A Comprehensive Guide to Starting Your IAS Preparation from Fresh Graduation

Welcome to your journey towards becoming a Civil Servant. This guide is tailored to help you start your preparation from the moment you step into your first year of graduation. With the right approach and methodology, you can lay a strong foundation early on to ensure you are well-prepared for the challenges ahead.

Personality Development via Knowledge Base

Personality development is not just about wearing good clothes or shiny shoes. It is about expanding your intellectual and emotional capabilities. At its core, it means gaining a vast and diverse knowledge base. This knowledge should be expansive and encompassing, not confined to the specific materials related to your career path or school/college textbooks.

A knowledge base means adding knowledge in your mind, heart, and soul exponentially from worldwide sources. This involves reading a wide range of materials, from newspapers, magazines, philosophical texts, economic theories, fictional works, and more. The objective is to expand your horizons and ideas, making you a well-rounded candidate.

Steps towards Preparations

Widen Your Horizons

The earlier you start, the more comprehensive your knowledge base will be. Here’s how you can begin:

Read Two Newspapers Daily: Choose between The Hindu, Indian Express, HT, TOI, and even a local newspaper. Stay Informed: Read CNN, BBC, and NYT online for free versions. Magazines: Read Yojana, Kurukshetra, and India Today for government schemes and other relevant news. Government Schemes: Read all government schemes from a social perspective to understand how they impact individuals and society.

Expanding Your Knowledge Base

Hook up with the great minds of history through the following materials:

Philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, Hobbes, Bentham, Mill, Hegel, and Kant. Economists: Adam Smith, Keynes, Marx. Authors: Shakespeare, Dickens, Thomas Hardy, George Orwell (Animal Farm), Peter Drucker (Who Ate My Cheese). Indian Authors: Vivekananda, Gandhi, Nehru, Amartya Sen, S Radhakrishnan, Arundhati Roy, and Shashi Tharoor. Modern Fiction: Ludlum, Grisham, Sheldon, Archer.

All types of reading are essential for developing good writing skills and will prove invaluable during interviews.

Developing Writing Skills Through Précis and Essays

Practicing précis and essay writing is crucial for your preparation:

Précis: Write a précis of the first editorial of Indian Express or the Hindu every Friday. This will help improve your comprehension, analytical skills, vocabulary, and writing coherence. Essays: Write one essay from the previous year’s CSE papers every fortnight (PYQs). This enhances your ability to think and write, prepares you for long questions in the Mains Optional, and strengthens your ability to write fluently on any topic.

Ensure both are evaluated by a teacher or mentor, and make necessary revisions.

Physical and Mental Stature

Building both mental and physical strength is essential. Start with:

Eat Healthily: Maintain a healthy diet. Daily Exercise: Exercise for one hour daily, whether running, jogging, gym, or yoga. Combine physical activities with pranayam or meditation.

Engage in English conversations as much as possible, especially if English is your chosen language.

Grooming for the Job

To be ready for the job, ensure you:

Smart turnout always; maintain a positive smile and ethical behavior. Quit the use of tobacco completely. Moderate your alcohol intake. Substantially reduce social media presence/exposure.

Feel happy and look forward to being a civil servant, but avoid becoming arrogant or haughty. Always maintain humility.

Contact Information

For any queries, reach me at @subhmat on Telegram.

Year 2 and Beyond

Starting in year 2, initiate your NCERT program, beginning with 6th-grade books. Read thoroughly in three stages:

General Reading: Focus on important topics based on the syllabus. Note Making: Flag important topics for detailed note making. Note Making Understanding: Make notes and fully understand the issues, always keeping the syllabus and previous year questions (PQYs) in focus.

For recommendations on reading standard books, follow these resources:

Civil Services – You ask – We answer Ask Subhash Sir Feedback at @subhmat on Telegram

Best wishes!