Anuj Shishodia

UPSC IAS subject combination tips and IAS study material

A major Issue Every Student faces in the Civil service Examination (Also called IAS exam) is choice of optional Subjects. According to recent Changes in Pattern of IAS exam, the preliminary Test in this exam has been replaced by Civil service aptitude test from 2011, which comprises of two objective papers for all students carrying Equal marks. So the students don’t have to decide the optional subjects for the preliminary exam.

A major Issue Every Student faces in the reputed Civil service Examination (Also called IAS exam) is choice of optional Subjects. According to recent Changes made by government in Pattern of IAS exam, the preliminary Test in this exam has been replaced by Civil service aptitude test from 2011, which comprises of two objective papers for all students carrying Equal marks. So the students don’t have to decide the optional subjects for the preliminary exam.

Along with five compulsory papers for the mains exam, candidates have to choose two subjects from a list of 25 optional subjects. Following are the not allowed combinations in the upsc syllabus-

-> Political Science & International relations and Pubilc Administration,

-> Commerce & Accountancy and Management,

-> Anthropology and Sociology,

-> Mathematics and Statistics,

-> Agriculture and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science,

-> Management and Public Administration,

-> Any TWO branches of Engineering,

-> Medical Science and Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science,

-> Combination of TWO Literatures

Previously, candidates usually took their mainstream subject as first optional and most of the stuff was covered in the prelims exam and then they had just to decide on the second optional subject. But from now, the candidates are at same platform in the aptitude test and have to decide two optional subjects for mains exam with more criterion in mind as this is the very factor that determines candidate’s chances of getting through this exam.

Following are a few criterions to be kept in mind while choosing optional subjects in new pattern for IAS exam-

Firstly, Candidate must be comfortable in grasping the subject. The decision shouldn’t be made on the basis of length of the subject but on the one’s comfort with the subject itself. For example, History and geography are generally known for lengthy syllabus and answers, while public administration and anthropology have short syllabus and answers. The point is not in selecting the subjects that have short or lengthy answers but in comfort with the subject.

Availability of IAS study material is also a vital factor in determining the optional subject. There should be enough resources available for preparing the subject, consulting an experienced senior in case of a completely new subject in your perspective is quite sensible.

Candidate should not choose a subject just because it’s scoring or his friends are choosing it. When more students choose for an optional subject (say history) it means more students with history will be chosen for next round and thus a greater competition, it doesn’t ensure a greater score. Remember, the easier the subject the tougher will be competition in it.

For commerce students, a good combination is said to be Commerce with Public administration, as Public administration Covers lots of topics in commerce like role of CAG etc.

Commerce with geography is also a good combination if you are familiar with semi-technical topics and can look around in the maps. This combination is highly scoring and can score you 300-350 marks in the mains exam.

For biology students, Agriculture with botany is good combination since many topics of agriculture are covered in botany.

Finally, it’s about candidate’s own comfort with the subject and choosing the optional subjects should be done carefully since it is the deciding factor for the candidate’s selection in this exam for getting into prestigious civil services..

All the Best for your Success!!!  

Article Tags: Study Material, Optional Subjects

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