Civil Servant (IAS/PCS)

Hii Rajan,
How to choose a subject? That's one question that haunts many students who many times, loose precious time waiting for that decision to happen. Now that UPSC has done away with specific subjects at the preliminary stage, students should perhaps find it easier to get down to preprations straight away. Even then, One should chooose one's subject well ahead of time, so as to have ample time to collect notes and books, and also to form study groups.
Normally one should select optionals, which one is familiar with, or has at least studied till the graduate level. If you are not comfortable with the subject, you should not select the subject as an optional. But the choice should not only be as per your interests but also be based on the study material available. Even science and engineering students take up subjects like history, sociology, anthropology, geography, political science, psychology and public administration because there is a huge amount of study material available in these subjects. Also keep in mind that you may have been proficient in a subject, but lack of touch may make it tougher to crack technical subject where freshers may do better. The competition is among the people who have opted for the same subject. One should top in his/her subject to succeed in the examination. The Point is, if you are an electrical engineer with 2 years of experience go for a new subject like pub adm or sociology.
Analyse the syllabus of previous years and the question papers, and analyse past trends. Get some feedback/advice from seniors and fellow students who are well versed in the subject. Remember no subject is bad. History is good if you can spend more than 4-5 hours everyday. Geography is a good option if you can spend at least 4 hrs every day. Pub Ad, more than 3 hours. Sociology, more than 2 hours and so on. So, it all depends on how much time you can spend a day and your liking of the subject. You have a very good memory then a technical subject may help else a social subject would be better. Lastly look for overlap in subjects like, sociology and pubad; history and political science etc.
Hope you get the points & tips.

Hi,
To crack the IAS exam, the preparation requires the right approach along with the right study materials and strategy. Preparation entirely depends on your caliber and understanding of the subject. You may start preparation as you feel comfortable.
- You may refer to guide books such as :
General Studies Manual
Indian Politics by Lakshmikanth
Ancient History by D.D.Kausambi's
R.S.Agarwal [Arithmetic]
Wren & Martin [English Grammar]
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation by Arun Sharma
- You may even study journals and even watch television for important news reports.
- Reading English newspapers will also help you to get a good hold on the English language.
- Always keep the syllabus and past five years question papers handy.
- You may even join coaching center to work on your fundamentals.
Rau's IAS Coaching
Ujjwal IAS Academy
Dhruvathare IAS Academy
Inspiration IAS Academy
VAID's ICS Lucknow
For more, you may refer to the link mentioned below.
https://testprep.shiksha.com/ias-exam-coaching-classes-in-india-categorypage-14-54-936-0-0-1-1-2-0-none-1-0#page-top
While selecting the best institute, you need to check some of the important parameters such as batch size, syllabus, faculty, fees etc.
For more details regarding forms, optional subjects, syllabus, exam dates etc you may visit the official website mentioned below.
http://www.upsc.gov.in/
Hope it helps. Please feel free to revert. Click on the thumbs up or mark it as the best, if you found this useful.
Wish You Luck!