Tips and strategies to crack UPSC IES exams

By: Saket Raj  

Aspirants should prepare for UPSC IES exam to clear it in the first attempt. Understand the scoring structure and the complete syllabus before preparation. Covering and learning all the topics are crucial for the preparation of the UPSC IES exam.

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts engineering service exam every year. The aspirants need to qualify the preliminary exam first to attempt the main examination. This examination is conducted to secure an engineering post in various departments of the Central Government. In this article, we would discuss the proper strategy to clear this examination. The UPSC alternatively changes their questions pattern which makes it difficult to know the exact pattern of the UPSC IES.

Before starting preparation for any exam aspirants should focus on the scoring topics. This would help in score more in the exam. In Electronics and Communication branch, there are several subjects with so many topics,

Important topics

Some of the important topics which are important from the examination point of view are as follows:

• Advanced Electronics: Lithography, Interconnects, Packaging, Testing, Moore & Mealy Circuit Design, Pipeline Concepts, Digital Filters: FIR/IIR Types, Microprocessors & Microcontrollers, Interrupts, and DMA
• Analog Electronics: Random Signals, Information Theory, AM, FM, SNR, Sampling, Coding, PCM, DPCM, ASK, FSK, PSK, TDMA, FDMA, CDMA, and Fiber Optic
• Network Theory: Wye-Delta Transformation, Solution of Network Equations using Laplace Transforms, 2-port Network Parameters, Transfer Functions, Steady-state Sinusoidal Analysis

Other topics such as Material Science and Computer Organizations and Architecture also have more weightage.

Tips to prepare for UPSC ESE exam

• The strategy for the preparation of UPSC IES exam is to allot proper time to subject and study them daily; this would help in covering all the topics in detail. After completing a topic, revise the same to examine the understanding level of the particular topic.
• Always start with an easy and interesting topic; this would help in enhancing the confidence level during the preparation.
• Revise the topic covered regularly to learn the concepts thoroughly. Prepare short notes while preparing a topic/ subject; this would help in quick revision of the subject.
• There are various sources available online and offline to get the study materials. One of the popular YouTube channel for providing the best lecturers for UPSC IES exam is NPTL. Aspirants could also refer to the study materials of different coaching institutes such as like Made Easy, Engineer's Circle, Gate Academy and so on for self-preparation.

Examination structure to qualify for Preliminary and Mains

The examination structure to qualify for two exams namely Preliminary and Mains are as follows:

• In Preliminary Exam, there are two objective type papers Paper 1 and 2.
• Paper 1 includes questions related to aptitude and general studies. The total marks allotted to this section are 200 and the time duration to complete this paper is two hours.
• Paper 2 includes technical questions of the respective branch. The total marks for this section are 300 marks and the time duration is three hours.
• In Main Examination, this is a conventionally written type exam which includes two papers; both of these papers would be of specific engineering discipline. The total marks for these sections are 300 marks each and the duration is 3 hours each.
• The last stage is the Personality Test/Interview. Students are advised to strategically prepare for UPSC ESE exam.

List of Best Reference Books

A list of reference books to prepare for the UPSC IES exam is given below:

1. Network Theory by Van Valkenburg
2. Engineering Circuit Analysis by Hayt, Kemmerly and Durbin
3. EDC Theory by Boylested and Nashelsky
4. Micro Electronic Circuits by Sedra and Smith
5. Linear Integrated Circuits by Roy Choudary
6. OP Amps and Linear Integrated Circuits by Gayakwad
7. Digital Logic and Computer Design (Digital Electronics) by Morris Mano
8. Digital Integrated Electronics by Taub and Schilling
9. Microprocessor and its Applications by Goankar S Ramesh
10. Control Systems by Nagarath and Gopal

About the Author:

Saket Raj is pursuing BTech from Jabalpur Engineering College. He completed his schooling from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.