Strategy for CSAT

This year civil services preliminary examination, due on May 20, 2012, will be the second based on the new pattern. It will consist of two objective-type question papers. Paper 1 (general studies, or GS) and Paper 2 (GS/ Civil Services Aptitude Test or CSAT) are of 200 marks each. Here’s the strategy and just-in-time advice for CSAT candidates If we analyse Paper 1 of the 2011 exam, we find that total 100 questions were asked from the seven topics prescribed in the syllabus. The topicwise analysis of the hundred questions (see box). Looking at the pattern in which questions have been framed in GS, one...

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This blind man fought for 3 yrs to become an IAS officer

Ajeet Singh, Careers360 In this ongoing series, we bring you 30 stories of struggle, survival and success to inspire you. Professor-turned-IAS aspirant Ajit Kumar fought a 3-year battle to claim his rightful place in the Civil Services. This is his story. "My prolonged illness took away my eyesight forever. But it was not my biggest challenge," shares Ajit Kumar Yadav, who recently received appointment letter for the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). Even after securing a rank of 208 among 791 successful candidates in the Civil Services examination, Ajit...

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Sopore shopkeeper’s son cracks IAS exam

UMER MAQBOOL Srinagar, May 5: Twenty-five year old Bashir Ahmad Bhat has achieved the inspiring distinction of being the first youth from the apple town of Sopore to have cracked the prestigious All India Civil Services examination.It was not an easy task for Bhat, hailing from Batpora area of Sopore town, to make it to the All India Civil services.  Bhat neither had the robust financial background to get coaching from any top academy of the country nor mentoring of any retired or in-service civil servant to get tips for cracking the examination.Curiously, nobody from Bhat’s family has ever served in the government...

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The IAS topper who failed Class VI ‎

Divya Nair UPSC all-India second topper Rukmani Riar did not believe in coaching and cracked the exam in her first attempt. She tells us how she did it. Ever since the UPSC results were announced, Rukmani Riar's phone hasn't stopped ringing. Although Chandigarh-born Rukmani has received gold medals for her academic achievements and research during graduation and post-graduation, she says that this new feeling of success is overwhelming. "People from all over have been trying to reach me to congratulate me and my family. It's a proud moment...

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India's Top 10 Corruption Scams

The Top Scams in India 1) 2G Spectrum Scam We have had a number of scams in India; but none bigger than the scam involving the process of allocating unified access service licenses. At the heart of this Rs.1.76-lakh crore worth of scam is the former Telecom minister A Raja – who according to the CAG, has evaded norms at every level as he carried out the dubious 2G license awards in 2008 at a throw-away price which were pegged at 2001 prices. 2) Commonwealth Games Scam Another feather in the cap of Indian scandal list is Commonwealth Games loot. Yes, literally a loot! Even before the long awaited sporting bonanza could see the...

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