Guys finally after the request of many aspirants i am coming up with my strategy for GS, after the dismal failure of my earlier posts on Csat.

Before i share my strategy for preparation i would like to make one thing clear that every guy has his own method of preparation and its very difficult to imitate someone. Secondly my strategy may differ with others but one thing is sure that all other's final path is also correct.....its just that each of us has a different persnality......i am an average guy who used to study hardly 5-6 hrs a day.....i needed full 9 hours sleep and once a week daaru party.....i even used to party a lot with girls though eventually upsc prem made me loose them.......so my strategy generally holds fit for these type of guys...........

New aspirants have this uncanny habit ki hamesha 50 logon ke opinion lenge aur thoda thoda gud opinions sabke chura lenge.finally ek bande ko poora follow karne ki jagah 50 logon ko thoda thoda follow karenge aur end mei royenge..........

Anyways i know u wouldn't follow my advice so i am refraining from advising newcomers because already hundreds of people have posted their strategy for GS...kisi bhi ek ki fully follow kar lo pakka ho jaayega...........especially varun (rank 3)

So this strategy is for those guys who already have basic idea of GS and even after this landed up with dismal failures........finally they are crying their hearts out and abusing UPSC.....so if still u havent started abusing UPSC then this strategy is not for u..........that means my strategy will only help u raise marks by 50......

Guys i will tell u my strategy in form of my whole life story where how i improved from 190 to 262....in between i will also tell u a lot about coaching institutes...........

I started my GS preparation in oct 2008......initially i heard that vajiram was best teacher so i went to meet ravindran sir........in my first meeting i understood that its not a gud institute and they dont have time to look after newcomers..........but i also found a very knowledgeble person in form of ravindran sir.........so i didnt join vajiram......

I had my financial limitions....i couldnt afford 30k types fees......I hardly used to get 8k in IIT and i had lot of expenses......so i decided to take economics module from SRIRAM's worth rs 4000.......i went inside class first day.....sriram sir was saying something abt economics....he was very unclear and could hardly be seen........then i saw that all students surrounding me were sleeping.....mere bagal waala was even snoring......i realised that my 4000 rs gone in gutter.....when that person woke up i asked ki aap soye kyu then he replied" sriram sir ki class mei sabhi sote hain....abhi thodi der mei wo dictate karenge usse aap note kar lena" i was shocked to listen to this.......then somehow i managed to bear the lecture just bcoz my 4000 was at stake....despite this i yawned about 8 times in his lecture and somehow controlled my sleep......after class i ran towards sir and started blaming myself ki i am mentally retarded guy i couldnt understand ur genious class....i am not worth.....please return my 4000.....thankfully sriram sir returned my money.........

Then i went to ALS....i took polity module......it was gud....here in als i realised ki they dont check i cards after sometime....being an iitian i used my brain and made fake i card usingsome computer graphics.....this way i attended 40k worth coaching in 4000 rs......but i made one mistake.......i attended one of their tests and unfortunately topped....suddenly management came to know that their topper is actually not even registered in their coaching....they didnt allow me in current affairs class.........

but then i took ALS notes and gave mains 2009....i failed with 190 marks in GS in 2009...........

This is wat i did in 2009...........(thanks to ALS)

1) Dont write in points...write answers in paragraph form

2) Each answer should have a neat introduction and conclusion

3) Stick to word limit

4) Follow only ALS material....less books more emphasis on writing

5) in 2 markers write full sentence

6) no emphasis on culture

7) Nothing told about how to handle IR

8) Nothing told about Sc and Tech

9) Always do statistics early.....dont leave it till last

I failed miserably......i decided to join expert brains.....here i found complete change of strategy......this is what they taught.....

1) No need of paragraph....try to write as much as in points,,,,,i wtried to write almost all ans in points ( except economics questions)....my aim was to write more and more points....for ex in ques how can MP be disqualified i just wrote answer in 11 points.......

2) No sticking to word limit....i broke word limit in all questions......with about 20-25 words extra....this gve me liberty to put 2-3 more points

3) No introduction.....try to save words....sirf kaam ki baatein...in 100 words question i didnt even write conclusion....actually when examiner evaluates he has a model answer with him....that hardly contains introduction and all....my aim was to write as much points as possible.......

4) In 2 markers write in points.....always write 2-3 dimensions of topic...never write in one dimension......if possible break word limit by 5 words

5) Statistics was divided this time...half questions i did early rest i left for last moments

6) This time my aim was to increase my knowledge base.....i did about 2-3 coaching notes....didnt rely on single coaching

7) In IR always started from turning points.....for example in india-pak relations write tht after 2009 attacks the relation has taken a downturn etc......try to use lots of diplomatic words that we hear in day to day lives......eg india is even ready to walk an extra mile.....acc to manmohan ji theres enough space in this world for both india and china to grow.......

finally at the end a strong conclusion with complete analysis on relations....this should be of 50-60 words and in your own language....(i mean diplomatic lang)....always write diplomatic answer apne andar ki bhawnaein mat likh aana..........

8) In choice avoid opininon based open ended questions....they r highly tricky.....but iss saal to we were like " beggars r not choosers"

9) Pay emphasis on culture ek spectrum ki choti si culture ki book aati hai usse ratt lena

So i followed all these strategies and improved my marks....always remember that we get good marks not because we attempt more questions...but only because even if we attempt 400 but those questions should be written properly.....

For eg in question of complimentarity and competition btw highways and freight corridors....

i skipped intro

Just put heading competition and wrote 5-6 points

then placed heading complementarity and again 5-6 points

then finally a good conclusion

total-170 words

Finally coming to magazines.....i knew to be in top 70 out of 7 lakhs u have become different.....if i am following wat all others r following them i am also like rest 7 lakhs....so i tried to do different things....

i used to read frontline and used to write summary of every chapter i read....this saved a lot of time......

i didnt read any newspaper during last 2-3 moths.....actually i used to yawn reading hindu articles and always used to go to sleep midways....so i decided to leave hindu....i only read chronicle, frontline and yojana.......

I hope some of these methods may help u also in exam.....

I had my civil service interview on 28th march forenoon session. I got up 6 in the morning, dressed myself neatly in white shirt, dark blue trousers and blue tie. I arrived at upsc at 8 am. Then we were escorted inside the premises, where we had our paper formalities. Finally i came across my fellow competitors. Unfortunately all of them were highly qualified. Out of six , 3 were iitians, 1 was from AIIMS, one was a lawyer and one was an IPS officer. Finally at 11 am our first candidate went. We came to know that we would be interviewed by shashi tripathi's board. I was both happy and sad to hear this. Happy coz shes cordial and sad bcoz she being an ifs would definitely grill me in foreign relations which is my weak link.So we started revising our international relations.

I was the fourth to be interviewed. I was very nervous before interview and went to toilet about 6-7 times in half an hour. Finally when i was called in i went inside and wished everyone. Shashi mam was very cordial with a smiling face. She made me sit down comfortably.

Shashi mam: So u r nakul agrawal
me (with a smiling face)-yes mam

mam: and you did your Mtech in 2009.
me: yes mam, infact it was a dual degree course with both btech and mtech in 2009

she smiled. I smiled back

mam: So whre did you work
I explained about my organization.

She pointed to other member

M1- So nakul u wrote that u led a marathon event. Which all countries are leading in marathon?

Now frankly i did study my mains form but i never anticipated that question would go that way.

me: sorry sir, i have no idea.

he smiled

M1: so u wrote cricket. u play or watch cricket
me: i do both
M1: you play more or watch more

me: earlier it was more play but now i watch more

M1: so acc to you after so many match fixing scandals what is the reason for sudden turnaround of pakistan team in this world cup?
me:( i was completely taken aback)- Sir, its more bcoz of leadership The captain afridi is currently leading from the front, with spectaclular performance. This has lifted morale of team and motivated them. more coaching and presence of umar gul has also lifted the spirits of the team.

M1: people say in india cricket has completely overshadowed other games? wats your view?
me: Sir to an extent i agree with your point but thats not completely true. Other games are also having prominance. For example vishwanathan anand is currently indias number one chess player. Saina nehwal recently won singapore open.So other games are also growing in india

M1: why you think china has witnessed spectacular turnaround in sports?

me: sir, recently china has seen a very high reduction in drug abuse cases, than india.

M1: but why so much turnround as compared to india?
me: Sir in india we are lacking infrastructure of sports at school and college level.China has better sports infrastructure than india.

M1 didnt seem satisfied

M1: India is known as country of diseases? whats your view?
me: Sir india ranks second in HIV. We have high frequency of tuberculosis and polio.

M1: Do you know which country tops in diabetes?
me: Sir i am not sure but most probably its India.

M1: Its China.
Me: sorry sir, i wasnt sure. Although i still couldnt accept tht india is not number 1 but still i preferred not to argue.

the baton shifted to member 2

M2:So u work in NCB. Do you know national buildings code?
me: No sir but i know that this code is mandatory to be followed while constructing buildings.But i dont know specific provisions.

M2: Do you have any idea about cartelization of cement?
Me; Yes sir

M2: whats uur opinion
me: Sir i personally belive that although cartelization is there yet its more of a demand and supply. For example a 50kg bag costing 220 rs is being sold at 180 during recession despite cartelization

M1: is cartelization an offence under law? if so which act?
me: yes sir it is offence under law but i dont know which act

he said competition act.

M2: if you become administrator,, what would you do?
me: I will introduce more players to bring more competition. CCI has been established to ensure that no cartelization takes place and it should ensure that fair competition is induced

M2 smiled at my answer. He said that with coming up of foreign company lafarge, cartelization has reduced. I nodded and smiled back

M2- tell me about india's nuclear programme??
Me- India believes in credible minimam deterrance and unilateral moratorium on profileration.We follow principles of no first use policy and non use against non weapon states.

M2-So what acc to you was the turning point in india's nuclear policy?
me-1974 coz after this we were denied nuclear commerce

M2-what changes it brought?
me- It changed our nuclear policy to a 3 stage process where in first stage u use natural uranium, second stage is of FBR and in third stage utilize our thorium reserves

Then he went deeper into the policy

M2- lets start with beginning.What was india's earlier plicy?
me-disarmament sir

M2- Then why did we change ?
me- m not sure but most possible reason could be war with china nad pak in 1962 and 1965

M2- So 1974 was the major turnaround?
me-yes sir after this event we were isolated from nuclear commerce.Earlier france was helping india in nuclear energy but after 1974 it refused to cooperate

M2- was it only big event?

Here i realised tht m missing something which he is hinting

me- Sir one more major event was NPT. NPT had 1 jan 1967 as cut off date and didnt allow its signatories to test nuclear bomb

M2- So u support indias nuclear policy?
me-yes sir i do believe in unilateral moratorium. Inf act india recently presented a global roadmap in UN where it asked nations to follow no first use, non use against non weapon states and ultimately final destruction of weapons. I think its a right step in right direction

M2 seemed satisfied. Shashi maam was smiling as usual.
Then he suddenly asked out of a bloom.

M2:Which is your fav hindi poet or writer?

Now i was completely taken aback coz it was nowhere related to my biodata or mains form and it had come out of nowhere.I knew i would be grilled deeper so became really confused whose name to say. Many hindi nonsense names came to my mind but i still kept on thinking to find an easy one.Finally i spoke

me: Sir munshi premchand
M2: which book u like most
me: Sir, nirmala
M2: what did you read in this book
me:This book depicts story of prejudices against women .It talks about story of women who had to marry an old man just bcoz she couldnt afford dowry.Then i further illustrated the problems tht she had to suffer.

M2: So u must have heard about dowry code? which provision talks about it ?
me: Sir, i dont specifically know about the provisions but dowry act states that within 7 years of marriage dowry complaint is a criminal offence which is non bailable.Further here accused is considered guilty until proved otherwise thus violating the cardinal principle

M2: So premchand is the best writer of hindi
I smiled and nodded

Baton shifted to M3

M3: Mr nakul how would you define BPL?
me: Sir acc to contitution......

he interupted "coonstitution"

me: sorry sir acc to planning commision , BPL is defined as affordability to buy 2400 cal for rrural areas and 2100 for urban

M3: but these are vague.How would you actually measure BPL?

Now here i started feeling trapped and uncomfortable. I couldnt think of anything. So i said " i will use tendulkar committees report:

Now he caught me deeper.

M3: ohk to what criteria does his report uses?
me: Sir it measures on basis of expenditure on essential items.

M3 interrupting: essential items is a vague term. In delhi car is an essential item .So how actually would you measure this , if you become DM?

Now frankly i was gone completely blank.I found myself trapped and couldnt find any reply. I said i will measure his affordability to buy 2400.............

he interrupted " if you dont know i will ask something else"

Me feeling dejected - Sorry sir i dont know how do they measure but if i am administrator i will try to measure their affordability of basic goods.

He felt little disheartened with my answer. A smooth interview suddenly went bizarre. Oh why couldnt i think of WB estimates, income criteria, ADB criteria. Why under pressure you forget such simple things. Neways i again started getting nervous

M3: So you know about security bill.what is it?

now i was still carrying the hangover of last grilling. But i was relieved that topic changed. So i regain myself. All my hand movts were gone and i was cracking in my voice.

me: Sir it provides 35 kg of rice and wheat at 3rs and 2 rs respectivelty

M3: what r its implementation issues?
me: Sir it would increase further burden on govt ranging about 60000 crores ruppees.Secondly the issue is identification of beneficiaries.There is different figures of planning commision and state. while planning comission states BPL at 28 %, the absolute BPL card are 60 million........errrrrrrrrrr.............sorry sir i am not sure of figure but almost double the planning commisions estimate

M3: So how would you identify?

me: sir UID is a good measure. By UID its easier to identify the beneficiaries.Furthermore govt has launched land modernization programme which will further help in identification

M3: land records r there with govt.This prog only systematizes it
me- with a smile-ok sir

I was in no mood to argue. That guy had really placed me in stress and i didnt want to argue and suddenly let everythng turn against me.SO i smiled dumbly and preffered keeping quiet.

M3: why schemes are failing at grassroot level?

Now this was a welcome lollypop after so many bouncers. My confidence regained and i pounced back into the interview

me: Sir there r 2 main reasons.First is lack of grievance redressal mechanism for the people. In this regard RTI has emerged as a powerful grievance redressal tool and this has led to reduction in corruption and many frauds coming to limelight. Second is the social audit mechanism , which is a powerful tool has still not been implemented in most of the states.

M3:So which are the probable reasons for inefficiency,
a) govt not sincere
b) govt not having enough money
c) some blah blah
d) corruption and lack of implementation of schemes

this ques was very long and he tool abt 30 secs to answer it.Personally speaking i felt very bored in listening the ques and had a gr8 urge in interrupting and bursting my gud ideas. But i realised the trap and kept on listening. Maybe hes testing my patience.

So after he finished his ques i spoke after ages

me- Sir as per my opinion the option d appears to be the most plausible reason.

He seemed completely satisfied and me too

Now the focus shifted to chairman who was smiling all along

And then came the bouncer of the century

maam: So nakul u talked about dowry. Its a popular phrase that 'charity begins at home' ....how would you apply this phrase in women's emancipation?

Now I was completely taken aback. I turned pale.Nothing struck my mind.What nonsense ques was that yaar. All i could say was

me( with a dumb face)-pardon maam

I thought she will clarify more but unfortunately she was smart enough she just repeated her ques without clarifying anything.

me ( again dumb struck)- by emancipation you mean enpowernment?

this was to show that i wasant dumb and actually couldnt understand the english word. I had understood but i needed time as i was not able to think of anything.

She nodded and said yes

and then i started farting- Maam charity begins at home ............errrrrrrrrr.......

......it talks about predujices faced by girls and discrimination of girls at homes. Moreover many times they are not sent to schools.So parents should send their girls to school so that they can have meaningful skill devt which will provide them good job and ultimately enpowernment.. It will also aware them about their rights and laws and prevent crimes against them.

I again went blank.I realised i was farting so suddenly stopped and started thinking of other points. Maam smiled, probably she could read my dumb face. and then i farted again.

me- SHG'S also

She smiled and said 'SHG's'

I smiled coz i realised it was stupid point. I said

me-maam education is one of gud charities.Women would come to know about various laws like domestic violence, dowry codes etc.

Chairman was smiling all way.I guess she caught my dumbness.

Finally she said " ya and many families give less food to their girl child, so they should feed their girl child"

I smiled but at heart i was abusing myself.What dumbo i am.How could i say SHG....and that too......to chairman..............

she said you can go

I wished all of them and made my way out.

My first impressionis that my interview is average with messing up of BPL concept, sports and finally chairmans question also. I was angry with myself.HOpefully i get good marks.