Tuesday, February 23, 2016

SSC-CGL free mock interviews conducted by ITCSA

Dear All,

Staff Selection Commission has announced the mains examination results of much awaited Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Exam 2015 and interviews are scheduled from the end of Feb.2016. Hence ITCSA has conducted mock inteviews for the mains qualified aspirants on 20 & 21 Feb.@ Hyderabad. The following ITCSA members have attended the session and guided the aspirants..

RAMANA REDDY  IRPS
JOSEPH GOUDA  IRS
VIGANAN  IRS
BALRAM NAIK  IRS
SUNIL REDDY IFoS
SANGEETHA  IDAS
MUSHARAFF  IAS   and  CN Reddy, educational psychologist 


Thursday, February 18, 2016

Videos, tips and Books to start UPSC Prelims & Mains preparation from Mrunal

7 Days Duty TM: How to read the Hindu Newspaper for UPSC Prelim cum Mains preparation?


  1. Prologue
  2. DIY-P1: Beginning the Prelim cum Mains preparation
  3. DIY-P2: Approaching Science Tech, IT, Space, Defense
  4. DIY-P3: Approaching Environment, Agriculture, Geography, Economy & Polity
  5. DIY-P4: Approaching History, Culture, IR/Diplomacy
  6. DIY-P5: theHindu Reading from Frontpage to Editorial
  7. DIY-P6: theHindu: Reading from Economy to theEnd
  8. Recommended books to kick start UPSC prep

Prologue

  • Here starts my first lecture for the new year and new prelims- brief analysis of last year's prelim-GS paper and how to read thehindu newspaper for UPSC?
  • Often candidates outside Delhi, underestimate and neglect thehindu for preparation of their general studies and thereby hurting their own chances of getting good ranks in civil services exam.
  • PowerPoint available at http://Mrunal.org/download

DIY-P1: Beginning the Prelim cum Mains preparation

analysis of last UPSC prelim paper

  • the difference between a UPSC lover and a UPSC killer
  • the syllabus and analysis of general studies for preliminary and Mains examination
  • how to approach science and technology for prelims cum Mains preparation
  • overview of the MCQ asked from public health topic in UPSC 2015 preliminary exam
  • how to cover the public health, pharmacy and medicine related News from the Hindu, for UPSC prelims and Mains

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/bJ87N_ZpFCo

DIY-P2: Approaching Science Tech, IT, Space, Defense

science tech for general studies

  • within science and technology topic, how to approach information technology (IT), space and defense, agriculture inherently related topics from the Hindu newspaper
  • how to prepare ISRO related topics for UPSC prelims, mains and interview
  • how to meticulously prepare the defense innovation and joint exercises
  • how to prepare the theoretical portion of science and technology from NCERTs and general studies manuals.

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/d1P5RAn3JpM

DIY-P3: Approaching Environment, Agriculture, Geography, Economy & Polity

environment and biodiversity for UPSC prelims

  • Environment & Biodiversity: five subtypes of MCQ asked in UPSC 2015 Prelims
  • Relevance of the Hindu newspaper preparation of environment for prelims and Mains
  • Why read India yearbook?
  • Why read NIOS and NCERTs for wildlife, flora, fauna and pollution related MCQs in UPSC prelims?
  • How to approach physical, Indian and world geography for Prelims and Mains? How to cultivate map reading skills?
  • How to approach economy, banking, finance for prelims, mains and interview?
  • How to approach Indian polity and Constitution? Relevance of M. Laxmikanth, India yearbook, the Hindu newspaper and Prsindia.org

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/d5jaw2EyfI8

DIY-P4: Approaching History, Culture, IR/Diplomacy

international relations diplomacy and diaspora for general studies paper2

  • how to prepare Indian culture, ancient and mediaeval and modern India and world history?
  • Importance of NIOS, Tamilnadu textbooks, Spectrum and Bipan Chandra.
  • Why old NCERTs are not relevant except for World history?
  • Analysis of MCQs asked from history and culture topic in UPSC 2015
  • Approaching international relations (IR), diplomacy and diaspora topics for Mains. Analysis of the IR/grouping questions asked in Prelims-2015.

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/a839lzLqiTs

DIY-P5: the Hindu Reading from Frontpage to Editorial

how to read the hindu

  • Why read thehindu newspaper for UPSC civil services IAS/IPS exam?
  • Understanding the PMIF framework: Prelims, mains, interview or fodder?
  • How to analyse the news on frontpage from prelims, mains and interview perspective?
  • How to fasttrack page 2 to 7 which are littered with coaching ads and Delhi crime?
  • How to fast track page 8 to 9 where hardly few centimeters of space is given to "The NATION"!
  • Why read the columns, letters to editors and the editorials, and how to make notes out of them?
  • Sample editorial – "All in the spirit of equality"- how to digest it for UPSC prelims, mains and interview perspective.
  • How to eliminate useless news from the perspective pages i.e. page 11 and 12.

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/iw9RRWjZ_eE

DIY-P6: theHindu: Reading from Economy to the End

how to read hindu newspaper for current affairs

  • How to read the economy, banking, finance pages in thehindu newspaper for UPSC point of view.
  • Why it is useless to follow day to day sharemarket and IRDA-RBI-SEBI notifications?
  • Why read the open page in Tuesday edition?
  • Why ignore sports pages, except during high profile mains / interview related news?
  • Sample news: Lodha Committee- how to prepare it for prelims, mains and interview.
  • Why should we read last page about "Life"?
  • How to follow the PIN- persons in news, dead in news, places in news, books, authors, awards and diaspora news in the hindu?
  • Why Government advertisements are important?
  • Why should we read the speeches of president and vice president?
  • Few tips on magazines, notes making, time management, repeated failures and career backups

Youtube Link: https://youtu.be/Ii-kDrIo8dM

Recommended books to kick start UPSC prep


RelevanceSubjectTitleHindiEnglishKindle
Pre+MainsCultureMs. Ishani Pandya (AIR-502  | ICLS) Lecture & PowerpointsFree
Pre+MainsGS TheoryNIOS, NCERT, IGNOU & Tamilnadu State BooksFree
Pre+MainsEconomyMrunal's Lecture & Powerpoints – Budget and Economic surveyFree
MainsEconomyGSM3: Food Processing IndustryFree
PreGeneralLast 21 Years CSAT Prelims Paperset by Disha PublicationBuyBuyBuy
Pre+MainsCurrent AffairsTheHindu, Frontline, Yojana Magazine, prsindia.org, idsa.in
Pre+MainsGeographyMs. Rajtanil Solanki (AIR-367 | IRS) lectures & PowerpointsFree
MainsGeographyGSM1: Factors affecting location of IndustriesFree
Pre+MainsGeographySchool Atlas-Orient BlackswanBuy
PreHistoryLucent GK (for Ancient, Medieval, Modern)BuyBuy
Pre+MainsHistoryA Brief History of Modern India by Rajiv Ahir (Spectrum Publication)BuyBuy
Pre+MainsHistoryBipan Chandra: India's struggle for independenceBuyBuy
MainsHistoryBipan Chandra: India since independenceBuyBuy
Pre+MainsPolityIndia 2016 (Yearbook)BuyBuy
Pre+MainsPolityIndian Polity by M.LaxmikanthBuyBuy
PrelimsPolityLaxmikanth's Objective Polity MCQs for PracticeBuy
MainsPolityGSM3: Land ReformsFree
MainsEthicsGS4: Articles and Lecture Videos @Mrunal.orgFree

Monday, February 8, 2016

SC - Answer Sheets & Interview Marks Sheets can be disclosed

Reiterating its earlier stand, The Supreme Court held that citizens have a right to access their evaluated answer sheets and interview marks sheet. But the SC also made it clear that the identity of the examiners cannot be disclosed and that such disclosure will lead to confusion and public unrest.

In CBSE Vs Aditya Bandopadhyay case, the Supreme Court (SC) had in 2011 made it clear that every examinee (candidate) will have to the right to access his evaluated answer-books, by either inspecting them or taking certified copies. The Supreme Court has once reiterated that every candidate has the right to get a copy of his answer sheet and interview marks sheet. While disposing an appeal filed by the Kerala Public Service Commission, the Supreme Court also made it clear that the names of the examiners cannot be disclosed.

Answer Sheets & Interview marks are not kept in a Fiduciary Capacity

The Supreme Court was reviewing a decision of the Kerala High Court & Allahabad High Court where in the high courts ruled that candidates are entitled not only to get their scanned copies of the  answer sheet and interview marks but also the names of the examiners who have evaluated the answer sheet. The SC made it clear that the public authority does not keep the answer sheets and interview evaluation sheets in a fiduciary capacity. The SC said that disclosing the marks and the answer sheets to the candidates will ensure that the candidates have been given marks according to their performance in the exam. The SC went onto say that such practice of disclosing answer sheets & interview evaluation sheets will ensure a fair play in this competitive environment, where candidate puts his time in preparing for the competitive exams.

supreme court ruling on answer sheets_ruling

Revealing the Examiner's identity may lead to Dire Consequences

While dealing with the issue of revealing examiner's identity, the SC differed with the Kerala & Allahabad high courts and said it did not find any substance in the reasoning given by both the high courts. The SC maintained that the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the examiner stand in a principal-agent relationship and thus is a fiduciary relationship. The SC also said that there is no logical reason for disclosing the examiner's identity and that it would not benefit the public at large. The SC further said that disclosure may lead to confusion & public unrest and may even lead to a situation where unsuccessful candidates try to take revenge from the examiner.

supreme court ruling on answer sheets_examiner information

In the judgment, the SC also felt that disclosing the identity of the examiners could be used by potential candidates for gains by illegal means.

Source : https://factly.in/supreme-court-ruling-on-answer-sheets-interview-marks-sheets/