/Answerkeys]
3. TheHindu (ASI restoration,
excavation)
4. Spectrum: Culture

Only 2 caves have such lion pillars in front:

Karle & Kanheri

Largest Chaityagriha
in India

Stupa:
Cylindrical Drum
shaped

Always google for image

How to approach History

2nd
cult
ure
first
Mains

History : Mains GS1 (Post independence + world)

Bipan

Jain

Norman
Lowe

Arjun Dev

Mrunal.org/history

Static Polity

Economy

History

Topic wise Mock Tests

Qatal ki Subh
~200 days

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Polity
Economy
History
Geography
Environment Biodiversity
Science (SSC, CDS, CAPF)
International Relation (CDS, CAPF)
PIN, Awards, Sports (Hardly in
UPSC)

GA | GK | GS

3/6
Pillars

How to approach Geography

CSAT 2014: 4 / 10 directly from NCERT

Physical Geography (NCERT)

Universe

Earth Basics
Geology
climate
Ocean
Disaster

Misc.
After NCERT is
done

Science Class 8 Ch.17

Geography Class 6 Ch.1
Geography Class 11 Ch 2.
Geography Class 6 Ch.2 to 6
Geography Class 11 Ch.1, 3 & 4
Geography Class 11 Ch.5 to 7
Geography Class 11 Ch.8 to 12
Geography Class 11 Ch.13 & 14
Geography Class 11 (Indian Geography) Ch.7
Science Class7 ch8
Science Class 8 ch15
Geography Class 11 Ch.1 & glossary
1. Goh Che Leongs Certificate Physical & Human Geography
book OR
2. General Studies Manual
3. Spectrum

World Geography

NCERT Class
7
8
12 (Human
Geography)

Chapter
7 to 10
1,3,5,6
1 to 10

World Geography: focus?

Mountain range in each continent & highest peak
longest, largest rivers: countries covered by them
fresh water lakes; water falls : countries they
belong to (just top 3-5 names)
cold & hot deserts of the world: countries covered
by them
landlocked countries in Europe & Asia
Location of famous grassland (Veld, Prairies,
Pampas etc.), tribes (Pigmy, Masai etc.) & winds.
famous borders (e.g. Durand line, 38th parallel etc)

World Geography: What to focus?

Capitals of Middle East, European & South East
Asian countries
famous cities-their nick names/specialty; on
which river theyre located
famous monuments / heritage sites (Angkor Wat,
Machu Pichu etc)
famous strait & which sea do they join (e.g Palk,
Berring, Gibralter etc)
Places in current affairs: Ukrain, Crimea, South
China sea, Gwadar port

Indian Geography
topic

India basic
rivers
Economic
geography
Human
Geography
After NCERT is

class
6
9
11
9
10
11
12
10
12

chapters
7
1, 2, 4
1&2
3
3
3
6
1,5, 6, 7
7 to 12

9
12

6
1 to 4

1. Spectrum Geography OR Lucents GK

Book
2. DR Khullars India: A comprehensive

Geography

1. simultaneously refer Oxford

School atlas
Indian
2. mountains, mountain passes, geography
rivers, borders, corridors
3. weather, cropping pattern
4. sanctuaries, national parks
5. Minute GK,
6. Mineral ranking

How to approach Geography

books

Physical
CDS/CAPF

India

Geography (All in one)

Spectrum

UPSC: Prelim + Mains

Mahesh Barnwal
State Service

Static Polity

Economy

Geography, History

Topic wise Mock Tests

Qatal ki Subh
~200 days

CSAT 2014: Agro. Mostly tough ,out of book

Agriculture
NCERT class subject
chapters
science
3&9
7
geography
4
8
science
1
science
15
9
geography (India)
6
11
geography (Human) 5
12
geography (India
5
land & people)
Soil related chapter from Spectrum
After
NCERT OR Majid Hussain or DR Khullars
book.

How to approach Environment

How to approach Environment

CSAT 2014 answerkey:

Mrunal.org/UPSC

NCERT: environment
CLASS
6
7
8
9
10
11

12

SUBJECT
geography
geo.
science
geo.
sci.
geo
science
Geo.
sci.
geo(Physical)
geo (India)
economy
Biology
chemistry

CHAPTERS
8
1 to 6
7, 16 to 18
8
7 & 18
5
14
2
14 to 16
15 & 16
4&5
9 (Sustainable development)
13 to 16
14

Free

NIOS
Mrunal=>
environment section

Shankars Book

Treaties & summits

1. Treaty-summits
2. Definition, concepts e.g.
biomagnification, algae
bloom
3. Species: location, critically
endangered
4. Pollution related
5. Clean Energy

Environme
nt
Mrunal.org

How to approach Environment

first
last
first
first
first

Static Polity

Economy

Geography, History, Environment

Topic wise Mock Tests

Qatal ki Subh
~200 days

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Polity
Economy
History
Geography
Environment Biodiversity
Science (SSC, CDS, CAPF)
International Relation (CDS, CAPF)
PIN, Awards, Sports (Hardly in
UPSC)

GA | GK | GS

Last
Pillar

CSAT 2014: 4/5 easy: NCERT, GSM,Lucent

NCERT Science-irrespective of degree

Clas PHYSICS Chemis Biology
s
try
7
4, 13, 14 & 5 & 6
1,2,10; 11 & 12
15
8
11 to 16
3 to 6
2, 8, 9 & 10
9
8 to 12
1 to 4
5,6,7 & 13
10 10, 12 & 13 1 to 5
6 to 11
11 1,5,8
1,14
2 to 5
12 15
14,16
4,5
then
7
to
16
Environment related
Psychology Ch4, Glossary

CDS 2014 (1)

People suffering from anorexia

nervosa
1. Develop paralysis
2. Show poor reflex
3. Cannot speak properly
4. Eat very little and fear gaining
weight
NCERT
12
Psychology
Ch.4
Page
16
1. Skip
2. Attempt
3.

CDS 2014(i)

Bone weakening is
caused by
Deficiency of ___.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Calcium
Phosphorus
Nitrogen
Carbon

Answer choices

A.1 and 2 only

B.1 only
C.1, 2 and 3
D.4 only

CDS 2014(i)
Deficiency of ___
is/are responsible
for weakening of
bones?
1. Calcium
2. Phosphorus
3. Nitrogen
4. Carbon

A. 1 and 2 only
B. 1 only
C. 1, 2 and 3
D. 4
NCERT Class 12
Chemistry Ch 7 Page
2.

NCERT Science: Irrespective of Degree

Clas PHYSICS
s
7
4, 13, 14 &
15
8
11 to 16
9
8 to 12
10 10, 12 & 13
11 1,5,8
12 15

Chemis Biology
try
5&6
1,2,10; 11 & 12
3 to 6
1 to 4
1 to 5
1,14
14,16

2, 8, 9 & 10
5,6,7 & 13
6 to 11
2 to 5
4,5 then 7 to 16

GS Manual : Physics real life

examples, chemical uses,
disease tables, MCQ practice;
Lucent GK: disease table,
nutrient uses

Science
After
NCERT

1. Space (Mangalyan, GSLV)

2. nanotech
3. Medical- ebola, malnutrition
4. clean energy
5. Information Technology
TheHindu: Thursday edition: but
Hardly anything in prelim/Mains
Mrunal.org

Science
Tech
Current
Affairs

Static Polity

Economy

Theory: Geography, History, Environment, Science

Topic wise Mock Tests

Qatal ki Subh
~200 days

Mrunal.org/UPSC

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Polity
Economy
History
Geography
Environment Biodiversity
Science (SSC, CDS, CAPF)
International Relation (summittheme (/PIN, /diplomacy)

GA | GK | GS
Mrunal.org
/PIN

GA | GK | GS

1.Notes making
NEXT
2.Newspapers,
magazines
3.Career backups