UPSC CSE Prelims 2019 GS Observation+ Deep Analysis

Year 2019 Prelims Paper 

1. This year the paper appeared to be on the tougher side as it was lengthy and the options framed were confusing. The themes of the questions asked seemed relevant but required in-depth understanding and knowledge. However, the static portions like History, Polity, Geography, Economics, etc. as expected were given due weightage. 
2. Questions ranged from both fundamental topics like those in Economics e.g. PPP, P-Notes; Modern history e.g. Swadeshi Movement; Geography e.g. 21st June etc. to unconventional sources and topics in S&T which scaled the difficulty level of this paper. 
3. UPSC has raised the bar and it expects the aspirants to even read the fine print. Questions like that on Compensatory Afforestation, External Debt, Glacier, Jagirdari and Zamindari, etc. required thorough reading and deeper understanding of the static subjects. 
4. In the History section, this time Medieval India questions were given more weightage unlike art & culture in the previous years. However, the modern history section was of moderate level difficulty overall. 
5. Environment questions unlike previous years did not focus on International climate initiatives and bodies. This year there was focus on environmental governance issues especially which were in the news like Forest Rights Act, Environmental Protection Act, Solid Waste Management Rules, Wetland Conservation rules, etc. 
6. Polity questions demanded deeper understanding of the Constitution and its provisions. The options in polity questions were close and were not asked from regular sources like Laxmikanth. The judgements of SC have been paid special emphasis this year. 
7. Map reading and Atlas continue to play an important role in one's preparation in Geography section. 
8. This year this section saw a mix of factual and conceptual questions like dew drops, bordering countries and seas, minor minerals, etc. In map based questions, in-depth observation was required. 
9. S&T questions were more on technological aspect than on basic science such as biology. Direct relation of S&T developments could be linked with current affairs in questions like digital signature, black hole, patents, etc. However, few questions checked deeper knowledge and clarity like functional chromosomes, RNA-I, etc. 
10. The Current Affairs understanding was not restricted to only one year news.

Suggestions:

1. Read Basic/standard books, follow one Good News Paper religiously and use the internet as extensively as possible. 
2. Have keen perception about things going around you. After reading newspaper always clarify key terms from internet. Try to refer to the official govt. websites more. 
3. Read standard text books on static subjects and don’t ignore NCERTs. Never ignore any subject completely to increase attemptability in the paper. 
4. An appropriate strategy should be to avoid negative marking in tough questions and maximize your score by first finding the easy ones and completing them.