Telugu Civil Servant Raghava brought novelty to elections

What was the novelty of Bihar assembly election? Webcasting, which enabled the Chief Election Commissioner to watch the polling live on LCD screens while sitting in the Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi. Polling in more than 550 of the 10,868 booths were webcasted live in the first phase when 47 constituencies went to the polls. High-speed servers have been put in place and trained personnel equipped with laptops and webcams deputed at the selected booths for the purpose. Electricity department officials have been asked to ensure uninterrupted power supply to these booths. Gensets have been installed in places where power availability is a problem. This year the Election Commission has monitored the entire election process in Tamil Nadu with web cameras at all the polling stations.

Tamil Nadu-cadre IAS official K Veera Raghava Rao , 2007 batch IAS from Guntur,A.P has  visited the bihar state and conducted a workshop-cum-demo on webcasting for Bihar officials. The young official has the credit of introducing webcasting for the first time in the country in Tuticorin district.

Profile

Name : Kolluru Veera Raghava Rao IAS   DOB : 19/08/1977 Domicile : A.P

Rank : 81   Batch : 2007   Cadre: Tamil Nadu

Academic: Engineering from V.R. Sidharatta Engineering College, Vijayawada

You can send your comments or wishes to him at kv.raghava@ias.nic.in

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Live-polling-webcast-in-Delhis-Nirvachan-Sadan/articleshow/6783845.cms

Police commemoration day - 21 October

Friends...

Today is 21 October

Let us re dedicate this day to pay our rich homage and our heartfelt tributes to police martyrs and let us thank the people for doing thankless job and we shall remember the courage,commitment and sacrifices of our real life heroes .....POLICE

During this year, 797 Police martyrs including 5 of A.P police were laid down their lives in the execution of their official duty. Uttar Pradesh saw the highest number of deaths at 99, followed by Punjab (57), West Bengal (48), Jharkhand (47), Jammu and Kashmir (49) and Delhi (9)(between Sep 1, 2009 to Aug 31, 2010).

Police commemoration day is to salute the valour and the sacrifice of the 10 `soldiers' of central reserve police force (CRPF) who had laid down their life fighting the enemy at Janheen in Ladakh on October 21, 1959. It also pays tributes to hundreds of policemen and personnel of other allied forces who have been killed in the past few years.

Civil Services Exam changes: Aptitude is important

ALL Civil Services aspirants who will take the Civil Services Preliminary Examination (CSE) 2011 must note that instead of choosing an optional paper, they will have to appear for two compulsory papers of 200 marks each.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had earlier announced an imminent change in the syllabus and pattern of the preliminary examination to be known as Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).

The change is in accordance with UPSC's argument of being able to choose civil servants with the right aptitude and also end the use of the scaling system.

Paper I: It will include current events of national and international importance; history of India and Indian national movement; Indian and World geography - physical, social, economic geography of India and the World; Indian Polity and governance - constitution, political system, Panchayati Raj, public policy, rights issues, etc; economic and social development-sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc; general issues on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change - that do not require subject specialization; and general science. 

Paper II: It will comprise questions on comprehension, interpersonal skills including communication skills, logical reasoning and analytical ability, decision making and problem solving, general mental ability, basic numeracy of class tenth level (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc; data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc) also of Class X level; and English language comprehension skills (Class X level).

Commenting on the change in syllabus, Prof. PS Ravindran, Director of Vajiram & Ravi (coaching institute for CSE), said, "It is a welcome change and the introduction of aptitude test would certainly engage the students mind." According to him, students must not get carried away since of the two compulsory papers, the General Studies (GS) paper will dominate. However at the preparation level, he said, the aptitude test would require lot of practice.  He further noted that the change would be slightly advantageous to students with a science background, which the UPSC might consider to even out.

Up until this year, though the candidates had to appear for two papers, they could choose a subject paper of their interest, which obviously was their strong area to score higher marks. But from next year, there will be no subject - specialised paper.

According to some aspirants, the difference henceforth is that candidates will have to focus on English language and General Awareness, and at the same time prepare and practice more on questions of reasoning and mental aptitude.

Prof. Neetu Singh, a renowned academician who also runs coaching classes for CSE in New Delhi says," Overall the long awaited change is quite encouraging. The inclusion of contemporary subject matter such as environmental ecology, biodiversity, climate change is good. But we need to wait for the detailed syllabus by UPSC to comment further." 

 A crucial factor concerning many is the imbalance in scoring pattern. Up until CSE 2010 Prelims, the General Studies paper (GS) accounted for only one mark per question while the optional paper had 2.5 marks per question.

Now both papers will have the same weightage. Two, due to the varying number of candidates appearing with a particular optional and its difficulty level, the final result was prepared after a process of scaling. This new pattern will provide a level playing field without any scaling in the Prelims.

Source: The Careers360.com

Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) - its implementation and its syllabus

             The new syllabus is only meant for the preliminary examination, which shortlists candidates for the Civil Services (Mains) Examination, being conducted every year by the UPSC. The syllabus for the CS (Mains) Examination will also be changed in the due course. But as of now, the existing syllabus will be employed for the Mains examination in 2011 as well.

             The new syllabus will have two common papers - Paper I and Paper-II - with equal weightage. Both papers will be of two hours duration and worth 200 marks each unlike the current system which gives more weightage to optional subject paper (300 marks) than the common general studies paper (150 marks). It will replace the present system, which has been in force since 1979. The new syllabus will provide a level-playing field, since all candidates will have to attempt common papers unlike the current format which provides for only one common paper.

 

The first paper under the new syllabus will be more or less like the current general awareness paper, with additional issues such as climate change and biodiversity. Candidates will be tested on their knowledge of current events of national and international importance, Indian history, the Indian national movement, Indian and world geography, Indian polity, Panchayati raj, public policies and rights. Economic and social development, sustainable development, environmental sciences and general science is the part of first paper.

 

The second paper - being introduced by replacing the optional paper - will have aptitude, data interpretation and English language comprehension skills, which is more or less on the lines of MBA entrance tests or bank examinations. Paper II will consist of English language comprehension skills, interpersonal skills, logical and analytical reasoning, decision making and problem solving as well as general mental ability. It will also include numerical abilities and data interpretation.

The decision to introduce new pattern is based on the Alagh Committee Report. The relevant portion of the Report is reproduced below:

 

"The present testing of optional subjects is based on College/University curriculum. Re-examining the candidates in their own subjects appears to have doubtful utility. The universities have already done the work and retesting, possibly even at a lower level that what candidates have completed earlier, appears to be unnecessary. What is important is the relevance of a subject to the job requirements of a Civil Servant, especially in the changing scenario."

 

The Alagh Committee had also deliberated on the nature of the Preliminary Examination. With regard to General Studies paper, it was of the view that it should be recast into a "Civil Services Aptitude Test."

 

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission while agreeing with the idea of CSAT has recommended "the Preliminary Examination should consist of an objective type test having one or two papers on General Studies including the Constitution of India, Indian Legal System, Indian Economy, Polity, History and Culture. There should be no optional subjects". Dust of recommendation and anticipation is finally settled now.

 

The detailed syllabus as issued by the Ministry is given below:

 

 Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions18-October, 2010

 

Civil Services (Prelim) Exam.-2011

 

From Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers- Paper I and Paper II. Syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as under:

 

(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration: Two hrs.

 

• Current events  of national and international importance

• History of India  and Indian national movement

• Indian and World Geography- physical, social, Economic Geography of India and the World

• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

• Economic and Social development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives etc.

• General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-Diversity and Climate Change-that  do not require subject specialization

• General Science. 

 

(Paper II) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hrs

 

• Comprehension

• Interpersonal skills including Communication skills

• Logical reasoning and Analytical ability

• Decision making and Problem solving

• General mental ability

• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. –Class X level)

• English language comprehension skills (Class X level)

    

** Some of the examples of the types of questions probable to be asked as per the syllabus are:

 

1.   In our society, corruption and abuse of office has been aggravated by

     

(a) Colonial legacy of unchallenged authority

      (b) Putting the citizen at the mercy of the State 

      (c) Over centralization

      (d) Collusive corruption

 

2.   Root cause of Political Corruption is

 

(a) Criminalization of politics

(b) Large, illegal and illegitimate expenditure in elections

(c) Defection  

(d) Lack of ethical conduct among politicians

 

3. In a family function, three girls were given three different tasks i.e. washing plates, arranging tables and serving food. All three did their work sincerely, but guests had to eat in unwashed plates. What was lacking?

 

(a) Commitment             

(b) Cooperation   

(c) Coordination                           

(d) All

 

4. One third of India's population lives in the shadow of violent conflicts. The most important reason of this is

 

(a)  Poor maintenance of law and order

(b) Lack of transparency

(c) Lack of good governance utilities

(d) Poor economic development

(e) Corruption

.
Source :http://ias100.in

 

Hi, this is sadhu,,,wishing you happy dussera

Friends...

May God bless you with all success on the auspicious occasion of Dussahra and you may be capable of defeating all evils of your life.


History of Dasara / Dussehra:

In Southern India, Eastern India and Western India, the festival of Navaratri which culminates with Vijayadashami commemorates the legend in which the Goddess Durga, also known as Chamundeshwari or Mahishasura Mardini, vanquishes the demon Mahishasura, an event that is said to have taken place in the vicinity of the present day city of Mysore in Karnataka.

In Northern India, the same 10-day festival commemorates the victory of Rama, prince of Ayodhya in present-day Uttar Pradesh, over Ravana, the ruler of Lanka.

All the People in Nepal, as well as the contiguous Indian hill state of Uttarakhand, celebrate the festival with the greatest importance.

UPSC & APPSC ADDRESS AND OTHER DETAILS

PHONE NO. (OFF/RES) AND FAX NO. OF SECRETARIES OF UPSC & APPSC

S.No. UPSC/PSC Name of Secretary & Ph.No. Address Fax/Website

1. UPSC Shri Alok Rawat Dholpur House, 011-23385345
011-23383802 (O) Shahjahan Road, http://www.upsc.gov.in
011-23384112 (R) New Delhi-110069

2. APPSC Shri M.G. Gopal, IAS “Prathibha Bhavan” 040-24601664
040-24743405 (O), Mukarramjahi Road, http://www.apspsc.gov.in
040-23393535 (R) Beside Gandhi Bhavan,
Namapally, Hyderabad –500001

A.P STATE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION - INCUMBENCY STATEMENT

S.No. Post Name Dt of appointment Dt of Completion of Tenure

1. Chairman Dr. Y. Venkatarami Reddy 18.07.2005 15.02.2011
2. Member Shri Tale Bhadrayya 14.11.2003 13.11.2009
3. Member Shri B. Ramakrishna Raju 28.04.2005 27.04.2011
4. Member Shri S. Md. Nauman 18.06.2008 17.06.2011
5. Member Ms. J. Malik 18.06.2008 08.06.2013
6. Member Shri D. Sudhakar 18.06.2008 31.03.2012
7. Member Prof. G. Paddaiah 18.06.2008 17.06.2014
8. Member Shri P. Ravindhar Rao 25.09.2008 24.09.2014
9. Member Shri K. Ripunjaya Reddy 17.09.2008 16.09.2014
10. Member Prof. Pochaiah Maraty 25.09.2008 31.01.2013

Special Recruitment drive to fill the Backlog vacancies of SC/ST/OBC & PWD

Job Position : Assistant Manager Gr. A

No of Posts : 880
Age Limit : 28 years.
Relaxation in age as per Govt. rules
Qualification : Graduate with 55% marks (60% for OBC and PWD – General candidates)

Job Position : Manager Gr. B
No of Posts : 104
Age Limit : 32 years. Relaxation is age as per Govt. rules
Qualification : Graduate, Professional qualifications such as CA, ICWA, CFA, MBA, CAIIB would be preferred
Experience : 4 years in a commercial bank.

Job Position : Assistant General Manager Gr. C
No of Posts : 83
Age Limit : 37 yrs
Relaxation is age as per Govt. rules.
Qualification : Graduate, Professional qualifications such as CA, ICWA, CFA, MBA, CAIIB would be preferred
Experience : 8 years in a commercial bank.

Note:
(a) Candidates must have a minimum age of 18 years as on the cut off date mentioned
above.
(b) Age relaxation as per Government of India guidelines will be extended...

Non-refundable application fees & postage charges and payment procedure :

(a) ` 75/- (Rupees Seventy five only) towards postage charges is payable by SC/ST/PWD candidates and `400/- (Rupees Four hundred only) by OBC candidates towards application fee & postage charges. Candidates are required to make payment of the said fees/charges in cash at any of the branches of IDBI Bank Ltd. (IDBI) or State Bank of India (SBI). Proforma of the challan to be used for payment through IDBI/SBI are displayed on the IDBI Bank's website . Candidates may download the challans and approach the branches of the respective bank for making payments. Please note that the challans will not be available in any of the branches of the banks and the candidate has to download the same from the Bank's website

For Full Details Visit : http://www.idbi.com/CurrentOpenings.asp

Decision "to increase the annual batch size of IPS officers from 130 to 150"

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has substantially increased the total intake into the Civil Services from 580 in 2009 to 965 in 2010 -- an increase of 385 seats. The decision on increased intake was announced by UPSC through its notification for the CSE-2010 recently. In fact, home minister P Chidambaram had in November last year announced the decision "to increase the annual batch size of IPS officers from 130 to 150".

Though the total vacancies (965) to be filled through the 2010 Civil Services Examination (CSE) will be meant for all 24 services, including IAS, IFS, IPS, IRS and others, the police services will see a major jump in intake. The police services include IPS and Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar, and Puducherry services..

The decision to increase the intake of IPS officers was taken on the basis of the recommendation of a one-man committee headed by retired IPS officer Kamal Kumar. The report, submitted on October 15 last year, confirmed the home ministry's earlier concerns that there was grave neglect in determining the number of candidates to be recruited to IPS in the CSE during the four-year period 1999-2002. As per the Report

"As against the number of 85, only 36 candidates were recruited each year, resulting in a shortfall of 49 candidates a year or a total shortfall of 196 candidates,".

The report had recommended that the annual recruitment between 2009-10 and 2019-20 be fixed at 130 and that a Limited Competitive Examination may also be conducted for 7 years to recruit an additional 448 candidates. The ministry had, however, subsequently decided to increase the intake from 130 to 150 to meet the shortfall.

CIVIL SERVICE EXAM FINAL RESULTS 2005-2010

YOU CAN FIND CIVIL SERVICE EXAM FINAL RESULTS FROM BELOW LINKS

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56369364/Civils-Results-2005

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56374274/Civils-Results-2006

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56423624/CIVILS-RESULTS-2007

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56423632/CIVILS-RESULTS-2008

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56423639/CIVILS-RESULTS-2009

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/56423690/CIVILS-RESULTS-2010

itcsa blog in book form

If you want to see our itcsa blog postings in book form click this link...

http://blogger.sharedbook.com/pilot/apiPreviewBook.do?flipbookPath=/beta/content//sharedbookColoCluster/printPreview/silent_api_e6d4051ad0_101002-125720-563_5d069890f6d6f4a1_preview.pdf&bookTitle=Blog2Print_Blogger_1286042238325&userId=silent_api_e6d4051ad0&mbId=100630171

Top 50 marks of Civil Service Exam 2009

Please click below link to find a List of Top 50 candidates who have been recommended for appointment including General/Physically /Challenged/Backward/Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes. source : www.upscportal.com

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=56306630

India's dubious distinction of being first

The World Health Statistics 2010 released by WHO has placed India in an unenviable position. India has the highest number of tuberculosis (23% of world's patients), diphtheria (86% of world's patients), leprosy (54% of world's patients ), pertussis (29% of world's patients ), polio (42% of world's patients), tetanus (22% of world's cases) and malaria (55% of world's patients) cases.

It is the second highest in measles, the fourth highest in Japanese encephalitis and the 14th highest in cholera. It has the highest percentage of underweight children below the age of five years (43.5%). This is all far in excess of the percentage of the world's population (17%) that India supports. To no other country goes the dubious distinction of being first in so many arenas.

Across almost all indicators like life expectancy at birth, healthy average life expectancy, low birth-weight babies , neonatal mortality rate, <5 yrs mortality rate and MMR, India consistently performs below the south-east Asian region (SEAR) and the global averages despite health being the avowed priority of successive governments. Contrary to popular perception, this is not necessarily due to less number of doctors or nurses.

The density of doctors per 10,000 of population is about six, while the average for SEAR is only five. The global average is 14. Similarly, the density of nurses/mid-wives is 13 per 10,000 population compared with the SEAR average of 11 and the global average of 28. Lack of availability of human resources is not a cause of poor healthcare but a result of lower healthcare expenditure. In the pharmaceutical field, manpower at a density of six per 10,000 people beats the SEAR and global average of four. This is because almost 75% of health care expenditure is on drugs.

Decoding the reasons of our health situation is a complex exercise. Though well below global averages, India spends higher at 4.1% of its GDP on healthcare compared with 3.6% in SEAR. In purchasing power parity terms, per capita annual expenditure on healthcare is about $109 in India compared with $104 of SEAR. So, our health indices should have been better.

Evidently, the issue is not about the money; it is about how and where the money is spent, especially in the rural areas where over 70% of India resides. Intriguingly, there is a gross urban bias in government expenditure on district hospitals and urban tertiary centres.

The latest National Health Accounts (NHA) 2004-05 places the government expenditure on rural healthcare services and family welfare at . 52,970 million , the urban counterpart getting the lion's share at . 92,408 million. It is around . 71 per capita for rural against a far higher . 289 for urban people. Private out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) works out to . 777 per capita for rural and . 1,099 for urban people in that year. The ambitious National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has done precious little to improve the rural plight.

source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

DO's AND DON'Ts FOR CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

The central civil service conduct rules, 1964 impose various restrictions on central govt employees. Some Do's and Don'ts applicable to employees are given below.

Do's:-

1. Maintain absolute integrity all times.

2. Maintain absolute devotion to duty at all times.

3. Those holding responsible posts - maintain independence and impartiality in the discharge of your duties.

4. Maintain decent and responsible conduct in their private life.

5. Observe proper decorum during lunch break.

6. Render prompt and courteous service to the public.

7. Report to the superiors the fact of your arrest or conviction in a Criminal court and the circumstances connected therewith, as soon as it is possible to do so.

8. Keep away from demonstrations organized by political parties in the vicinity/ neighborhood of government offices.

9. Manage private affairs in such a way as to avoid habitual indebtedness or insolvency.

10. Maintain political neutrality.

11. Act in accordance with the government policies.

12. Observe courtesy and consideration to Members of Parliament and State Legislatures.

13. If any legal proceedings are instituted for the recovery of any debt due from you or for adjusting you as an insolvent, report the full facts of such proceedings to the competent authority.

14. In performance of duties in good faith, communicate information to a person in accordance with the 'Right to Information Act, 2005' and the rules made thereunder.



Dont's:-

1. Do not indulge in acts unbecoming of a government servant.

2. Do not be discourteous, dishonest of partial.

3. Do not make joint representations in matters of common interest.

4. Do not adopt dilatory tactics in your dealings with public.

5. Do not convey oral instructions to subordinates.

6. Do not practice untouchability

7. Do not associate yourself with any banned organizations.

8. Do not join any association or demonstration whose objects or activities are prejudicial to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, Public order or morality.

9. Do not give expression to views on Indian or foreign affairs, while visiting foreign countries.

10. Do not get involved in unauthorized communication of any official document or any pat thereof or classified information to any government servant or any other persons to whom you are not authorized to communicate such document of classified information.

11. Do not joint or support an illegal strike.

12. Do not enter into any private correspondence with foreign Embassies or Missions.

13. Do not accept lavish or frequent hospitality from any individual, industrial or commercial firms, organizations, etc having official dealings with you.

14. Do not accept any offer of the cost of passage to foreign coutries or hospitality by way of free board and lodging there, if such offers are from foreign firms contracting with Govt.

15. Do not accept invitations to you and members of your family for free inaugural flights offered by Air India, Indian airlines Corporation or foreign Airlines.

16. Do not give or take or abet giving or taking of dowry or demand any dowry directly or indirectly from the parent or guardian of a bride or bridegroom.

17. Do not accept any gift from any foreign firm which is having official dealings.

18. Do not engage yourself in canvassing business of life insurance Agency, commission agency or advertising agency owned or managed by the members of your family.

19. Do not lend or borrow money from or deposit money as a member or agent, with any person, firm or private company with whom you likely to have official dealings. Do not otherwise place yourself under pecuniary obligation with such person, firm or private company.

20. Do not approach your subordinates for standing surety for loans taken from private sources either by your / your relations / friends.

21. Do not undertake private consultancy work.

22. Do not speculate in any stock, share or other investment.

23. Do not purchase shares out of the quota reserved for friends and associates of Directors of companies.

24. Do not bid at any auction of property where such auction is arranged by your own officers.

25. Do not stay as guest with foreign diplomats or foreign national in India.

26. Do not invite any foreign diplomat to stay with you as a guest in India.

27. Do not accept or permit your wife or dependents to accept passage money or free air transport from a foreign Mission/ Government or Organization.

28. Do not bring any political influence in matters pretaining to your service.

29. Do not consume any intoxicating drinks or drugs while on duty.

30. Do not appear in public place in a state of intoxication.

31. Do not indulge in any act of sexual harassment of any woman at her work place.

32. Do not employee children below 14 years of age.

33. Do not accept award of monetary benefits instituted by private trusts/ Foundations , etc.

Courtesy: Swamy's Hand Book