MICR on Cheque - Explained

 

MICR Codes Meaning of

MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) code contains 9 digits, like 380002006 appearing at the bottom of the cheque, following the cheque number. Each Bank Branch has a unique MICR code. One wonders what these code are and how to make it easy to remember our branch code. If you are able to understand the code, it becomes easy to remember your Bank Branch MICR code.

First three digits of the code display the city and is derived form first 3 character of PIN( Postal Index Number) mentioned in the address of the Branch. Like as in case of Ahmedabad, PIN number of Ashram Road Branch is 380009, therefore first three digits of MICR code will be 380.

Digit 4,5&6 display the bank codes allotted to each bank by Reserve Bank of India. For example State Bank of India has been alloted "002" . Six digits of MICR code will become 380002

Digit 7,8 and 9 display the Bank Branch Codes allotted to each branches of bank. For Example SBI, Asharam 
Road, Ahmedabad 380009 branch has been allotted code no. 006. Therefore 9 digits of MICR code of State Bank of India, Ashram Road Branch, Ahemdabad 380009 will be 380002006.

 

1) Cheque Number

As I mentioned earlier, the first set of numbers represent the cheque number. It is a six digit number.

2) MICR Code

It stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. This number helps a bank to recognize the bank and branch that issued the cheque. You might be thinking that this can be done just by looking at the cheque, but banks have to process hundreds of cheques daily. Going through each and every cheque is a cumbersome process. Instead, the cheques are sorted through a cheque reading machine which uses this number to identify the bank and branch a cheque belongs to. This makes the process faster.

The MICR number is a nine digit number, which consists of three parts-

a) City Code: The first three digits represent the city code and are same as the first three digit of the PIN code of that city.

For e.g., a bank in Hyderabad will have first three digits of MICR code as 500 (since PIN code for Hyderabad starts with 500)

b) Bank Code: The next three digits represent the bank code. Every bank has a unique code assigned to it. For e.g., ICICI bank's code is 229, for HDFC it is 240 and so on.

c) Branch Code: The last three digits represent the branch code.

Thus you can easily find which bank and branch a cheque belongs to by looking at its MICR number, and vice versa.

You can download the complete list of MICR codes from here.

3) Bank account Number

The third set of six digit numbers represents your account number (It consists of a few digits of your account number). But if you pick an old cheque book, issued probably before CBS (Core Banking Solution) was introduced, you won't find this set of number present.

(Note: I am not completely sure of this. Branch Manager of the bank I visited told me this, and when I checked my ICICI cheque book, it tallied with my account number. If you see the sample cheque from Axis bank shown above, it matches there as well. But when I checked my HDFC account cheque book, I found this number and my account number to be different. If someone belongs to a banking background, or has some information about this, please tell others about it through your comments.)

4) Transaction ID

The last two digits tells whether a cheque is a local cheque our payable at par cheque. 29, 30 and 31 represents payable at par cheque, while 09, 10 and 11 represents local cheque. Payable at par cheque is a cheque that can be cashed at any branch of the issuing bank, while local cheque can be cashed only at the issuing branch. So, if you deposit a cheque in your bank, with code 10 written at the bottom of the cheque, it'll take a few days for the money to come in your account. However since most of the branches these days are CBS (Core Banking Solution) enabled, so the cheques are generally payable at par.

One More Interesting Thing…

Before ending this post I want to point your attention to another interesting thing. These numbers are written in a different font style with a special ink that contains magnetic material so that it can be recognized by Magnetic Character Ink Reader.

Avoid Phishing and save your data

Dear All,

Phishing: one of a cyber criminal's favourite tricks

As email became a tool for managing relationships with our employers, banks, stores, social networks and more, it also became a tool for criminals to gain access to our resources. Every day, flurries of criminal emails attempt to get people to disclose personal information like their passwords or credit card numbers - a process called phishing.

STOP! Think about the email you receive before you act on it

Before replying to an email, opening an attachment, or clicking a link in an email, consider the legitimacy of the email.  

Ask set of questions from yourself-:

Was the message expected?

Does it request a password or other personal information from you?

Can you verify the message with the person or group it claims to have been sent from? Does the link or address that appears when replying seem unusual?

Think about the consequences of replying

If an email message requests information or asks you to take an action, consider the potential consequences. Revealing your password to another person would allow them to access your email and potentially can damage integrity. It could also lead to temporarily losing access to your email account . Do not provide your username and password, bank account information, credit card numbers or other sensitive information in an email reply or to a website linked from an email message. If you receive a phishing message, just delete it.

Every third senior citizen in India abused, mainly by son: Study

The study,  presented to President Pranab Mukherjee on October 1, celebrated globally as the International Day of Older Persons, said more than 50% of those abused had faced it for more than five years. More than half (55%) of those who were abused did not report it to anyone. Around 80% of them did not report the matter to uphold family honour.

Delhi actually witnessed an exponential increase in abuse of the elderly. In 2011, Delhi's abuse of the elderly rate stood at 12%. In comparison, 29.82% elderly people in Delhi said they faced abuse in 2012.

The study, conducted by Help Age India, found that abuse was highest in Madhya Pradesh (77.12%) while people in Rajasthan (1.67%) were most well behaved with the elderly in their family. Nearly 30% or 1 in 3 elderly persons reported abuse in Maharashtra while the abuse rate was just above 1 in 4 (27.56%) in Tamil Nadu. It was 60% in Assam, 52% in UP, 43% in Gujarat, 42.86% in Andhra Pradesh and 40.93% in West Bengal.

Indian sons, and their wives, aren't treating their aged parents well. A study on abuse of India's elderly, conducted across 20 cities and involving over 5,500 older people, has found that almost 1 in 3 (32%) have faced abuse. The son has been found to be the primary abuser in 56% of cases, followed by the daughter-in-law in 23% cases.

The study also brought out some shameful figures for Delhi. While nearly 30% of Delhi's senior citizens had faced abuse, the primary perpetrator of abuse was the son in 60% cases, followed by the daughter-in-law in 24% cases. In Delhi, 76% of those abused did not report it, while of those who felt abused, 69% had felt disrespected with 35% facing it daily.

Around 86% of elderly felt that the most effective measure to control elder abuse was through sensitizing children and strengthening inter-generation bonding and 14% felt increased economic Independence was the solution.

The study said that in India, the family has been the mainstay of social support. "Even in this age and time, 58% of older persons in India are living with the family. The findings of this report also affirm confidence in the ability of the family to care for its older members," the report said.

The National Policy on Older Persons has also recognized the importance of family for the well being of older persons and has decided to have programmes to promote family values, sensitize the young on the necessity and desirability of inter-generational bonding and continuity and the desirability of meeting filial obligations.

"State policies will encourage children to co-reside with their parents by providing tax relief, allowing rebates for medical expenses and giving preference in the allotment of houses. The policy also says that short-term staying facilities for older persons will be supported so that families can get some relief when they go out," the study said.

The report made an interesting recommendation. In order to prevent elder abuse, it said there should be nationwide programmes in schools and colleges for sensitizing children and young adults towards the ageing and the aged, sensitization of healthcare workers to recognize and develop a protocol for treatment, develop a robust social security system that not only ensures income security to the older persons but also gives them opportunities for income generation.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-29/india/34163184_1_elder-abuse-abuse-rate-older-persons 

Success is a fight between U & URSELF

Dont look others as doing better than U.
Beat your own record everyday. U will Surely
get success, because Success is a fight between U & URSELF.

Inspring Moral Story-Do you hate someone?

DO YOU HATE SOMEONE???

A Nice story with a good moral. 

A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game.

The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes.

Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for 1 week.

Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended....

The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?". The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???"

Moral of the story:

Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry sins for a lifetime.

Forgiving others is the best attitude to take!

True love is not loving a perfect person!!

but loving an imperfect person perfectly!!!

*****

For 12 out of the past 20 centuries, India was the world’s RICHEST “country”

Basically, all I want to note that in 12 out of the past 20 centuries, India was the RICHEST region in the world (there were no "countries" then). In the remaining 8 centuries, it was the world's 2nd richest region. Only in the 19th and 20th centuries – and now – has India not been in the top two nations in the world. 

See details here.

See

a) Economic history of India

b) List of regions by past GDP (PPP)

Source: Angus Maddison's pathbreaking 2007 book.

 

Spreadsheet (from http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/cool-data/): vertical-file_02-2010 (XLS)

 

I note that these estimates might not be 100% robust but in my view, at the level of aggregation we are talking about here, they are VERY CLOSE to the truth.

 

Further proof re: India's per capita income by 1750: "people in India had average incomes only 10 percent above those in England before the Industrial Revolution" [Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.44.]

 

"there is little sign of any great difference in the implied technological sophistication of Europe and either the Indian subcontinent or

East Asia on the eve of the Industrial Revolution." [Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.140.]

 

"in terms of the major production activity of these societies, agriculture, if there was any technological advantage in 1800 it likely lay with

the coastal regions of East Asia" [Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.142.] [Sanjeev: I'd argue that India was pretty much there, as well]

 

"When Marco Polo visited China in the 1290s he found that the Chinese were far ahead of the Europeans in technical prowess."[Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.143.]

 

By 1800, though, "In terms of wages, stature, diet, and occupations Japan, China, and India seem much poorer in 1800 and earlier than Europe." [Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.69.]

 

"We are today familiar with Europe's recent history of world domination, but the Europeans' rise was not inevitable, and to contemporaries it would have seemed an absurd proposition. As late as 1776 in his Wealth of Nations Adam Smith could write that: 'China is a much richer country than any part of Europe . . . The retinue of a grandee in China or Indostan accordingly is, by all accounts, much more numerous and splendid than that of the richest subjects in Europe.' The economic historian Paul Bairoch has confirmed that, in Adam Smith's day, China still indeed accounted for 33 per cent of the world's manufacturing output, and India 25 per cent, when Europe could account for only 23 per cent. GDP per capita, moreover, was higher in the great empires of the east than it was in Europe." (Terence Kealey, 2008. Sex, Science And Profits. Random House UK, p.26).

 

CONCLUSION

The rules of the game changed between 1400 and 1750. Just like big companies that do not change with the times, die, India almost entirely lost its capacity to innovate by around 1750. Others, earlier far behind, rushed ahead. Every Tom Dick and Harry, including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan went ahead.

India continued to lives in its dreamworld, as confused as Islamic cultures are about their precipitous downfall. Tragically, till today, most Indians REFUSE to recognise that the rules have changed long ago. The competition is no longer the same. It is 10 times tougher.

India can NEVER become  No.1 in the world again till Indians realise that they have to play with the new rules.

That means, among other things, discarding caste, stopping the constant religious babble that destroys peace and harms relationships, and the economy. That means building systems that are incentive-compatible.

That India should be doing AT LEAST TEN  TIMES better than today is obvious. But achieving that requires a significant change in policies and governance – which have to be radically different to what we have had over the past 60 years. 

Unfortunately, none of the existing political parties in India have the remotest clue how to get this to happen.

And so, once again, if you are serious about a very prosperous and successful India, read BFN; join FTI. There is NO other policy known to mankind that can help India achieve its potential; or rather, its natural right.

 

Why did India not accelerate?

India has lagged badly since about 1750, as the following graph shows:

[Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.321

"the acceleration of advances in productivity came from the supply side. People responded differently to incentives that had been in place for generations. That difference in response was a dynamic inherent in the institutionally stable private property regime of preindustrial England. The characteristics of the population were changing through Darwinian selection. England found itself in the vanguard because of its long, peaceful history stretching back to at least 1200 and probably long before. Middle-class culture spread throughout the society through biological mechanisms." [Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.259.]

 

"Japan, China, and India, lagged behind it in establishing bourgeois society through all ranks of the population." [Source: Gregory Clark, A Farewell to Alms: a brief economic history of the world, p.266.]

 

The Brilliant Indians

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-da_No_GBIQ&feature=player_embedded

Source : http://sabhlokcity.com/2011/02/for-12-out-of-the-past-20-centuries-india-was-the-worlds-richest-country/

Civil Service Toppers blogs for various optionals

In my humble opinion no one person can guide you with regard to all the optionals and since my batchmates have put in an effort to explain their strategy via blogging...I would ask you to also refer to their blogs :

For Science/ Engineering optionals please refer to:

1. http://prakashrajpurohit.wordpress.com....

He is Rank 2 , a true techie, aimed for a 100% in his optionals MATHEMATICS and ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING and got it too :)

2. http://abhijeetagrawal.blogspot.com/

He is rank 24 and has given a comprehensive listing of books that he referred to in PHYSICS and CHEMISTRY

A question was asked by a BITian that, the common perception is once you take up science/engg optionals you face competition from IITians...my answer would be- So what??

The point here is whether you are comfortable and super confident with your optionals,your concepts are clear,and are willing to work very very hard...

A non IITian who topped the CSE is a good example to draw from:

Muthyala Raju Revu(AIR 1, CSE 2007)

Thanks to Anay (rank 5) I got to know that Maitrey Kulkarni(rank 103) from our batch has MECHANICAL ENGINEERING though I have no blog details...maybe he could be contacted through the social networking sites facebook and orkut.

Some Engineers who took up humanities optionals:

1. www.anaydwivedi.wordpress.com

AIR 5, He has exceptional marks in PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION and has discussed on his very well organised blog not only strategy for pub adm and PSYCHOLOGY but also sample notes,his mock test answer papers and inter alia the manner in which a newspaper reading should be done ....very detailed ....he has saved all of us alot of effort !! :D

2.http://wwwrashmitapanda.blogspot.com

AIR 13, She scored extremely well in HISTORY and PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION and has discussed respective booklists in her blog.

3.Tanvi Sundriyal...I have decent marks in Sociology (esp paper one,trying very hard to be modest here :D) so you can refer to the booklist and strategy I followed in this very blog.

Though for Paper II I would recommend another Engineer's blog

4.http://intellection-rajiv.blogspot.com

Rajiv Ranjan Singh(AIR 191) chose SOCIOLOGY and PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION and has given a detailed write up on the notes and books that he referred to in Paper II- Sociology

Also he is the only person that I know of who prepared and got through alongwith a job (in TATA STEEL) so he would be the best person to tell you how to prepare alongwith a job.

5.www.shubhra-saxena.blogspot.com

AIR 1 in CSE 2008 ,her blog was referred to by some of my friends esp for PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION...though now she doesnt write on CSE prep , older posts on her blog might be helpful.

A doctor (AIR 8)who took up SOCIOLOGY and PSYCHOLOGY has shared her personal experience,strategy,booklist , and stuff on answer writing and time management on

http://www.garima-mittal-ias.blogspot.com/

http://www.garima-mittal-ias.webs.com/

A MBA (rank 25) has shared notes and tips on Zoology(by a friend),Geography, Essay etc

www.ghanshyamthori.blogspot.com

Law graduates from NLS Bangalore Ashutosh Salil and Cyril have discussed LAW preparation on this very blog...http://thecivilservicesdream.blogspot.in/ 

source : http://thecivilservicesdream.blogspot.in/

How she has fulfilled her dream of becoming a civil servant

Went to London School of Economics

Prepared for Civil Service Exam without Coaching 

Gave Jharkhand and Bihar as her cadre preference to serve the society
Got 8^th Rank in CSE 2011

Yes I'm talking about 2011's topper Harshika Singh.

In Jan 2011,while starting her blog, she has given a statement that " I have two passions in life-Economics and Civil Service..I lived the former to its maxim during my graduation and post graduation days (in fact I live it each day)and i am looking forward to live the second soon!"    and  in May 2012, she stood eighth in the merit list and fulfilled her dream of becoming a civil servant. You can see her journey from http://aspirations-harshika.blogspot.in/

Introduction

Name	Harshika Singh
Roll number	006368
Rank (CSE 2011)	8
Optional Subjects	Economics Anthropology
Medium for Mains Exam	English
Mains Examination Centre	Delhi
Number of Attempts	2
Details of Graduation and Post-Grad.	B.A Economics(hons)-St.Xavier's College,Ranchi MSc.Economic History(London School Of Economics and Political Science,London,UK)
Schooling (Medium)	English
Extracurricular activities, hobbies, achievements etc.	Classical Dancing(bharatnatyam and Kathak), Debating, Gold medalist in graduation, School head girl, Class representative throughout my college days
Are you a working professional?	No
Did you take Coaching?	Prelims: No Mains: No Interview: No
Did you buy any postal courses?	Yes
Did you join any Mock test series?	No
Did you appear in any other competitive exams?	No
If yes, provide the details:	NA

Inception

Q. When and how did the inspiration and idea of joining civil service come in your mind?

To be a Civil Servant was a childhood dream for me and especially when I realized and understood the intricacy of the service it became a passion for me.

The Choice of Optional Subjects


Q7. After a person decides to appear in civil service exam, the first big obstacle is "Choice of optional subjects". What factors did you consider before selecting your optional?

In my case as I have a background in Economics so that was a natural choice and for my second optional my keen interest in Anthropology was the sole reason for selecting it as my second optional
Momentum

Q. People initially prepare with much enthusiasm but then a boredom phase comes - they don't even find the motivation to read the daily newspapers, let alone studying the books.
Sometimes they get diverted because of external factors e.g. heavy workload in office, family responsibilities and so on. How did you sustain the study-momentum throughout the year?

I prepared a balanced strategy at the very beginning of preparation. I roughly made a mental preparation plan and ensured on a daily basis that I am following it thoroughly.
Any person who is preparing for CSE faces the frequent bouts of enthusiasm and boredom. Even I faced it especially in the evening hours.

When I was bored or lacked enthusiasm ,I took a break..saw TV ,went on Facebook etc-did anything that diverted my mind but only for max 10 mins.
After that I reminded myself of my dreams and was back on my study table.

Hours

On an average, How many hours did you study per day? How many months did it take you to complete the core syllabus of GS and optional subjects?


I studied till the time I was able to concentrate..roughly 8-10 hrs daily and I was preparing for CSE since 2009 December for my first attempt in 2010(AIR Rank-640).
However I feel 1 year of intensive study is sufficient.

Internet

How did you use computer and internet for your exam-preparation? 

Since I did my preparation from home (ranchi) Internet was the only source of information and guidance for me. I used internet for keeping myself updated on the front of the news and world affairs,for updating myself on recent developments in the field of economics and anthropology and also for Science and Tech portion.
Essay

• How did you prepare yourself for the essay?
• Which Essay did you write in Mains-2011?
• What were your keypoints in that essay?
• How many marks did you get in that essay?

I did not do anything special for Essay.I used to read the editorials of newspapers seriously and in case I found some interesting quote etc I noted them down. I also made a tentative list of essay topics and practiced writing on one of it.
I attempted the essay on the topic "creation of small states and its implications".
I tried to keep my language very simple. I also ensured that my essay is very comprehensive. I got 100 marks in essay.

Phoenix

Q. Serious players get mentally shattered and depressed after failure in competitive exams. How did you cope up with failures and rose from the ashes again? What had gone wrong in your previous attempts? How did you fix those issues in your 2011's attempt?

Yes, I did went in depression after my first attempt's result in 2010(though I got AIR 640 then) .Maybe I had more expectations. But thanks to my parents who helped me to regain back my senses .In my first attempt paucity of time and associated superficiality in my preparation was a major problem.In this attempt ,I tried to rectify this.

Profile


Many aspirants fear the interview, thinking that "my profile is not good because 

• I've low marks in SSC/HSC/College,
• I don't have any extra-curricular certificates,
• I don't have work experience,
• I graduated from some unknown college,
• I'm from non-English medium and so on…"

So, How important or relevant is the profile of a candidate during interview?

I believe CSE interview is solely "PERSONALITY TEST" and as it is CSE is a great leveler where a post doctoral is competing with a simple bachelor's degree holder.So one's profile doesn't play a much important.In stead its You and your dedication that matters. As far as I am concerned ,I would accept that I had a "so called relatively better profile" but with my two years of CSE interview experience .i can say that at the end of the day ..its your personality test..that's it.Varied medium people should never feel that they are at any disadvantage.If you are confident about what you are and can be original in the interview room …you are bound to succeed.

Backup

Q. In case you had not cleared the Union Public Service Commission exam, what was your career/future backup plan?

I would definitely be disheartened. However, in case if things would have gone in different direction than I had expected, I would have moved towards a career in academics.

Family and Friends

Q. Behind one topper are many people who stood by her during those uncertain times when she was merely an 'aspirant'. Would you like to tell the world, who were those people in your case? Any specific incidence that you would like to share with the readers?

Definitely ,in my case there were many people behind the scenes who helped me to achieve my dream. My parents who stood by me through thick and thin.Their one statement after my first result in 2010 attempt that "You can do it and you will do it,give it a second try" helped me to regain back my senses and I decided to give my 100% for that one dream.

My elder brother and sis –in-law were always there for that much needed "confidence boost" ,my friends who were there as my "vent for frustration" and most importantly some of my professors /teachers who were my true friend,philosopher and guide.

One instance , I would like to share….usually by the night , I was so drained out that I did not had the strength to read out loud (and I would admit I am in the habit of reading out loud)my GS and Anthropology materials. At that point in time , my mom would just read them for me and I used to hear them while laying down.At the end of a chapter, I used to summarize it and that was how I covered some portions!!!!In the evenings , when any aspirant is facing that bout of frustration, my dad would take me to a close-by ice-cream shop for that much needed "Ice-cream dose"…these are small instances but would like to say these instances mattered a lot !






Your Study plan

CSAT (Paper I) General studies

Topic	Source of your preparation	remark, if any
Current Affairs	Thorough and intensive reading of newspapers like TOI,The hindu,IE(only for editorials),ET,magazines like frontline ,CSR,Chronicle,Yojana and the Economist.	Always keep yourself updated with issues happening around you.I am a news maniac ..won't ask you to become one but start loving and following news..i am sure you will start enjoying it as well.
History Ancient/Medieval/Modern	Spectrum and Vajiram Yellow book +some NCERTS
Physical Geography	All the four NCERTS of 11th and 12th	Be very thorough with them
Geography of India	"
Geography of World
Polity and Governance	DD Basu/Laxmikant/Vajiram yellow book
Public Policy	Internet and self made notes
Rights issue	Same as above
Environment and Biodiversity	Internet, IGNOU materials
Economic and social Development	Economic Survey/PD special issue on Economy/Internet
Science	Sriram notes+internet+chronicle special issue
Economy	Economic survey/India year book

CSAT (Paper II) Aptitude

Syllabus Topic	Source of your preparation	Remarks, if Any
Quantitative Aptitude	R.S agarwal+Manuals like that of Unique,arihant,intenet sources and even some basic practice papers for CAT
Data interpretation	Same as above
Logical reasoning
Reading comprehension
Decision Making and Problem solving	I tried to practice some questions which were available on net	During exams just read these questions very nicely and calmly .

Mains Examination


Compulsory Language papers

	Source of your preparation
English	Went through the previous years question papers
Indian language paper	Went through previous years question papers and practiced writing essay in Hindi almost like a month before the exam

General Studies paper I

Syllabus Topic	Source of your preparation
History	Spectrum/Vajiram yellow book
Culture	Spectrum+internet
Geography of India	Four NCERTS of 11th and 12th Std.
Polity	DD basu/Laxmikant/Vajiram yellow book
Issues of social relevance	Internet +magazines like chronicle
Indian economy and planning	Economic Survey
Public health
Law and order
Good governance
Environment

General Studies paper 2

Syllabus Topic	Source of your preparation
India and the World	Prepared self notes while reading newspapers
Indian diaspora	internet
India's Economic interaction with world	Extensive reading of Business newspapers
International affairs and institutions	Newspapers
Statistics	Practiced from Spectrum esp the graphs etc(but since I have economics background,did not need much preparation for this)
Science & Tech.	Sriram study materials+internet

Optional Subject #1 and #2


For both my optional I emphasized on making my concepts very clear and re-read the textbooks. I read all of these books, different books cater to different portions of the syllabus so i have just enumerated them
Economics

For Paper 1

Microeconomics	Ahuja and Koutsyansis
Macroeconomics	Ahuja Mankiw
International Economics	Salvatore basically and for some random parts M.C Vaish
Public finance	Lekhi Dalton H.L Bhatia
Money and banking-	S.B Gupta Ahuja RBI website

For growth and development i followed Mishra and Puri/there is another book by lekhi on it(it covers the syllabus so its bit handy)/ debraj Ray-development economics[/URL] an extensive use of internet for some new developments in same
Paper2

Indian Economy part from	Dutt & Sundaram Mishra & Puri Uma kapila
Economic survey	UNION BUDGET & ECONOMIC SURVEY
Economy and Political Weekly	EPW
any one business newspaper like ET/FE etc	The Economic Times: Financial Express

Anthropology

• The comprehensive list of Anthropology books i followed was

Topic	Books
Physical Anthropology	B M das/P Nath
Social Anthropology	Ember n Ember Makhan Jha N.K Vaid D.N Mazumdar & T.N Madan
Indian Anthropology	Nadeem Hasnain V.S Sahay &Pradeep K Singh
Anthropological Thought	Upadhyay/ Gaya Pandey

Extensive use of internet for keeping myself updated about any new anthropological development.
Interview

How did you prepare for the interview? What questions were asked?

For my interview ,I brushed up every small aspect of my background,my home state,my optional etc(all the information furnished by me in DAF).
I was in Vijay Singh Sir's Board.Interview board was very cordial and cooperative. Questions were mixture of World economics+my hobbies+world affairs+some decision making questions and some questions on my home state ,Jharkhand
Marksheet

ROLL NO:006368
NAME:HARSHIKA SINGH
CIVIL SERVICES (MAIN) EXAMINATION, 2011

SUBJECTS	MARKS
ESSAY (PAPER-III)	100
GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-IV)	144
GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-V)	132
OPTIONAL-I(ECONOMICS) (PAPER-VI)	133
OPTIONAL-I(ECONOMICS) (PAPER-VII)	213
OPTIONAL-II(ANTHROPOLOGY) (PAPER-VIII)	196
OPTIONAL-II(ANTHROPOLOGY) (PAPER-IX)	175
WRITTEN TOTAL	1093
PERSONALITY TEST	204
FINAL TOTAL	1297

Remarks: Recommended.

Message

Q. What is your message to the aspirants?

Dream a dream and make a determined effort for that….you will surely succeed. Never get disheartened. CSE preparation is a beautiful and life changing experience. Live it and you will enjoy and relish it forever. All the very best for all your endeavors.

Read more: http://www.indianofficer.com/forums/content/toppers-interview-harshika-singh-air-8-cse-2011-without-coaching-economics-anthro-shares-her-journey-booklist-studyplan-69/#ixzz28Y43ogBg