Although the list is specifically made with the pre exam in mind, these are extremely useful sources for building up your knowledge for your mains. The list is comprehensive, but not exhaustive. When it comes to Civil Services, there is hardly an end to learning. However, if to crack the prelims is your goal today, this list should have you fairly covered and ready to fulfill your IAS dreams.

BEST OF LUCK.

UPSC, IAS, Civil Services Exams - Printed Study Material

Harkeerat Singh has secured the 10th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2021. He is a native of Gurugram, Haryana. He gave his first attempt in 2012 just after his graduation. But he failed in the preliminary examination. He gave 5 consecutive attempts but failed in every attempt. He didn't give up and also did not lose his patience. Finally, he secured AIR 10th in his last attempt. It took him 10 years to crack this exam. During an interview by India Today he said, 

What is a dream without failures? If you dare to dream, you have to dare to take on failures, too. He further added that IFS is his teenage dream.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND HIS UPSC JOURNEY

Harkeerat completed his graduation in History (Hons) from St. Stephen's college, Delhi University. Harkeerat started his UPSC journey in 2012. He gave his first attempt just after graduation but didn't qualify the Preliminary Examination. In the second attempt he also failed. In the third and fourth attempt he didn't qualify the Mains Examination. Again he failed the Preliminary examination in his fifth attempt. In 2021 it was his last and sixth attempt. In final attempt, he tried to change his strategy and did not even make notes of the subjects. It was a do or die situation for him. This time he did not follow the strategy of the last 5 attempts. Finally he got All India Rank 10 and became the topper in his sixth attempt.

HARKEERAT SINGH RANDHAWA'S UPSC PREPARATION STRATEGY

MAKE YOUR OWN STRATEGY

Harkeerat advised the aspirants don't follow or copy any strategy blindly. Consecutive failures made him realise that whatever strategy he was following, those were others strategies. So in his last attempt he decided that he didn't try to copy any toppers strategy. He decided to stick to his own strategy. Literally, he did not make any notes, nor did he give any mock interviews. He just focused on reading and understanding as per UPSC syllabus. At last he cracked the exam with AIR 10th. 

CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONAL SUBJECT CAREFULLY

When he started his UPSC preparation, he took History as his optional subject. He completed his graduation with a history subject so he felt it was suitable for him. But after four attempts he realized that he should change his optional and took the Political Science and International Relation (PSIR) subject. 

NOT RELYING ONLY ON STANDARD BOOKS

He believes that just not relying solely on standard books. Take the help of online sources such as Wikipedia. His optional was Political Science & International Relations. He used to read newspapers like Indian Express, Hindu, New York Times, Washington Post and a diplomatic magazine called International Affairs for enrichment of his knowledge. It also helped him Mains Examination.

ALWAYS KEEP A DON'T GIVE UP ATTITUDE

He said that it took him 10 years to crack the UPSC exam. But he never gives up. He always learnt from his past mistakes and was careful in his next attempt. Despite a series of failures, he did not give up; he knew that determination and hard work would pay off one day.

At last Harkeerat said that his biggest learning was not to take anything for granted. He changed his preparation strategy. He worked on mastering every aspect, right from time management to general knowledge. He also advised the aspirants to take frequent breaks. He also used to take short breaks every hour to stay fresh and focused throughout the day.

Civil service officers like Harkeerat prove that failures are, indeed, the stepping stones to success.

Harkeerat Randhawa wishes you all the best

Preetam Kumar has secured the 9th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2021. He is a native of Kotra village in Sikar district, Rajasthan. He is the son of a kargil warrior. Preetam appeared in the UPSC exam thrice. In his first two attempts he reached the interview stage but didn't qualify. Finally, in 2021, he secured the AIR 9th in his third attempt. During an interview by news.com he said,

"One has to be consistent towards this exam. Sometimes your studies are going well, another moment you are feeling tired and sometimes you just want to give up. But the challenge is to keep going and keep working hard towards the goal. If you are consistent, any exam is easy to crack". He further added "When the UPSC results were declared, he was hoping to be at least in the top 300 but he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the result with AIR 9th. This is truly the happiest moment of his life.”

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Preetam completed his graduation with B.Tech degree in Electrical Engineering from IIT Ropar. After graduation he started preparing for the Civil Services Examination. He took Mathematics as his optional subject. He joined coaching for a year in Delhi. After that he focused on self study. He gave ample time to every subject. 

PREETAM KUMAR'S UPSC PREPARATION STRATEGY

COVER THE STATIC  PORTION

Firstly, go through the static portion because the static part forms the core of the Preliminary Examination. Minimum 55 to 60 questions come from the static portion. For the static portion, aspirants can take the help of NCERT books and some standard books like 

• Polity - Laxmikant, 
• spectrum for modern History, 
• Environment by Shankar IAS etc. 

But Preetam advised that aspirants should not keep more than two resources for any topic or subject. Read these books holistically, especially NCERT books. Nowadays, questions are coming from pictures and glossaries of new NCERT books. So don't ignore it.

STRATEGY  FOR CURRENT AFFAIRS

Preetam used to read Current affairs with static parts. He used to interlink the topics of current affairs with static portions. He believes that one year of current affairs is enough for the UPSC exam. He used to read PT 365 and also preferred online sources. He believes that online sources broaden your knowledge. He advised the aspirants that if anyone follows the monthly magazine, they don't need to read PT 365. He also said to stick to just one magazine. Don't follow multiple magazines. Apart from that, I read the newspaper regularly.

MOCK TESTS ARE  VERY IMPORTANT

Preetam said that “Practice makes a man perfect”. Mock tests play a vital role in the UPSC exam. Before one month prior to prelims he used to solve one mock test daily. It helped him to get used to the test and handle the pressure in the actual exam. He advised the aspirants to at least solve the 40 to 50 mock tests for the prelims exam. After giving the test, analyse yourself and find in which areas you are making mistakes. 

STRATEGY FOR ANSWER WRITING PRACTICE

He advised the aspirants while writing the answers to focus on three things: Introduction, Main body and Conclusion. Try to write the introduction as best as you can because an introduction is like the soul of an answer. By seeing your introduction of the answer, invigilator can get a rough idea about your perception about answer.

Aspirants can start their introduction with any fact, data, and definition. Always remember if you are going to mention any data, you must write the source of the data. It helps you in getting extra marks. The body of the answer should be intellectual. Mostly, try to write the answer in an Indian centric approach. 

At last Preetam said that "Hard work is key to success". Never give up. Give your 100 percent to this exam. Stay away from all the distraction but it doesn't mean you just isolated yourself in a one room. You can play any game or take a walk for stress release. Mental health and physical health both are very important while preparing. So just focus on your goal and achieve it.

Preetam wishes you all the best.