(Article) JKPSC : The Plan & The Road Map For JKPSC - IAS Preparation

The Combined Competitive Examination is held by Jammu and Kashmir

Public Service Commission (JKPSC) for direct recruitment to

• (i) Junior Scale of J&K Administrative Service.

• (ii) J&K Police (Gazetted) Service.

• (iii) J&K Accounts (Gazetted) Service.

The Combined Competitive Examination consists of three successive stages:

• (a) Combined Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type) for the selection of candidates for the Main examination; and

• (b) Combined Services (Main) Examination (Written) for the selection of candidates for Interview.

• (c) Combined Services (Interview) Examination (Viva-voce) for the Final selection of candidates for the various services.

The Preliminary examination consists of two papers of multiple choice questions and carries a maximum of 450 marks. This examination is meant to serve as a screening test only. The marks obtained in the Preliminary examination by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination are not counted for determining their final order of merit. Each paper is of two hours duration. There is No Negative Marking which means no Hop-Hop approach while answering Questions. Go about answering questions in a linear Fashion.

Total Marks (Paper I + Paper II): 450 marks

Paper I : General Studies: 120 questions* 1.25 marks = 150 marks

The Syllabus For General Studies Consists of the Following Topics: History of India, Geography of India, Indian Polity, Indian Economy, General Mental Ability, General Science, Current Affairs & General Knowledge.

The Recommended Book List for General Studies is

• Indian National Movement – NCERT’s Modern India by Bipin Chandra (old version) Spectrum’s A Brief History of Modern India by Rajiv Ahir.

• Ancient India/Medieval India: NCERT’s Class VI Ancient India; Class VII Medieval India

• Indian Geography : NCERT’s India’s Physical Environment (Class XI) and India’s People and Economy (Class XII)

• World Geography- NCERT’s Class VI & Class VII Textbook; Oxford Student Atlas.

• Indian Polity : Laxmikanth’s Indian Polity

• Indian Economy : NCERT’s India’s economic development (class XII ); Jawahar's Indian economy

• General Mental Ability: Arihant’s Mental Ability

• General Science: A Book called ‘Common sense’ ;)

• Current Affairs/General knowledge: Newspaper ‘The Hindu’, News and Events, Competition Wizard.

Paper II

Optional Paper: 120 questions * 2.5 marks = 300 marks

Aspirants Can Choose a Subject from the Following list of Optional Papers based on their Educational Background and Choice.

Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, Indian History, Law, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology

How to Choose the Right Optional:

The Most Difficult Question in Civil Service preparation is ‘How to Choose the Right Optional’. There are some basic things that need to be kept in mind before one chooses an Optional.

1. No Herd Mentality: Herd Mentality is ingrained in Kashmir. Whether that may be the Herd Race in the Opening of STD’s, Health Gym’s or Video labs, Plying of Sumo’s, or Chota Haathi Load carriers; Pursuing MBBS, Engineering or now MBA. But In KAS, Never choose a subject solely because everyone else is going for it or Someone from your Locality Cracked the Exam with this Optional. You have to consider your own interest for the subject since it is you who have to read it in detail with Full clarity of Basics.

2. Educational background / Familiarity with the subject: Your subject in graduation or post-graduation should be considered if you are really comfortable with the subject. But do not go for it just because you have read it in college because you too know how we read in our colleges and How Chance rather Than Choice dictates in which subject we graduate or Specialise.

3. Resource Availability: The availability of resources in terms of Reference Material, Coaching and Guidance should also be considered when choosing your Optional.

4. Past History of the Subject: Past History of the subject in terms of Success rate should also be taken into account while choosing your Optional. E.g., Choosing Botany or Psychology is considered suicidal in KAS owing to its Past Record. However, Ultimately It is the level of your Preparation which will determine whether the optional that you have taken will have one more successful or unsuccessful candidate. The number of candidates to be admitted to the Main Examination is One-Third of the total number of candidates who appear in the preliminary examination or twenty five times the total number of advertised vacancies whichever is higher. Only those candidates who obtain marks above the Cut-off in the preliminary examination are declared by the Commission to have been qualified in the preliminary examination and hence are provisionally admitted in the Main Examination. If we look at the earlier Three preliminary exams, the Cut off has also abruptly increased from 208 marks in 2009 , 216 marks in 2010, 264 marks in 2011 to 306 Marks in 2012.

The Main Examination consists of a written test consisting of eight question papers of descriptive nature out of which one paper (General English) is of qualifying nature only. Each paper is of three hours duration.

Paper I General Studies : 300 marks:

Paper I of General Studies Consists of the Following Topics: Indian History and Indian Culture, Events of National Importance, Events of International Importance and Statistics.

Paper II General Studies : 300 marks

Paper II of General Studies Consists of the Following Topics: Indian Polity, Indian Economy, Indian Geography and Science & Technology.

Paper III 1st Optional (A) 300 marks

Paper IV 1st Optional (B) 300 marks

Paper V 2nd Optional (A) 300 marks

Paper VI 2nd Optional (B) 300 marks

List of the Optional Subjects for KAS Mains: You Have to select Two Optional Subjects from the following list of Subjects:

Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Anthropology, Botany, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Commerce & Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Geography, Geology, History, Law, Management, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science & International Relations, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Statistics, Zoology, Literature.

However, You cannot take the following combination of the subjects:

• (a) Political Science & International Relations and Public Administration.

• (b) Commerce and Accountancy and Management.

• (c) Anthropology and Sociology

• (d) Mathematics and Statistics.

• (e) Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science.

• (f) Management and Public Administration.

• (g) Philosophy and Psychology.

• (h) Two of the Engineering subjects viz. Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering; Two Literature Subjects

Paper VII General English 300 Marks:

This paper is only of Qualifying Nature. The marks obtained in this paper will not be added to your Mains score; However if you fail to qualify this paper, you will get an Orange card; i.e. all your other seven papers will not  be checked…. Matlab Total Fail :)

Paper VIII English Essay 150 Marks

Marks in Mains Examination are given for orderly, effective and exact expression of Thoughts combined with due economy of words. Marks are not allotted for mere superficial Knowledge. Bad handwriting leads to deduction from the total marks of a Candidate. Candidates who obtain qualifying marks in Main’s Examination are summoned by JKPSC for interview. The number of candidates to be summoned for interview is not more than thrice the number of vacancies to be filled.

The interview has a total of 250 marks. The Interview has no minimum qualifying marks. The interview test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. The interview board will assess the candidate’s appearance, manners, poise, alertness, emotional balance, rational and unbiased judgment, decision making ability under stress, depth of knowledge, communication skills, analytical skills, leadership skills and integrity. Each interview  will generally last about 30 - 50 minutes. The Failure to appear in the interview renders a candidate ineligible for being recommended for appointment notwithstanding the marks obtained by him in the written examination.

Total Aggregate Marks for selection into KAS:

Stage 2 + Stage 3 = 2200 Marks

Final Merit List:

Marks thus obtained by the candidates in the Main Examination (written part as well as interview) would determine the final order of merit. Candidates are allotted to the various services keeping in view their inter-se merit in the examination and the preferences expressed by them for the various services and posts.

Some of the services (all Gazetted) in the feeding cadre are Secretariat, Revenue, Industries & Commerce, Handicrafts, Excise & Taxation, Labour, Cooperatives, Information, Tourism, Police, Accounts, Transport, Social Welfare Department, Hospitality & Protocol, Rural Development Department etc.

The selected candidates for Junior Scale of J&K Administrative Service are trained for Nine Months; Four months at IMPA, Four months at RTI(Revenue Training Institute) and one month at ATI(Accounts Training Institute).The Candidates Selected for J&K Police (Gazetted) Service are Trained for Nine Months at Sher-i-Kashmir Police Academy While as the Candidates who are selected for J&K Accounts (Gazetted) Service are trained in Accounts Training Institute Initially for six months followed by six months of field training and then again Trained for six months in ATI. The Probationers have to appear in a Departmental Exam for confirmation  into Government service from Probation.

Before I end, I am leaving you with this short story;

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a 1000 Rs. Note. In the room of an audience of 200, he asked, "Who would like this1000 Rs. Note."

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this 1000 Rs. Note to one of you but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple up the1000 Rs. Note. He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well", he continued, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth1000 Rs. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. You are special- Don't EVER
forget it. Count your blessings, not your problems. And remember: Amateurs built the Ark; Professionals built the Titanic."

(The Writer is a Researcher, Administrator and Teacher)

Courtesy:  by Mr. Shoaib Noor