IAS 2014 Study Plan: How to Prepare for IAS Exam 2014 Paper-1 First Know the Syllabus

Before starting out with your IAS 2014 Prelims preparation or with any exam, you should know the syllabus thoroughly. So go through the Prelims syllabus and keep a printout with you while preparing. Also glance through the eligibility criteria and pattern of the Prelims while you are on that post. Take One Subject from Each Paper The best way to approach Prelims preparation is to prepare both papers simultaneously. This way you do not neglect any paper and follow a balanced preparation plan. You can start with any subject of your choice. Lets say History (paper 1) with Decision Making (paper 2). Next, you should keep aside a certain time daily for reading one good newspaper and magazine. Usually, newspaper reading should not take more than an hour. The next question is whether you should devote equal amount of time for topics from both papers? The answer is no. You can devote more time to paper 1 or paper 2 on a given day depending on your current preparation level and also what you feel on that day. For instance, sometimes I felt like studying paper a certain 1 topic longer so I just went with my mood, while on some days I paid more attention to tackling mental ability in paper 2. All said and done, it is true that paper 1 syllabus requires wider coverage, so you will anyhow need to devote more time to it. Lets now move on to preparing individual subjects for IAS Prelims 2014. Preparing Paper 1 Subjects for IAS 2014 Paper 1 subjects are distinct from one another. You cannot combine History with Geography or Polity. All have to be studied separately. On the other hand, paper 2 topics have a lot in common and can be clubbed together like Comprehension with English-language comprehension, Logical Reasoning with Mental Ability and Basic Numeracy. This implies that paper 1 topics need extra time and and effort to prepare and also individual strategy; so lets dive straight into it. Current Events and General Awareness The topics to be covered include important national and international events, economy, health, legislation, sports, awards and honour, new and important schemes, etc. All this is covered in my Current Affairs and General Awareness course of the Membership Program. One or two good newspaper and magazines apart from some good internet sources should help you with your current affairs preparation. You will need to cover the last two years current events, although you need to be thorough with this years current events and should go through previous years current bits in passing.

History of India and Indian National Movement Indian History consists of three parts Ancient, Medieval and Modern history. Usually Modern is far more important than ancient and medieval history so cover this first. I have already listed the sub-topics in each part in this infographic and the sequence in which the History topics should be covered. Indian and World Geography Geography is not only quite scoring but its fun to study as well; especially maps. You will need to go through the Atlas on a regular basis, preferably on a daily basis, but the effort is well worth the effort you put in as you can expect anywhere between 5-10 map based questions in 2014 Prelims. Apart from the Atlas you will need to cover physical, economic and human Geography pretty well. Economy and Social Development The trick to preparing economy is to understand its sub-components which are basics, current economic issues and economic statistics. Basics include concepts like inflation, various deficits, planning, industrial policy, monetary policy and fiscal policy, definition of economic terms and so on. Current economic issues are the ones that are in news frequently like rupee devaluation, financial inclusion, various committees set up by the central government, oil price volatility, current account deficit, etc. Apart from this you need many facts and figures on your fingertips such as GDP growth, exports and imports, inflation, etc. Social Development includes poverty eradication schemes and financial inclusion schemes social indicators like maternal and child mortality, sex ratio and so on. You should know the salient features of the social schemes that you study.

Environment, Ecology and Bio-diversity Environment and ecology is a burning issue of our times and this is aptly reflected in the Prelims questions over the past few years. 2014 will be no exception to this trend. Check out this infographic on ecology and environment syllabus and how to cover it. But there are some topics that get asked more than others; these include global warming, climate change, endangered animal species etc. Also include national parks, sanctuaries, threatened marine habitats, corals as part of the ecology syllabus. Indian Polity Polity is one of my favourite subjects as it deals with our rights and duties as citizens. In polity there are conventional topics to cover like fundamental rights, DPSPs, legislature, executive, judiciary, emergency, local self governance etc and also current issues to focus on like disqualification of MPs and MLAs on being convicted for serious offences, changes to Representation of Peoples Act, judicial activism, NOTA option on voting machine and so on. Prepare polity well since you can pick some easy marks here. Refer this post on how to prepare polity for IAS prelims. IAS General Study IAS General Study is an important composition of most of the government exams including civil services. Science syllabus consists of two parts conventional topics and application based topics. For conventional questions you need to focus on diseases, both human and animal, vitamins, vaccines and disease prevention and its symptoms, treatments of important ailments etc. You also need to cover application based topics like electricity, nuclear science, pressure, etc where questions on real-life phenomenon are asked in the prelims. If you believe in yourself, you can do it !! Looking for Online Coaching for IAS? Get yourself enrolled in the best online IAS coaching for the same under the guidance of highly qualified professionals.For more info CLICK HERE :
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