The most popular reason for people to go for civil service in India is the prestige that comes with it. Few young people enroll in an IAS academy in Chennai hoping to help the nation’s citizens or address the problems that are prevalent in the country. Ultimately, the real motive and drive to become an IAS officer is defeated.
When asked, all of the top UPSC civil service trainers in the nation say the same thing: An applicant should not take the IAS exam thinking ‘how will it help me?’ Becoming a civil servant is different from having a comfortable private job. The perceptions that the life of IAS demands of a person are:
- Social reform.
- What can the candidate deliver to the nation and its people?
The job of an IAS officer is poles apart from business. Its limits are not limited to the scope of a company. Civil service is about working to bring about positive change in the community as a whole and, consequently, in the entire country.
All India Civil Service Coaching Center Chennai Explains 3 Winning Stages
Now that the motive behind sitting for the UPSC exam is apparent, it’s time to move on to the three rung ladder to clear it out.
- The preliminaries.
The first stage to become a civil servant is to pass the preliminary exam. This test checks two aspects of a candidate:
- basic knowledge
- General Fitness
It shows that the right IAS candidate would be one who works on personality and right brain from the start. And it is the juncture where most applicants make a fatal mistake. They believe that learning everything under heaven increases their knowledge, what they overlook are the basics.
To get past this rung of the ladder, most coaching academies advise:
- Read NCERT books from cover to cover thoroughly.
- Solve doubts that were made in previous years.
- Read newspapers every day to have the affairs of the world at your fingertips.
- The main.
While flying the first stage is a commendable job, the second stage is not easy. The main exam of the IAS competency is intended to test a deeper level of knowledge of the remaining candidates on various topics. At this stage, books and reading material are essential, but equally important is an understanding of society at large. That is why an applicant for civil service should not be limited to academic studies. They must interact with their peers and experts to gain a broader and more complete perspective of the nation.
Remember that part of the main exam is an essay; By working on what and how changes can be made in society, you increase your ability to think and write an essay. To clear this rung of the IAS ladder, here is what an IAS candidate must do:
- Don’t storm current affairs. Have discussions about them to make sure they stay top of mind.
- Be careful when choosing the optional paper; It must be of personal interest or a topic of previous education.
- Practice mock tests and question papers from previous years. This will help to achieve the speed required to answer all questions in the specified time succinctly and completely. Practicing here means writing the answer for each question with a stopwatch.
- Don’t ignore essay writing; it is just as crucial as studying for general studies and the optional paper.
- The interview.
The final step in becoming an IAS officer is the interview. It is also the stage that most aspirants look forward to. This portion of the UPSC exam is purely a personality test that is conducted before a panel of members. In most cases, there are five to six judges with a leading chairman to conduct the interview which takes place at Dholpur House located in CP, New Delhi.
The judging panel is made up of members who have expert knowledge in the subject of their choice and hold a specialized degree in the subject. Some examples of the people who make up the panel are:
- retired judges
- Train IAS officers
- known lawyers
To pass the career ladder phase, an applicant generally has to demonstrate:
- Meticulous judgment powers.
- Precise skills for decision making.
- To cope with even the most difficult situation taking into account the circumstances and the consequences.
Cleaning the Three Steps: The How
There is no set method to prepare for the IAS exam. Each candidate has to find their own strategy. That said, to pass the three steps of the civil service ladder you must develop:
- The desire to do good.
- The passion to be better.
- The ability to act under pressure.
Any IAS applicant should keep in mind that the test does not simply require knowledge of the syllabus. Cracking the exam conducted by UPSC requires more than basic learning. The most successful civil servants are those who demonstrate a strong commitment to the country, love for its people, and dedication to improving it.