The decision to choose an IAS Mains Optional subject is the toughest thing for the candidates who are preparing for the civil services. Aspirants must choose one optional paper for the UPSC Civil Services Exam, and it carries 500 marks out of 2025 marks.
Salary Structure of IAS Officers and IAS Career Path – 7th Pay Commission
| Grade | Pay Scale | Grade Pay of IAS officer |
|---|
| Super Time Scale | 37400 – 67000 | 8700 |
| Above Super Time Scale | 37400 – 67000 | 12000 |
| Apex Scale | 80000 (Fixed) | NA |
| Cabinet Secretary Grade | 90000 (Fixed) | NA |
The Baswan committee recommended doing away with the optional subject, but there is no change in the IAS syllabus and exam pattern in UPSC notification 2020. The candidates are waiting for the removal of optional subjects to wait for more years. The list of optional subjects is also not changed in the new notification.
The best ug course to pursue IAS is HUMANITIES.. You can do BA in sociology,economics,political science etc,these are optional subjects available in UPSC, which can benificial for preparation in UPSC and you can score very well in those subjects.
WHY CHOOSE PHILOSOPHY AS YOUR OPTIONAL? Well-defined and short syllabus - It has the shortest syllabus among all the optional subjects available for UPSC Civil Services Exam, therefore, can be covered in a lesser period of time. It takes only two months to complete the philosophy optional syllabus.
(iii) Out of 45 Optional subjects offered by UPSC for CSE 2016, the most popular ones in descending order were; Geography, Sociology, Public Administration, History, Political Science & International Relations, Anthropology, Philosophy, Maths, Medical Science, Law, Literature of Hindi Language, Psychology and Economics
As per the UPSC syllabus, General Studies Paper 1 covers subjects like Indian History, Indian and World Geography, Economics, Indian Polity, Science and Technology, Environment, and Current Affairs.
IAS Toppers 2020 List
| Rank | Name | Roll Number |
|---|
| 1 | Pradeep Singh | 6303184 |
| 2 | Jatin Kishore | 0834194 |
| 3 | Pratibha Verma | 6417779 |
| 4 | Himanshu Jain | 0848747 |
UPSC does NOT repeat questions from previous papers. Most of the questions are about current events.
Ideally, an aspirant should study for 9-10 hours around the year with intensifying it to up to 12 hours prior to a month of the examination. However, the more important thing is to maintain consistency.
Top 10 Civil Services Coaching Institutes in India
| Rank | Name | City |
|---|
| 1 | Rau's IAS Study Circle | Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore |
| 2 | Chanakya IAS Academy | Delhi |
| 3 | Sathya IAS Academy | Chennai |
| 4 | Brain Tree India | Hyderabad |
Which optional subjects have the highest success rate in the IAS/UPSC exam?
| Success-Rate of Optionals in UPSC 2017 |
|---|
| Optional Subject | Candidates Appeared | Candidates Recommended |
|---|
| Political Science & International Relations | 1246 | 117 |
| Zoology | 484 | 18 |
| Mathematics | 441 | 26 |
Yes, one can clear the IAS exam without coaching. But may not be 'everyone'. It depends on his/her efficiency in self-study. If you are good at self-study, you can clear UPSC CSE without any classroom coaching.
Yes, UPSC candidates who attend the interview have to undergo medical tests/examination. Candidates are allotted date and the hospital by the UPSC. They should go to that specified hospital and undergo the medical test.
Book list for History Optional
- Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526) - 1 by Satish Chandra.
- Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals- Mughal Empire (1526-1748) - 2 by Satish Chandra.
- Medieval India : The Study Of A Civlization by Irfan Habib.
History is an important subject in UPSC Civil Service Prelims and Mains exam. If the candidates have a thorough understanding of World history, it will help candidates not only in General Studies Paper 1 but also for in General Studies Paper 2.
Both Sociology and Geography are popular optionals in the Civil Services Exam. Geography surpasses Sociology if you look at the absolute numbers of candidates opting for the subjects. In fact, both subjects are considered scoring.
We can divide the “Modern India” segment into several parts which will help you know how to study history for UPSC.
- Rise of the foreign power in India.
- Emergence of East India Company and related events.
- British takeovers and reactions from Indians.
- British economic policy.
- Socio-cultural facets.
History Syllabus For UPSC | Micro topics For History
| Indian Heritage & Culture | Indian Art Forms |
|---|
| Architecture |
| Modern Indian History | Middle of the Eighteenth Centurytillthe Present |
| The Freedom Struggle | The Revolt of 1857 |
| Growth of Nationalism in India (1858–1905) |
Advantages of Political Science in UPSC MainsThere are many advantages to choosing Political Science Optional for civil services examination. Being a slightly non-technical subject, the aspirants can easily comprehend and study this subject even if they don't have political science as their background.
GS SCORE holds a tremendous record of successful candidates from History optional classes in the past five year continuously. Our students were able to achieve 310 Plus in History Optional.
Psychology is one of the optional subjects offered by the UPSC for the civil services mains examination. This makes the study and writing answers for UPSC, a somewhat dicey affair. But, with focused study and the correct guidance, this optional can be aced as many toppers in the past have proved.
