Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is a Civil Services Examination which is one of the toughest exam conducted by UPSC in the country. The exam is conducted to recruit officers for the All India Administrative Civil Service.

Is Indian Administrative service (IAS) your dream? Do you want to know what it takes to be an IAS Officer? How to become an IAS officer?

Here in this article, we will discuss all the information that you need to compete for IAS exam.

• Incomparable Powers and Duties that Come with IAS 
• IAS Interview and the Panel
• You should know these
• The Change in the IAS Exam Pattern 
• Who Can Help You
• When to Stop Trying

Recruitment for Indian Civil Services are through Civil Service examination conducted by UPSC. The IAS Exam is not easy to crack, it demands dedication and time from aspirants. Also, the panel set by UPSC for selection of candidates for IAS and other civil services are best people from the UPSC services. The panel makes sure that the candidate they choose fits in the role in every aspect as he/she will be managing and supporting the country.

Incomparable Powers and Duties that Come with IAS 

• The job of IAS comes with numerous accountability.
• To be an IAS officer you need to be diplomatic enough for understanding and managing the situations that come across in civil services.
• You need to have a non-biased view over every situation.
• You should have a strong decision making power.
• You should have a personality of an IAS officer.
• You need to think extraordinary.
• You have to work solely for the country.

IAS Interview and the Panel

• Panel that interviews the IAS candidates and selects them as officers, include experts, who are former IAS officers.
• You need to have the right attitude and confidence to be selected by the panel.
• You need to be truthful in your answers.
• You have to be you while appearing for the IAS interview.
• You have to answer starlight forward and in case you do not know answer to any question, you should admit it.
• You need to know how to make decisions in critical situations.
• You need to have decision making abilities.
• You need to be confident and sure about your skills.
• You need to have knowledge about the roles of an IAS officer and how the administrative services work.
• You need to stay handle even worst of situations with the right mindset.
• You should be mentally prepared for handling any situation.

You should know these

• To be successful in IAS exam you need to know the IAS exam format.
• You must study the IAS exam syllabus.
• You need to know the complete eligibility criteria, like age limit for IAS exam.
• You need to make a smart preparation strategy based on the latest IAS exam pattern.

Also Read – https://www.opennaukri.com/your-smart-strategy-for-upsc-preparation/

• You must take inspiration from the strategies followed by previous IAS toppers.
• Choose your optional subjects wisely. It has to be a subject that you find interesting.
• Practice from previous IAS exam papers.
• Make use of best books for IAS exam and keep NCERT your base book.
• Practice only in that language which you have selected for the IAS exam. If you want to give IAS exam in Hindi, practice that.
• Mock tests are cruical, so track your progress by taking frequent mocks.

The Change in the IAS Exam Pattern 

The new pattern of IAS exam is giving more importance to dynamic candidates, who have agile and sharp minds. Now the preliminary exam is objective type and includes Aptitude. Now aptitude is the only criteria for shortlisting candidates. However, the optional subject pattern is still the same. You have to be quick in solving aptitude as you have to make sure you are able to score good withing the IAS exam duration.

The complete IAS syllabus and how to apply is included in the official notification released by the UPSC. Make sure you read the complete notification carefully before applying for this UPSC exam.

Who Can Help You

• Consider taking career counselling for IAS preparation. It clears all your doubts and shows you the right way to start.
• Get in touch with the candidates who have appeared for the UPSC exams and have cleared stages. They can help get the right start.
• Get in touch with career counselors for UPSC, they will help you make the right choice in terms of optional subjects and the strategy.
• Go through the previous IAS exam papers to understand the difficulty level of questions.
• Don’t forget to read testimonials of IAS toppers. This would be of help.
• Never try to cover the complete syllabus of the exam. Analyze your strengths and weakness and prepare accordingly. You can also take help of a career counsellor here.
• No harsh schedule should be followed, just be focused and live life normally.

When to Stop Trying for IAS exam?

Many candidates try appearing for the exam year-after-years seeking success, but they taste failure every time. They haven’t though about the other side of the coin, so they have no plan B.

For all those candidates who are not sure of how many years they should invest in UPSC exam prepartion, they need counseling. We advise you to decide on the number of years you want to invest in IAS exam prep. When that limit is crossed try to get a suitable job. You should always have a plan B to execute, counselors will help you do that.

Don’t keep trying because you have cleared prelims four times in row. Being positive is good, but never waste your life over it.

Find a few tips that will help you prepare for the IAS Exam in a better way.

1) Choose the right subjects: It’s vital

• Once you have decided to appear for IAS exam, the foremost step to prepare for prelims.
• Choose the optional subjects wisely? I understand that it is not a bed of roses, so you should to take a subject that drives you to explore more about it. Never follow anything because others are following it. So, don’t select a subject just because everyone has selected that, like History and Hindi. Remember that your mentors can only guide you but the decision lies in your hand.
• We would suggest you to choose the subject you will like to study in depth and according to the demands of the exam questions. You should have a passion for the subject, because once you are able to master the subject, the marks will follow.

2) Be ready to devote almost 2 years for IAS study

• One complete civil service cycle comprises of the preliminary exam, main exam, followed by the interview, which together make up one complete year.
• You should prepare three subjects, along with one essay and two languages, which will require focused study of a minimum of two years.
• Don’t get disheartened if you are unable to clear the exam in the first two attempts, as most people clear it only after two years. It will be easy for you to get success in the exam if you will master your selected subjects thoroughly.

3) Give a special focus to general awareness section

• General awareness is also very important section from the exam point of view. Be devoted to optional subjects, but remember not to ignore general awareness.
• Do not wait till last moment to prepare General Studies (GS) for the civil service exams. Notice the pattern of GS paper, as it is becoming more and more dynamic, it mostly includes general awareness.
• While preparing for main paper, be more logical and issue focused. To achieve this you have to keep yourself updated with the current international and national developments.
• Read a daily newspaper like The Hindu and The Times of India to keep up with the general awareness. Also include a financial newspaper like The Economic Times.
• To improve your general knowledge you can also use competition magazines like SSC Chronicle, Yojana Magazine, Jagran Josh, and Pratiyogita Darpan, Manorama year book, e-books or online study materials.

Winding It Up

IAS is not an easy job, so you need to have well planned study schedule. Having a strong preparation does not guarantee success in any exam, it only increases the chances of success. IAS exam demands your 100 percent efforts, but that does not guarantee success. You also need to have a good mentor, or you can consider undertaking a counseling session which will help you make the right plan.

Life is much more than clearing an exam, so stay positive even if you are unable to make it.