Class Notes 4 You

  CURRENT AFFAIRS sources and approach for UPSC CSE  1. Indian Express (I didn't make detailed notes) 2. VISION Monthly Magazine (last 1.5 years) 3. Raus DNS videos (selectively for polity and economy issues I face difficulty in understanding) 4. Compilation of reports (Shankar IAS magazine) How to read current affairs for UPSC ● I have seen people spend hours reading multiple newspapers and then reading detailed explanations and watching explanation videos. ● This is a perfect example of information overflowing. And I am very sorry to say but too many coaching centres/websites in the market are responsible for creating this craze for current affairs. ● The amount of time you are putting into current affairs is not going to help you. You must have realised this after seeing this year's prelims paper. UPSC is either asking very prominent current affairs or some very obscure facts that nobody is aware of. Better keep your sources limited and revise them repeatedly. ● UPSC syllab...

  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims  ● Current affairs magazines were my only source for this portion. For complex topics e.g. RFID, Bitcoin, 5G, orbits, RT PCR etc. I took help of random youtube videos to get my concepts clear. ● If you have enough time, consult two different institutes' magazines of science and tech for better coverage. I studied Vision and Raus compass. ● For basics of biotechnology, the last four chapters of class 12 NCERT biology books are recommended. However, I don't read it because of my biology background. ~ UPSC CSE Topper. 

ENVIRONMENT booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. PMFIAS Environment ● I had both Shankar IAS and PMF IAS environment books. I found Shankar's style of presentation very uninteresting. Therefore shifted to PMFIAS. I found it more handy, better representation and good to revise. ● Rest is your choice. 2. National Parks, Biosphere Reserves, Wildlife sanctuary, Ramsar sites, Tiger Reserves  of India ● State wise prepared separately. Practicing on the blank India map helps in remembering exact location. ● Other than wildlife sanctuaries, I tried to remember the rest of the protected area of each and every state. ● Special attention to be given for protected areas located in North eastern states. ● Combine your knowledge on geography here too in terms of physiography, river system, vegetation, climate etc.  ~ UPSC CSE Topper. 

  ECONOMY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims ● Economy is the subject which took me the maximum time to find a proper book. ● I started with Ramesh Singh, left it within two months. I felt it was too big and too dry to comprehend. Picked up Sanjeev Verma next. Though the writing was good, I felt the gap in my understanding still remains. ● I spent a lot of time understanding the concepts of basic economics. Once done, rest becomes easy. For anyone who doesn't have a background, please pay special attention to this subject. 1. NCERT Class 12 Macroeconomics ● Quite helpful for building the basics. Ignore the numericals. In six chapters , the major points of the macro issues are discussed.  ● Take help of any YouTube lecture if you feel difficulty to understand. Be as specific as you can while searching, e.g. not the budget but terms like revenue deficit, remittances etc. 2. Shankar Ganesh ● A very small but useful book. Read the definition, know the terms and do research...

POLITY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. Indian constitution at work . Class 11 NCERT ● This is an excellent awe inspiring read to know about our democratic structure and the need of having a constitution. I will recommend everyone embarking on the service of the nation to read it at least once. Hardly takes 2 3 days to complete. 2. M. Laxmikanth ● Laxmiknth is one of the few books that seriously needs countless times of revisions . ● Ideally you should read it line by line but still, highlight the portions you tend to forget easily. Try to identify the TRAPS hidden between the lines. I get those identified by making mistakes in prelims mock tests . (Vision and Insights both Prelims mocks do wonderfully horrifying jobs of trapping students in the examples) 3. Bare Acts of constitution for Fundamental Rights + DPSPs + Fundamental Duties, ● Very important to remember the exact wordings used in these cases. Ideally, one should read and remember the article numbers also by hea...

GEOGRAPHY booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. NCERT Class 11 and 12 ● Total 4 books are there, two books on physical geography are of utmost importance. Prepare it thoroughly, study each of the maps and diagrams given. ● Made short notes of 10-12 pages from Human geography and Economic Geography. 2. PMFIAS Geography ● Keep India physical geography NCERT as the base and add extra points from this source as value addition. Freely available on the net. ● Especially chapters like physiography, river, vegetarian etc. 3. Mapping ● Geography through maps la-excellence coaching youtube videos (last 4 years) ● Dristi IAS places on news videos, excellent animation and description 4. Random animation videos ● Very helpful to understand core geographical concepts eg cyclone, la nina etc. Amit Sebgupta's youtube channel is one of them.  5. GC Leong   • All the climatic regions  last 10 12 chapters. ~ UPSC CSE Topper.

ART and CULTURE booklist and approach for UPSC CSE Prelims 1. NCERT Fine Arts class 11:  A good point to start and develop interest about the rich tradition of art forms in India 2. Nitin Singhania:  Too exhaustive at times. You can check from which chapters questions have been asked in previous years (given at the end of each chapter) and focus more on those topics e.g. architecture, music, dance, paintings, puppetry etc. 3. I used to mark important places/ items and 2 or 3 most important facts to remember on black India maps. Helped me in revising quickly and also a good practice for the mains answer. 4. Mark places on news on India maps from each month of current affairs magazine. Look for important geographic/economic features of that place too. 5. Adding extra points from prelims mock in the books itself work well for art and culture too.  ~ UPSC CSE Topper.