Dear aspirant

The first step to test oneself in Civil Service examinations is preliminary exam. The exam paper will be segregated into two sections: Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Aptitude Test). Both the papers would carry 200 marks each.

Since, preliminary examination does not require an in-depth focus under each subject, hence, it is suggested that students should concentrate on reading NCERT high school textbooks. Along with this, UPSC wants candidates to be loaded with facts regarding the past and current events, for which the candidate must thoroughly read newspapers.

Reading good general studies books would be an additional advantage. For geographical knowledge, one should look at an atlas to store the required knowledge about places, cities, continents or countries in his/her long term memory .

Paper 2 entirely examine your aptitude; hence it covers topics like comprehension, interpersonal and communication skills, logical reasoning, decision making ability, general mental ability and basic numeracy or data interpretation. One should try to solve the question papers of last 5 years; this will enhance the ability to answer questions smartly.

Recommended books

General studies paper manual -I

General studies paper I

General studies paper II

UPSC general studies paper I & II practice sets

ALL THE BEST

Hello,

Coaching is more of a personal choice, if you feel you the guidance for your UPSC preparation you can go ahead with this option, otherwise with self-study also you can qualify UPSC, the major difference lies here is the fact that self-study requires immense discipline for a candidates, today with the advancement of technology and e-learning, all the information is accessible on the Internet, but yes it's important for candidates to know which one to apply and which one to skip as there are plenty of it as well, if you see toppers of last few years many of them haven't done the coaching, but then each individual is different, hence you have to choose accordingly, you're still in your first year hence you have enough time, you can start your preparation in gradual manner such as

The first and most important step towards preparation is to be well acquainted with UPSC Syllabus, learn it by heart, that's the most crucial step to crack this exam, to know what to read and what to skip. In addition to this, never ever make a differentiation between prelims and mains, because nowadays what's happening is even in prelims, UPSC frame questions based on Mains syllabus, So, the first towards preparation shall be an integrated approach for both.

Another equally important part is to read any newspaper like The Hindu, or Indian Express on a regular basis to be updated as well as gaining knowledge which shall be highly useful to you in future exam preparation part. Put a more emphasis on editorial part, it will not only broaden your perspective but help a lot in answer writing,and make sure whatever opinion you form it should be well balanced.

Make a timetable,set targets on a daily,weekly and monthly basis,that's the only way to complete this extensive syllabus.

When it comes to reading books ,start with basics, for each subject, you can do with NCERTs for this. This will build your foundation strong,as you progress, move on to other relevant books as mentioned below;

For Prelims, refer the following books:

History;

NCERT Class XI and XII

India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra

For Indian Culture, refer art and culture by Nitin Singhania

Geography;

NCERT Class VI to XII

GC Leong's Physical Geography

World Atlas

Economics;

NCERT Class XI

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

International Relations;

NCERT XII Political Science with current affairs

Polity;

Indian Polity by Laxmikanth

CSAT;

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Agarwal

M Tyra's Quicker Maths

Coming to Mains Exam, you can refer the following books for four General Studies Paper;

GS I - For history, Class XI NCERT book with India's struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra

India after Independence by Bipan Chandra,

History of  Medieval India by Satish Chandra

For Geography refer World Geography and Geography of India by Majid Hussain, GC Leong's Physical and Human Geography with NCERT Class XI book

For GS II - Polity and International Relations, refer Indian Polity by Lamikanth,India's Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri

For GS III -  For Economics refer Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh, read ARC report along with Economic Survey and Fiscal Budget.

For GS IV - For Ethics refer a book named Lexicon by Niraj Kumar, also you can go through study material of IGNOU.

Try to keep resources minimal, read one book many a times instead of many a book one time.

Start practicing answer writing in advance, even in a little way, writing mains is a huge task for nine paper, it requires immense practice along with knowledge. There are many sites which provide questions on daily basis you can find that very useful.

Practice previous year question paper which you can get from the site of UPSC,in addition mock papers, and test series which you can get it from any of the sites extensively dedicated to UPSC, , it's highly important to evaluate your performance while doing so.

Remember , not to neglect your graduation studies if you're doing preparation during college days, it's important for you, and as I said there is still time left for your even if you choose to appear in final year of your graduation, you can go through toppers interview as well, this will give you an idea about the entire exam and all the nitty-gritty details, if you find something useful you should apply the same to your study or preparation as well.

Hello

Self study is the best study.If you have more interest and becoming an IAS is your passion,self study is the best or else you can go through IAS coaching centres.There are so many coaching centres are there. Chanakya IAS academy is one of the best coaching centre.If you prepare for IAS by Self study. Here are the some tips to clear UPSC.First of all Make a perfect time table and follow it,Go through the UPSC exam syllabus and paper pattern , start reading from current affairs,practice for the interview rounds and be confident and positive.start reading daily new papers .Make a notes of important section while studying and prepare well .There are so many online coaching videos and books are there for IAS preparation.Hope this information helps you.

All the best.