The IAS Exam in 2012 will be special .Not only will it feature the new CSAT syllabus introduced from 2011 onwards but also the pattern will be different from the 2011 IAS exam. This hub explains all the details relating to the 2012 IAS Exam including the procedure, syllabus, possible exam pattern, books to refer, and tips to crack the 2012 IAS exam.
IAS Exam 2012: The Basics
The IAS Exam will consist of three stages: Prelims, Mains, and Interview (Personality Test). While the Preliminary exam will be objective in nature, the mains will be written while the personality test is verbal.You have to clear the preceding stage to reach the next stage of IAS 2012 Exam. For instance you will need to first crack the IAS prelims, then appear for the mains, and based on the marks obtained you may be called for the IAS interview, the final frontier.
Applying for the 2012 IAS Exam
To appear for the IAS exam you will first need to apply for it. All the three stages of the IAS exam are conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a Constitutional body answerable to the Union Parliament.
The notification for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination (or just IAS prelims) will appear in the Employment News and on UPSC's website on 04-02-2012 and you can apply either online or through application forms available at the Head Post Offices throughout cities in India.
Remember: You cannot directly appear for the Mains or Interview. Rather you have to first apply for the Preliminary examination conducted by UPSC before proceeding to the next stage.
The last date of receipt of your application is 05-03-2012. At this stage you don't have to send any documents about your age or educational qualifications. They will be required at the time of filling the IAS Mains form.
The Preliminary exam or the first stage of the IAS Exam 2012 will be held on 20-05-2012.
The notification for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination (or just IAS prelims) will appear in the Employment News and on UPSC's website on 04-02-2012 and you can apply either online or through application forms available at the Head Post Offices throughout cities in India.
Remember: You cannot directly appear for the Mains or Interview. Rather you have to first apply for the Preliminary examination conducted by UPSC before proceeding to the next stage.
The last date of receipt of your application is 05-03-2012. At this stage you don't have to send any documents about your age or educational qualifications. They will be required at the time of filling the IAS Mains form.
The Preliminary exam or the first stage of the IAS Exam 2012 will be held on 20-05-2012.
The 2012 IAS Prelims: What You Need to Know
Here is some basic and important information about the Prelims if you intend to appear for the ias exam in 2012.
- The IAS Prelims will be objective in nature and consist of two papers compulsory to all
- Most questions carry a negative penalty or negative marking of 0.33 marks for each wrong answer
- Each paper will of 200 marks each and 2 hours in duration. The number of questions in each paper is not fixed and can vary every year
- You have to appear for both papers, held on the same day, for your papers to be checked
- Even if you appear for one paper, your attempt is counted
- If you merely apply for the Prelims but do not appear for the exam then your attempt is not counted
2012 Prelims Syllabus
As already mentioned, the Prelims is objective in nature and each question carries four choices out of which the candidate has to select one right option. The new CSAT or Prelims syllabus was introduced from the 2011 exam and is as follows.
(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs
- Current events of national and international importance
- History of India and Indian national movement
- Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
- Indian Polity and governance constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.
- Economic and social development sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
- General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that donot require subject specialization
- General science.
(Paper II) (200 marks) Duration : Two hrs
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision making and problem solving
- General mental ability
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. Class X level)
- English language comprehension skills (Class X level)
- Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
- The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
How You Cracked the Prelims in First Attempt
Many IAS exam aspirants want to know whether they can clear the ias exam 2012 prelims in their very first attempt? Yes it's entirely possible! Let me explain briefly how you cleare the prelims in first attempt itself without any coaching and very little guidance.
- Read one good newspaper and two magazines for current affairs apart from Manorama Year Book for GK and Current Events.
Instead of referring multiple magazines and newspapers, I suggest you just read one good newspaper and one or two magazines for current affairs. The Hindu is a very reputed English daily and if you can get hold of it, go for it otherwise read The Indian Express.
As far as magazines are concerned, Civil Services Chronicle or civil services Times are both good magazines for current affairs and reading one will be enough. But you should surely read Manorama Year Book for not just current affairs but more importantly to build your General Knowledge.
- Read the past 5 years solved question papers before and after reading a topic.
The best way to track your progress is to refer the past five years questions whenever you start a new topic. This way you know what's important and should be stressed upon. After you finish reading that topic refer the questions from that topic again and check if you can answer all of them or not.
This way you know if you have left out some important points in the first reading and can attempt course correction immediately instead of waiting till the fag end of your preparation for IAS Exam in 2012.
- covered the scoring topics early
You shouldn't just study the first topic that you come across. Rather, prioritize and plan. Topics like GK, Polity, Maps can be prepared quickly and fetch easy marks. Tackle them early to pocket 30-40 marks even before you step into the exam hall.
- make micro notes that you could go through quickly before the prelims
Aspirants planning to prepare for the 2012 IAS Exam should make it a habit of writing important current event and GK snippets in a diary, register or flip cards on a daily basis which you can go through 15 or 20 days before the Prelims.
Learn How to Read the Newspaper for IAS Exam
IAS 2012 Mains Examination Details
The Civil Services (Main) Examination 2012 will commence from 5-10-2012 and continue for 21 days. The first paper will be GS or General Studies followed by Essay and English (Compulsory). The third day will be the Indian Language paper and this will be followed by various optional papers on different days.
In all the 2012 IAS Mains exam will consist of 2000 marks ( GS paper of 600 marks, 2 optional papers of 600 marks each, essay paper of 200 marks) and students securing more than 940 marks (general category) can expect an Interview call from the UPSC.
Each paper of the 2012 IAS Mains exam will be of 3 hours duration and there will be 3 hours break between two papers held on the same day. For instance, GS paper 1 will be held in the morning and paper 2 in the afternoon.
Approximately 13 times the total number of seats qualify the prelims and appear for the mains exam. So if the total number of seats announced in the 2012 prelims notification is 900, about 10,700 candidates will clear the prelims and write the mains exam.
Finally, about 2.5 time the total vacancies are called for the IAS interview. So out of 10,700 candidates writing the 2012 IAS Mains exam, about 2250 candidates will qualify for the IAS Interview.