RUN FOR MAINS

Civils Mains examination is being held during the month of January 2022. Candidates have gone through the dream of achieving marks in prelims examination and they are lucky to get into the mainstream. Mains examination is the heart of Civils examination body. All put together they have to answer nine papers including two compulsory papers of qualifying nature. They are Telugu paper and general English paper.

The main examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory. Most of the candidates who have obtained their degrees with the backdrop of by heart methodology in intermediate may find it difficult to cope up with this kind of essay writing.

During their degree-level examinations they have their own subject papers and they were able to win over the crux of the problem. Whereas in the civil service examination it is difficult to impress upon the examiner. The nature and standard of questions in general studies papers paper II to paper V Will be such that a well-educated person will be able to answer them without any specialized study. The questions will be such as to test candidates' general awareness of a variety of subjects, which will have relevance for a career in civil services.

The questions are likely to test the candidate's basic understanding of all relevant issues, and ability to analyze it, and take a view on conflicting socio-economic goals, objectives and demands. The candidates must give relevant, meaningful and succinct Answers. In view of this the preparation for the mains papers shall be of an in-depth study and not of peripheral nature.

Mid stream of examination

Candidates appearing for the mains examinations or already under the stress of answering seven important papers. To go into the details of the first paper- Essay consists of two questions of essay type. Each question carries 125 marks. In Section A there will be four questions and in section B there will be another 4 questions.

Candidate has to choose one from each section. The essay must be written in the medium authorized in the admission certificate which must be stated clearly on the cover of these questions come answer booklet in the space provided.

There is a provision for writing the answers in regional languages also. It can be Telugu ,Tamil, Kannada etc. Here is one word of caution. In case you are writing in Telugu, be aware of the technical terms to be used in English and an equivalent Telugu word can be mentioned in brackets.

It needs a lot of preparation to present your ideas in a coherent manner in Telugu. No marks will be given for answers written in the medium other than authorized one. Word limit, as specified, should be adhered to. Any page or portion of the page left blank must be struck off clearly.

Section A normally consists of philosophical nature. For example it can be as follows: A quotation from a dignitary will be given:

" to become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them"( Baron de Montesquieu)

Or

" Courage Is the first of human quality because it is the quality which guarantees the others."( Aristotle)

While answering such questions the candidate should have a mental make up to deal with the subject. In the first question it is about achieving greatness. To achieve greatness one has to mingle with the people and should not be above their heads. The socio-cultural aspect of the individual and the community with which he is working should be mentioned in a coherent manner. In the second question it is about courage. Among the human qualities besides so many other things, courage is most important.

During the freedom movement several national leaders followed the footsteps of Gandhiji with courage and determination. They never bothered about their families and their personal benefits. They have undergone trials and imprisonment and were able to withstand the agony. To convince the examiner one needs to present himself with specific examples. One should aim at getting at least 150 marks in an essay. It needs good diction, narration, and statistics to present himself in a better manner.

General studies papers I to IV

To get a good rank one should aim at getting good marks in general studies papers. The first paper deals with Indian heritage and culture, history and geography of the world and society. The common trend is stress is given on the freedom movement, its various stages and important contributors from different parts of the country. This year we are celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrut mahotsav and we can predict that the questions may be dealing with the subject.

General studies paper II consists of governance, Constitution, polity, social justice and international relations. This is connected with the Constitution and its amendments during the last 70 years.The role of civil services in a democracy is also one of the points to remember. The Modi government has introduced several welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population and the performance of the schemes, mechanisms, laws ,Institutions and bodies Constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections is to be studied in depth. Regarding international relations, the NDA government has taken several measures to increase the image of the country. The study of this paper needs a greater level of understanding of Government thinking.

General studies paper III consists of technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security and disaster management. Model questions on Science and technology:

1) Covid-19 is a very novel virus. Very little is known about it previously- comment.

2) Online learning in lock down is is a boon or bane

3) Food for all is not a distant dream -discus

4) How many varieties of vaccines are there?

In view of the Covid pandemic the questions can be on these lines.

General studies paper IV deals with ethics, integrity and aptitude. This paper will include questions to test the candidate's attitude and approach to issues relating to integrity, probity in public life and his problem-solving approach to various issues and conflicts faced by him in dealing with the society. Questions may utilize the case study approach to determine these aspects. This paper is in two parts and the second part Is to test the intellectual abilities of the candidate. The answering should be in a coherent manner and the approach need not be a routine manner.

Optional paper I and II

Lady luck smiles on you when you choose the right optional in the mains examinations. Most of the candidates after the first attempt change their optional and it can be good or bad in getting a rank. Out of the 500 Marks, The candidate can expect at least 250 marks if he prepares well. The recent trend is candidates with different backgrounds in their graduation are opting for anthropology or public administration. Though the subject is new they are getting good marks in these subjects. The general observation is out of the 1750 marks if a candidate is able to get good marks it will add to his rank. So the mains examination is the soul of the entire Civils examination. A word of caution. The regular practice of writing before the examination is good. Handwriting and legible scripting, Paragraph division, subheadings, diagrams and statistics add colour to answers. Keep it in mind.

( The author is Retired Additional Director General,Doordarshan, Delhi)