ITCSA (Indian Telugu Civil Servants Association)

ITCSA stands for ‘Indian Telugu Civil Servants Association’. It is the informal group of Civil Servants hailing from Andhra Pradesh & Telangana working in different parts of India and abroad. The idea was conceived on 9th November, 2006 by Telugu Civil Servants of 80 Foundation Course (LABASNAA, Mussorie). The association uses web-based Google Group named ‘ITCSA’ as the major platform for interaction among members. Aspirants can interact with ITCSA members through itcsa2006@gmail.com

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Article by Sakshi News paper on J.Meghanath Reddy

Dear All,

Please find an article by Sakshi News paper on J.Meghanath Reddy, 55 Rank(2013).

http://epaper.sakshi.com/apnews/Hyderabad-Main_Edition/15072013/Details.aspx?id=1883584&boxid=25740768

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Submit your Grievances and file RTI online

http://pgportal.gov.in/Default.aspx : This is a Government of India Portal aimed at providing the citizens with a platform for redress of their grievances. If you have any grievance against any Government organization in the country, you may lodge your grievance here which will go to the Ministry/Department/State Government concerned for immediate redress.

Public Grievances pertaining to identified issues in respect of 20 Central Government Organisations are being handled by Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG), Cabinet Secretariat. If your Grievance falls under the purview of Directorate of Public Grievances, Cabinet Secretariat, please visit http://pgportal.gov.in/cpgcitizen/ to lodge your Grievance.

List of Nodal Public Grievance Officers can also be obtained from http://grievance.nic.in/cpgrams/pgo.asp

http://www.rtionline.gov.in/ is a portal to file RTI applications/first appeals online along with payment gateway. Payment can be made through internet banking of SBI & its associate banks and debit/credit cards of Master/Visa. Through this portal, RTI applications/first appeals can be filed by Indian Citizens only for the main 27 ministries/departments of Central Govt., located at New Delhi. RTI applications/first appeals should not be filed for other Public authorities under Central/State Govt. through this portal

so now onwards if you have passport/railway/tourism/CGHS/EPFO etc. issues to be resolved please try these links

How to use India year book-2013 for Civil Service exam

India 2013 Yearbook: Introduction and approach to Environment and Biodiversity (EnB) (part 1 of 6)

The India 2013 (also known as India yearbook) is made up of

Overview of topics (like cement industry, Animal husbandry etc.)
Organizations: structure function (like Competition Commission of India, NABARD etc.)
Policies, laws Schemes, projects, missions. (like MNREGA, PMGSY, NRLM etc.)
Some facts, GK (mostly chapter 1, 2, 3, 30, 32).
Truckload of dates, numbers and tables (most of them useless from exam point of view).

Anyways, India Yearbook has specific utility in each stage of UPSC civil service exam.

Utility in Prelims (CSAT)

UPSC often asks MCQs based on

Functions/ Jurisdiction of organizations: "which of the following ministry / organization looks after xyz matter?" and options given.
Salient features of schemes: "which of the following are correct statements regarding XYZ schemes". Then you're given 2,3 or 4 statements and you've to identify the correct or incorrect statements.
MCQ based on some absolute fact/GK given in yearbook.

Utility in Mains

In last two years, we can see the trend developing

Type	Question	Yearbook provides
Long questions (20, 25 markers)	Often asking you to "analyse" or "evaluate" some topic.	Fodder material.
Medium question (10, 12, 15 marks)	Salient features of a scheme/policy/organization etc. Or "discuss" xyz thing.	Direct answers (with followup point from net/newspapers).
2-markers (2, 5 marks)	You're given some name/term, and you've to write a few lines on it.	Direct answers. (if the term is asked from yearbook).

The schemes/terms with catchy names/short-forms = important for MCQ (prelims)/2markers (in mains). (e.g.SABLA, UJJWALA etc.) so better just maintain a note/MS excel file of it for quick revisions for prelims.

Utility in Interview

Chapter 30 of yearbook provides you information about your home state and neighboring states = important for profile based questions.
The "organization –functions- jurisdiction" angle very important. Because if Board-member asks you "what should be done to improve electricity output for Industries?" and you say "Power ministry should do xyz thing." But actually that xyz matter falls under jurisdiction of coal ministry / environment ministry = you're ruining your impression.
The "Schemes" angle. If Board-member asks you "what should be done for Development of North Eastern states?" and you say "xyz thing should be done". But that xyz thing is already being done under some scheme for last 10 years. Now Board-member thinks that You're not aware of the realities. Your knowledge/understanding/reading is shallow.

So overall, yearbook helps you in above areas. But at the same time

Limitations of yearbook

For private companies, success = how much money made. Similarly for Government, success = how much money spent. So whenever yearbook talks about a particular scheme, they give you a paragraph/table full of "xyz crores rupees were allotted during 2012-13" and so on….
Such data Is hardly useful for exam (brain's memory storage capacity). And because of such useless data, book is very bulky.
Yearbook is written by Government. They want to paint a rosy picture. So, Yearbook won't generally tell you problems / limitations / shortcomings associated with any scheme/organization.
That's why you've to follow newspaper columns on regular basis and maintain a dairy collecting the fodder points. (which you can cite during mains/essay/interview, when questions about "analyse, evaluate, suggest reforms" etc are asked.)
Coverage is not "exhaustive" for every topic. You'll still need to dig internet/ old newspaper articles to gather more points. (e.g. SEZ, or petro pricing etc.)

General guidelines while using India Yearbook

#1: Skipping sentences

Any statement or table given in yearbook, is important only IF it gives you one or more of the following information:

Some fact/ feature/reason that can be asked in MCQ, 2m or descriptive.
Some fancy name that can be asked in MCQ, 2m (e.g. Annapurna, Swadhar, Ujjwala etc.)
Some Fodder point that can be cited in descriptive answer, essay, interview

^if the statement doesn't contain any of these, then it's a useless statement.

Don't bother finishing the sentence, move to next sentence. Otherwise you cannot finish this 1200+ pages book in time, If you're going to read it line by line, word by word.

some risk taking is also necessary.

#2: Organizations

In the introductory part of every chapter, the yearbook will tell you about the "evolution" that xyz ministry was earlier known as abc ministry and then it was renamed in 1989 and it was merged with def department and so on….skip "evolution", just find what functions are performed by the ministry right now?

The organization that affects more lives, is more important.

Small time organizations are not really important. E.g. Rajiv Gandhi flight training academy etc. (cost benefit is not good + gives diminishing rate of returns + you've to take some risk, else you can't finish syllabus.)

Whenever you read about an "organization" ask yourself

Where does it fall in the hierarchy?
What are the functions of this organizations?
What type of organization is it?= executive, statutory, constitutional, society etc.?
Who is the boss, how is he selected? (although not always relevant).

#3: Schemes

Whenever you read about a scheme/mission/project. Ask yourself following

Who's the boss? (implementing ministry)
Who's the beneficiary?(target group)
What benefits are given?
Is it cash (e.g. scholarship, pension, insurance) or is it kind (e.g. subsidized fertilizer, wheat, rice, kerosene, tools, training) or both?
Is It 100% centrally sponsored scheme?

Don't bother with "year" unless some really big n important scheme. Otherwise just have the timeframe in mind (started in 80s, 90s, 2000s.)

Yearbook Chapter Classification

I've reclassified the Yearbook chapters into following sections (and then given ch.no and page number from where each topic has to be prepared)

Environment and Biodiversity (EnB)
Economy
International relations, Diplomacy, Diaspora
Rights issues (education, welfare, basic polity)
Science Tech, Public Health and Agro
Communication, IT, Mass comm
Culture, Tourism, Youth, Sports and Misc GK.

In this article, I'm providing the reading list for "Environment and Biodiversity". Remaining topics given in other five articles separately.

Environment and Biodiversity (EnB)

Background

How to approach Environment and Biodiversity for General Studies (prelims and mains) explained in separate article already (Click me)
NIOS Study material: (click me for download)
IGNOU Study material: (click me for download)
Articles on various topics of [EnB] can be found at http://www.mrunal.org/enb
Following list contains the essential ENB topics to be studied from India 2013 (aka India yearbook).

EnB: organizations

Ch	Pg no	Topic
12	291	ministry of environment forest
12	291	Botanical survey of India
12	292	Zoological Survey of India
12	292	Forest Survey of India
12	296	Genetic approval Committee: functions
12	300	national board of wildlife (dig net)
12	305	Pollution control board (CPCB)
12	310	national river conservation directorate
12	311	Ganga Basin authority (+ pg 740 planning)
12	323	NEAMA authority
27	958	functions of Ministry of water resources
27	966	water resource council, water board
27	970-71	Centrak water Commission functions
27	973	Central ground water board + RGI scheme
27	975-76	WAPCOS functions
27	976	narmada control authority
27	978	National Perspective plan + Water Development agency

EnB: Important facts for MCQ/2m

12	297	AICOPTAX
12	300	WCCB functions
12	301	central zoo authority : functions
12	303	name of statutory bodies for animal welfare (2nd para)
12	319	IGNFA, Dehradun trains IFS officers.
12	323	ECOMARK dig net
27	961	hydro project II (fact that world bank gives assistance)
27	980	river links
27	974	Farakka, Bansagar, Ganga Flood, Upper Yamuna (mostly MCQs)

Laws/conventions/IR

12	294	biosphere reserve
12	295	Biodiversity Act + overview on pg 743 planning
12	323	Green tribunal (NGT) + pg 741 planning + dig net

Environment : Policies

12	299	forest policy (dig net)
12	304	environment impact assement (dig net)
12	304	policy for abetment of pollution (+ more on page 306) + pg 742 planning
27	958	water policy (2nd para) dig net for more

EnB: Schemes

12	298	IFMS (Forest Management)
12	301	project tiger (dig net) + tables given on pg 301, 302 =important for MCQs)
12	302	project elephant (dig net)
12	306	clean technology and hazard/waste Management (upto pg 310)
12	312	Wetland conservation + Ramsar
12	313-14	Afforestation + eco Development
12	316	Gadgil panel (already discussed click me)
12	321	ENVIS
23	744	National Action plan for climate change (dig net for more)
23	745	Green India mission +low carbon economy

EnB: Overview Topics

These are the topics that don't fall under conventional classification of "organization / scheme", but nonetheless, they provide good facts and fodder points.

1	5	flora overview
1	6	fauna overview
4	73	climate change and agriculture
12	293	Mangrove protection + coral reefs + third para on page 317
12	323	climate change overview
25	888-892	Ocean science and tech
25	892-896	coastal and marine ecology+ coast Management program from pg 741 planning
25	896	climate change research, cloud physics, disaster support
26	941	Sethusamudram project (dig more on net regarding SC orders)
23	740	12th FYP and environment + issues require attention @pg 742
27	962	flood Management
27	963	ground water Development upto pg 965: mostly fodder

Remaining Five parts

Source : http://mrunal.org

For Gist of planning/transport/finance/polity/basic economic data etc. fro India year book-2013, pls visit http://ebookbrowse.com/in/india-year-book

Monday, July 15, 2013

Full text of Shri. Andra Vamsi IAS Civil Services Interview- APRIL 2011 ( PART-III )

Full text of Shri. Andra Vamsi IAS Civil Services Interview- APRIL 2011 ( PART-III )

Being under Training am not granted with the privilege to give the exam in IRS. Hence after taking my Posting at Vijayawada, gave my third attempt that is in 2010 which finally got me into IAS.

Hi,

This time its Razni Razdan's Board. The third and final interview of mine. As usual the same with Chair Person , M1 being the DG of IIFT , Mr. Chako IAS, M2 a guy who is very well aware of the AP systems , M3 and M4. The interview lasted for 25 minutes . Its approximately 3.05pm when I did enter into the Chairperson s Chamber and 3.30 pm when I did come out.

Me: Good Afternoon mam and Good Afternoon every one

CP: As usual, Good Afternoon . Please tell me your name and Date of Birth

Me: Madam , myself Andra Vamsi and the Date of my Birth is 13^th august , 1985

CP: Is this your photograph ?

Me: yes mam. (the same Photo Which troubled me during my second interview. This time thought of making a photograph with a suit fitting into the chairperson's chamber. But the difference can be attributed because of the previous photograph in the application and the present one which she wants to confirm.)

Then she passed on her finger to M1 to start the process

M1: So Mr.Vamsi you are into IRS. Which batch do u belong to ?

Me: yes Sir , I belong to 2008 batch IRS , Income Tax Department.

M1: where are you working right now ?

Me: yes sir am working at Vijayawada since 1^st june , 2010.

M1: does the taxation deparments provide for any type of exemptions. ?

Me: sir, please make it clear whether it's the direct tax exemptions or the indirect tax exemptions.

M1: tell me the Indirect Taxes first and then the Direct Taxes.

Me: Sir, with respect to the Indirect Taxes we do have some benefits like Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme , Duty Free Replenishment Certificate , evasion of Scrip Duty , Input Credit Waiver etc. most of these things are concerned with respect to the trade exemptions. The input credit lessens the cost of production , there by leading to decrease in the finished product cost and finally boosting up the sales , increasing the competitiveness in the market , increasing the domestic trade as well as international trade, increasing the exports thereby reducing the final cost of consumption and avoiding the cascading effect in terms of taxation. (fundamental of VAT/GST.)

M1: how about the direct taxes?

Me: sir, we do provide exemptions under section 10A, 10B, 80IA, 80IB, 80HHC, Section 10 where a wide variety of things are dealt to provide exemptions like agricultural income, section 11 for the educational and health trusts etc..

M1: why are they provided and to whom are they provided in the case of 10A,10B etc.?

Me: sir most of them are meant for the export related exemptions and also to ensure the regional balanced development , some areas like the back ward regions are specifically identified for the direct tax exemption purposes.

M1: You mean to say it as exports . Then please do tell me some trades where you are providing these kind of exemptions.?

Me: sir, we are providing these sort of exemptions for the herbal extracts trade, infrastructure development trade, power sector trade, back ward regions tourism promotions etc.

M1: you forgot to mention about the exemption being provided for the research and development.

Me: yes sir, under section 35CCE or 35 related direct tax exemptions are being provided for the scientific research and development purposes.

M1: Tell me the concept of taxation. What is the basic purpose to levy the tax?

Me: Sir, the first purpose to levy the tax is to generate the revenue and to utilize the amount for social expenditure purposes. The other purpose is to provide the subsidy.

M1: How can you say that the taxation provides the subsidy . its totally disinclined to your answer.

Me: Sir, the purpose is to levy tax on the rich and distribute the collected amount to poor by various means of social infrastructure development schemes. It in turns provides the Socio Economic Justice by reducing the gap between the rich and poor.

M1: You have undergone the Income Tax Training . Are you aware of Companies Act.?

Me: Yes Sir.

M1: why the companies usually go for a share capital.?

Me: Sir, the purpose to increase the share base is to increase the amount of Capital and Capital Surpluses thereby encouraging the Investment. Also as per the income limits specified for various categories of Persons as per the IT Act, and also to avail more and more credit , to enhance the citizen participation with in the public and private limited companies , usually the share capital is being issued.

M1: How its being done.?

Me: Sir, am not aware of all the content right now . but as per the specifications the share base of public limited company is being limited to 50 and the Partnership Firm is being limited to 20. This share base can be either by means of an Authorized Capital and A Paid Up capital. These are the things defined as per the Companies Act,1956 and the Partnership Firms Act. The basic purpose is to promote the public investment and public participation in the entrepreneurial process.

Now the turn for M2.

M2: so vamsi you mentioned that you are placed in Accenture as Junior Software Engineer. Why can 't you be in that which fetches you more money than the one in Civil Services.

Me: Sir, getting into All India Service s is my first priority since my B. Tech Education days. That s the reason why I have given the exam twice till I get into All India Services. And that's clear till I get into IAS am going to give the exam.

M2: you are working at Vijayawada right now. When you have been posted there.?

Me: Sir, Since 1^st June ,2010 I have taken the charge as Asst. Commissioner Income Tax – Circle -2(1).

M2: I heard that the real estate development in Krishna District is rampant . Can you please tell me the reasons for that.?

Me: as far as my knowledge is concerned , it's a bit dormant right now. Some of the reasons that can be attributed to this thing are excess credit flows, NRI investments and a bit speculation added to the market levels in and around the Vijayawada. More or less the areas adjoining the Krishna delta are fertile enough which adds value to the land costs over there.

M2: Cant there be a factor like the natural Resource Development there like the Gas?

Me: Sir, the KG gas basin can be one of the reasons , but not the complete statement to say that the real estate boom has been marked by it. Availability of credit at right point of time is the prima facie thing to direct the real estate trade. However the real estate impact is spread across the 2 districts of Krishna and Godavari, comparatively less attributed to Vijayawada.

M2: you mentioned that you won a prize for the Police Commemoration Day. Please tell me what is that . And why did you get it?

Me: Sir, every October 21^st, the Police Commemoration Day is being observed to salute the martyrs of the Police who laid down their lives in Service of nation. The origin can be attributed to 1959, Chinese Aggression over Hot Spring , Ladakh where the paramilitary forces had laid down their lives to defend the country over the Chinese Attacks. During the year 2000 vide the District competition in terms of elocution and essay writing , I have won the prize , during the competition s conducted by the then Superintendent of Police for my District.

M2: Mr.Vamsi, you have mentioned that you are placed in Accenture as Junior Software Engineer. Why did you leave that Placement when its offering much salary when compared to that of this public services.?

Me: Sir, Getting into All India Services is my first priority and I will be giving the exam till I achieve it. I have made my career plans very clear from the Stages of Graduation. It s merely a Placement and I haven't even joined the Accenture after getting Placed into it. The same can be attributed to the Career Profile of IRS indeed.

Now the turn for M3

M3: Mr.Vamsi , please tell me the natural resources required for the development of Agriculture?

Me: Sir, we do require a sustained irrigation , fertile soil and proper monsoons for the growth of agriculture. Apart from this , the requirement of Natural Fertilizers and also the seeds for fresh crop cultivation are a must.

M3: Anything apart from that ?

Me: A balanced irrigation and the conservation of ground water leads to sustainable agriculture.

M3: How do you achieve this ?

Me: Sir, first of all the competitive digging of wells or the canals should be avoided and a common ground water reserve or ponds should be developed. A grid pattern of canals right from the Storage Pond further avoids this competition and equitable distribution of water is ensured. Thus we can preserve the rain water and also avoid the disputes in terms of Water Allocation.

M3: Any other sources of irrigation apart from the storage tanks , Please do say?

Me: Sir, we can also follow the minor irrigation techniques that are bound with low investments like the sprinkler and the drip irrigation.

M3: How about the Soil Conservation ?

Me: The strategy of bio fertilizers is the one which we should adopt so as to increase the nutrient contents of soil. For example, the nitrogen fixing bacteria is one strategy, use of organic manure, rich potash and urea contents and using the high yielding variety seeds and checking the tendencies of soil erosion.

M3: How about the Pesticides , what do you suggest in terms of the fertilizers usage?

Me: I do prefer using the nitrogen rich content which otherwise increases the growth rate and productivity of the soil. Crop diversification further leads to the improvement of soil which otherwise contains the growth of pests and organic manure also may act as deterrent to that. Whenever the situation demands the usage of chemical fertilizers is taken, subject to the research evaluation.

M3 : How do you improve the Waste Lands ?

Me: Establishment of a water grid which I had said earlier leads to the increased water supply which improves the fertility of soil. Apart from this adhering to the growth of drought and water resistant crops can also improve the conditions of waste and fallow lands. For some places we can also cultivate the Jatropha plants which do require less water.

Now the Final Turn is up to the M4.

M4: Please tell how to improve the economic growth rate and how to improve it?

Me: Sir, the term economic growth is having a vast scope. According to my perspective ,focusing upon the growth rates of agriculture, manufacturing, services, education or human resource development, improvising the health sector, increasing the Tax-GDP ratio, boosting up the exports, containing the fiscal deficit, development of energy and power sectors, industries , poverty alleviation , growth in urban sector, improving the employing growth rate, increasing the economic relations, lessening the subsidies, rational tax structure, containing inflation etc …with sector specific target driven growth rates being achieved along with the utility of non performing assets , containing of sick units leads to the development of economy as whole.

M4: Please tell me about the Planning Commission?

Me: Sir, It's a body created on the lines of an Executive Resolution established in the year 1950 so as to assess the men and material resources in the country and prepare plans for the Individual States as well as the Nation as a whole. Its designed on the lines of USSR model. Planning Commission also deals with the Hill Area Perspective Planning, National Informatics Centre, National Centre for Applied Economic Research, Perspective Planning and Indicative Planning etc. it does have regional centres established which do work in liaison with the Centre Planning Commission to assess the Income and determine the Planned Expenditure and Non Planned Expenditure for the over all development of the State. Its headed by the Hon'ble Prime Minister and the Deputy Chairman being a person equivalent to a Cabinet Minister prepares the Plan and gets it approved. It also do consists of a Plan Appraisal Committee to evaluate the implementation of the plans and obtain their feedback in Toto.

M4: You mean to say that the States haven't got any role with in the Planning Commission.

Me: Sir, with in the administrative set up, the States Representation within the Planning Commission may not be much. But the role of planning Commission if confined to prepare the plans, usually the five year plans or the annual plans , assess the income and expenditure for the national development. The interests of the States are being protected by the National Development Council, which approves the Plans put forth by the Planning Commission.

M4: What is National Development Council?

Me: Sir, Its another body created under the Executive Resolution. The task of NDC is to approve or enhance or change the priorities identified by the Planning Commission or fix the targets as determined by the planning Commission. It consists of all the Union Cabinet Ministers, Members of Planning Commission and also the Representatives of all the State's Chief Ministers, thus the State's being given due weight age in terms of the Plan Approval and Plan Appraisal.

M4: you mean to say that the NDC got a superior role when compared to that of the Planning Commission?

Me: Yes Sir, it's the NDC which decided, approves and appraises the Plans in Toto. The role of Planning Commission is to identify the Priorities and see their effective replication in terms of plan income and expenditure.

M4 : How do you improve the literacy rate in India?

Me: There are 3 steps to achieve this one, increase the enrolment ratio, two, reduce the drop out rate and third increase the gender parity. All the above objectives can be achieved through proper budgeting and public investment viz education sector. The role of private partners to the public interest can also be taken into consideration.

M4: what else ! Have you ever heard about Sam Pitroda ?

Me: Yes Sir, He is the Chairman of National Knowledge Commission.

M4: What are his Contributions , Do you have any idea?

Me: He steered the concept of reforms within the education sector and the enhancement of technical knowledge to be equipped amongst the modern generations. Also his contributions in terms of technological revolution are reflected in terms of the establishment of scientific research and institutions, telecom revolution and development and IT and Pharma Related simulation projects in India.

M4: Haven't you heard of the National Knowledge Grid?

Me: Sir, its another concept designed by him. The fundamentals being simple that the Knowledge should be distributed amongst all the segments of nation . Such that the Nation In Toto develops in terms of advancement of Knowledge , Instilling the Scientific Temper and the sharing of ideas and innovations there by developing the technical skills of the population as a whole.

That 's all friends and finally its over getting into IAS. This year I am rewarded with 225 marks in the Civil Services Interview.

My Marks are mentioned Below:

Roll No. : 165037
Name : ANDRA VAMSI

Rank : 273

Civil Services (Main) Examination 2010
Subject		Maximum Marks	Marks Obtained
Essay(Paper III)		200	125
General Studies (Paper-IV)		300	146
General Studies(Paper-V)		300	085
Optional I, ANTHROPOLOGY	Paper-VI	300	102
Optional I, ANTHROPOLOGY	Paper-VII	300	156
Optional II, PUBLIC ADMIN	Paper-VIII	300	182
Optional II, PUBLIC ADMIN	Paper-IX	300	155
Written Total		2000	951
Interview Marks		300	225
Final Total		2300	1176

Remarks: Recommended.

Qualified for Indian Administrative Services.

Special Thanks to Late Shri S.R.Sankaran,IAS, Shri.Kaki Madhava Rao,IAS& Shri.K. Gnana Prakash,IRS who made me realize this Good Scores through Interview Preparation.

Friday, July 5, 2013

How to prepare for Civil Service Exam by ITCSA - Youtube video links

Dear All,

Please find the useful links to Civil service Awareness session Dt. 08-06-2013 by ITCSA @ Sundaraiah Vignana Kendra in Bagh Lingampally, Hyderabad

1. PART-1    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh4tjwreEqM

2. PART-2                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrLplDYT2HQ

3. PART-3                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_cYijWryJc

4. PART-4                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z26_DrkCzw4

5. PART-5                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYv2CMF2Khg

6. PART-6                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9SwkMRh5eo

7. PART-7              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8GncOmpTZw

8. PART-8              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKRlrOPf23A

9. PART-9                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T729J-6f64g

10. PART-10            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBxN_5Usf-Q

11. PART-11             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_1_HUVO7x8

12. PART-12             http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkxYVpiDWgw

13. PART-13              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkxYVpiDWgw

Link to HM TV video coverage on ITCSA programme(15 Minutes duration) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PXGPBBE_6k

Thursday, July 4, 2013

NEWS ON SHOE DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMME DT. 29-06-2013

Monday, July 1, 2013

Indian civilization is 2000 years older than previously believed

Archaeologists confirm Indian civilization is 2000 years older than previously believed

NEW DEHLI, India — When archaeologist KN Dikshit was a fresh-faced undergraduate, in 1960, a remarkable discovery pushed back the origin of civilization in the Indus River Valley by some 500 years. Now, he claims to have proof that pushes India's origin back even further — making Indian civilization some 2,000 years older than previously believed.

"When Bhirrana [Rajasthan] was excavated, from 2003 to 2006, we [recovered artifacts that provided] 19 radiometric dates," said Dikshit, who was until recently joint director general of the Archaeological Society of India. "Out of these 19 dates, six dates are from the early levels, and the time bracket is forming from 7500 BC to 6200 BC."

Since the early excavations at Harappa and Mohenjodaro, in what is today Pakistan, the Indus Civilization has been considered among the world's most ancient civilizations — along with Egypt and Mesopotamia (in what is today Iraq).

In recent times, archaeologists divided the Indus Civilization into the pre-Harappan, mature Harappan and late Harappan periods. The pre-Harappan period was characterized by a primitive, Stone Age culture, while the late Harappan period featured sophisticated brick cities built on a grid system, with granaries, toilets and an as-yet undeciphered written language.

But the six samples discovered at Bhirrana include relatively advanced pottery, known as "hakra ware," that suggests the ancient Harappan civilization began much earlier than previously believed — and that its epicenter lies in the Indian states of Harayana and Rajasthan, rather than across the border.

As Dikshit and his colleague, BR Mani, current joint director general of the ASI, write in a recent note on their findings:

"The earliest levels at Bhirrana and Kunal yielded ceramics and antiquities ... suggesting a continuity in culture, right from the middle of the eighth millennium BCE onwards ... till about 1800 BCE."

That suggests the Harappan civilization is nearly as old as sites from West Asia such as Jericho, where evidence of a neolithic city has been found to date from as early as 9000 BC. But it also means that Harappa, with new proof of hakra ware dating to 7500 BC, may have been more technologically advanced — bolstering India's claim to the title of the cradle of civilization.

"When [John] Marshall excavated the Indus Valley Civilization [in 1922], he gave it the date of about 3000 BC," said Dikshit. "But when [Mortimer] Wheeler came in 1944, he gave a shorter chronology and put the Indus Civilization between 2450 BC and 1900 BC. Those dates were also supported when Carbon-14 dates started to come from other parts of the world."

"In 1960, in Kalimanga, we were only able to push it back a few hundred years. But with these dates [from Bhirrana] things have entirely changed."

Both Dikshit and Mani downplayed competition between India and Pakistan for bragging rights over the Indus civilization — where the best archaeological site for tourists is in Mohenjadaro, in Pakistan's Sindh province. But the ancient has a way of bleeding into the modern, as various controversies have shown over the years.

Most prominently, perhaps, the so-called "horse theory," rooted in N.S. Rajaram's fraudulent claim that he had deciphered the Harappan script, introduced horses into a concocted history of the Harappan period in order to provide a missing link to the Vedic period in which the oldest scriptures of Hinduism were written.

Noted for his ties with the loonier side of Hindu nationalism, Rajaram pieced together a tale that suggested "Babylonian and Greek mathematics, all alphabetical scripts, and even Roman numerals flow out to the world from the Indus Valley's infinitely fertile cultural womb," according to Harvard Indologist Michael Witzel and comparative historian Steve Farmer.

But for Dikshit and Mani, manufactured controversies of that kind belong in the realm of politics, not archaeology.

"These things should not be raked up," said Dikshit. "I just don't want to give any statement on this. People are talking. There was an Aryan invasion, then Aryan immigration, then horse theory — this theory, that theory. They are simply wasting their time."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/121116/indus-civilization-2000-years-old-archaeologists

Global Innovation Index 2013 released on 1-7-2013

About the Global Innovation Index

The Global Innovation Index 2013 (GII), in its 6th edition this year, is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, a specialized agency of the United Nations).

The core of the GII Report consists of a ranking of world economies' innovation capabilities and results. Recognizing the key role of innovation as a driver of economic growth and prosperity, and the need for a broad horizontal vision of innovation applicable to developed and emerging economies, the GII includes indicators that go beyond the traditional measures of innovation such as the level of research and development.

In just 6 years, the GII has established itself as the premier reference among innovation indices, and has evolved into a valuable benchmarking tool to facilitate public-private dialogue, whereby policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders can evaluate progress on a continual basis.

To support the global innovation debate, to guide polices and to highlight good practices, metrics are required to assess innovation and related policy performance. The Global Innovation Index (GII) creates an environment in which innovation factors are under continual evaluation, including the following features:

142 country profiles, including data, ranks and strengths and weaknesses on 84 indicators
84 data tables for indicators from over 30 international public and private sources, of which 60 are hard data, 19 composite indicators, and 5 survey questions
A transparent and replicable computation methodology including 90% confidence interval for each index ranking (GII, output and input sub-indices) and an analysis of factors affecting year-on-year changes in rankings

The GII 2013 is calculated as the average of two sub-indices. The Innovation Input Sub-Index gauges elements of the national economy which embody innovative activities grouped in five pillars: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication. The Innovation Output Sub-Index captures actual evidence of innovation results, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.

Top Ten 2013 ranking

Switzerland (Number 1 in 2012)
Sweden (2)
United Kingdom (5)
Netherlands (6)
United States of America (10)
Finland (4)
Hong Kong (China) (8)
Singapore (3)
Denmark (7)
Ireland (9)

2013 Top Rankings by Region

Rank in Region

GII 2013 Overall Rank

Country Name

Central and Southern Asia

India

Kazakhstan

Sri Lanka

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mauritius

South Africa

Uganda

Southeast Asia and Oceania

Hong Kong (China)

Singapore

New Zealand

Latin America and the Caribbean

Costa Rica

Chile

Barbados

Northern Africa and Western Asia

Israel

Cyprus

United Arab Emirates

Europe

Switzerland

Sweden

United Kingdom

Northern America

United States of America

Canada

Innovation Per Income Bracket

Group rank	GII rank	Country/economy	Income group
1	1	Switzerland	High income
2	2	Sweden	High income
3	3	United Kingdom	High income

1	32	Malaysia	Upper-middle income
2	33	Latvia	Upper-middle income
3	35	China	Upper-middle income

1	45	Moldova, Rep.	Lower-middle income
2	59	Armenia	Lower-middle income
3	66	India	Lower-middle income

1	89	Uganda	Low income
2	99	Kenya	Low income
3	101	Tajikistan	Low income

Friday, June 28, 2013

Free distribution of school shoe to Govt. School students

Prajahitha & Indian Telugu Civil Servants Association (ITCSA) in association with Dr. Rambabu, La ex. are distributing 1000 PAIRS OF SCHOOL SHOES FREE OF COST TO GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS in 4 villages of Mahabubnagar Dist.. The programme of shoe distribution will commence on 29 June 2013(Satur day) at 9 AM in Tirumalagiri. Our members N.Balaram IRS, Ramanjaneyulu IRS,Sumitha IRS,Venkatesh IRS have consented to participate in the programme and to distribute the shoe to the children. All of you are requested to participate and give your names to N.Balaram for co-ordination.Thank you

Friday, June 21, 2013

How to read NCERT books for Civil Service Exam

Reading NCERT books from 6th to 12 standards is not a small task as
you have 6-7 subjects, which mean more than 40 books which you are
supposed to mug up before you start serious preparation.

We know it is easy to say that for Civil Services Examination
preparation (particularly for General Studies) read this… this… and
this and a long list of books starts with NCERT books from 6th to 12
standards. But, I agree with you, it is not a small task as you have
6-7 subjects, which mean more than 40 books which you are supposed to
mug up before you start serious preparation.

So, it implies that you are to read this first; it may take months as
you begin preparation by reading, remembering and making notes out of
these. How to manage this all? A big question!

We will answer this question in two parts; one, what is the need and
two, how to manage.

What is the need?
Well, UPSC has always innovated and changed the type, pattern of
questions being asked in Preliminary as well as in the Main
Examination. This calls for a comprehensive understanding of the topic
which comes once your basics are clear.

NCERT books help you build fundamentals. You understand the broad and
wide-ranging aspects crystal clear when you correlate it with
contemporary developments.

You can't think of an effective performance till the time your basics
are not clear that is why experts recommend NCERT Books.

How to manage
We all have gone through these books while in school and have gained
early knowledge reading these only. After 10th standard, when you
decide about future career options and chose the stream, you start
disconnecting with some subjects and by the time you become eligible
to appear in Civil Services Examination, you lose touch with these
subjects which you have read in school.

As Civil Services Examination syllabus calls for awareness from
diverse streams, you need to comprehend with the demand hence just to
be in touch again, you are asked to read NCERT first.

This does not mean that you have to be glued to these for months. You
have to refresh what all you had read in school days. May be you had
taken science stream and chosen engineering field, but when you will
read say History or Civics, chances are you will find these
interesting and the purpose of reading these (Civil Services
Examination) will keep your curiosity alive.

You have to choose the subjects which require more attention and have
more significance in CSE. Prioritise you needs and make a study plan
where these are read as leisure pursuit which in turn will never give
you a feel that these are a burden.

Note : There are books available in the market with the Gist/Synopsis
of the NCERT books as ready reckoner .You can try Oswaal Study
Material Based on NCERT Text Book or you can read and take tests at
http://www.meritnation.com or you can download and read gist of
subjects at http://static.upscportal.com/files/upsc2012/igp/csat-paper1/Indian-Polity-GIST-of-NCERT.pdf

Please see

1. http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/download/ebook for free e-books

2. http://www.upscportal.com/civilservices/order-form/the-gist for
books on payment basis

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

List of Useful Books for Civil Service Exam

List of Useful Books for Civil Service Exam

Dr. N. Tej Lohit Reddy

(AIR-101 : 2013)

(I) PRELIMS :

1. History : Modern India by spectrum or Krishna reddy(Tata McGraw hill Indian history)

2. Polity : Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations by M. Laxmikanth

3. Indian Geography : Khullar/spectrum

4. World Geography : Gochengleong

5. Science And Technology And Environment : spectrum

6. Economy : Srirams IAS material

7. Current Affairs : The Hindu newspaper + any one monthly journal

Note : 1. use internet extensively for everything

2. CSAT : practice is more important, take mock tests

(II) MAINS :

i.) G.S : I can't suggest any books because pattern changed but newspaper and internet will help you very much.

ii.) Optional – I Public Administration

Paper - 1 :

1. Nicolas henry (only few chapters like 2nd and 10th)

2. Organisational behaviour (judge robbins)(only a few chapters)

3. Administrative thinkers (Prasad and Prasad)

4. Administrative theories (fadia and fadia)

5. Public administration book by S.POLINAIDU

6. 2nd ARC reports (only few selected necessary chapter)

7. Sunil Gupta/ Vajiram and Ravi hand written notes

Paper - 2

1. Sunil Gupta/ Vajiram and Ravi hand written notes

2. Newspaper helps some times

3. 2nd ARC reports (a few selected chapters)

4. Use internet extensively for various reports by ministries

iii.) Optional – II Anthropology

Paper - 1 :

1. Anthropology by ember and ember

2. Theories of Anthropology by upadhyay and pandey

3. Physical Anthropology by P.Nath

Paper – 2 :

1. Indian Anthropology by Nadeem husnaian

2. Tribal Anthropology by Nadeem husnaian

3. Caste and other issues by Ram ahuja( read only caste)

4. Caste and other essays by M.N. Srinivas

Note: the books I suggested are not perfect and might not be adequate, read and supplement with other books or materials whenever necessary. All the best