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UPSC & State PSC Exam Preparation: Strategy & Books

UPSC and state Public Service Commission exams are long, three-stage exams. A steady plan over a year or more beats short bursts of effort.

Who can usually apply

  • Usually any graduate for UPSC Civil Services and most state PCS exams
  • Age limits and the number of attempts apply and differ by category

How selection usually works

  1. Preliminary exam: objective papers (UPSC prelims has General Studies and a qualifying CSAT paper)
  2. Main exam: descriptive papers
  3. Interview or personality test

Subjects to cover

  • History
  • Geography
  • Indian Polity and Governance
  • Economy
  • Science, Technology and Environment
  • Current Affairs
  • Optional subject (where the exam has one)

How to prepare

  1. Read the exam notification and the official syllabus completely: they decide everything
  2. Build the base with standard textbooks for each subject and keep short notes
  3. Follow a daily newspaper and a monthly current-affairs compilation
  4. Start answer writing early for the mains, and solve previous year prelims papers
  5. Plan for a year or more: this is a long exam cycle

Official websites

Exam patterns, age limits and dates change from year to year. Treat this page as a starting point and always read the official notification before you apply.

Preparing for this job? These are the kind of books and items aspirants look for.

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