Civil service as a career: How to crack one of the world's toughest exams

 The Civil Service Examination (CSE), conducted by the UPSC is not only considered as one of the most admired post in India but also is considered as one of the toughest exam in the world. Of the 9,45,908 applications in 2015, only 4,63,000 sat for the prelims and over 15, 000 had successfully cleared the preliminary stage.

The success rate of CSE in India, which is one of the lowest in the world, is 0.1 per cent to 0.3 per cent.

There are no methods other than strong determination for an aspirant to clear this coveted exam. To clear the exam one does not only need hard work, perseverance, determination, but should also understand the concept surrounding the myth of civil service exam.

A CSE aspirant has to pass through the three stages of test:

• Prelims

• Mains

• Personal interview

5 tips to prepare for CSE:

1. Understanding the commission: Every aspirant should have proper knowledge about the structures and subsets of IAS and all India services. IAS, IPS, and IFS (Indian Forest Service) comprise All India Service, whereas the subsets of CSE are the various list of elite services such as IRS (revenue service), IFS (foreign service), IIS (information service) etc.

To be in the IAS/IPS/IFS and other elite cadre is not an easy challenge to pass. One has to go through several vicissitudes while preparing for the coveted exam.

Speaking of recruiting civil servants, IGP Robin Hibu, IPS batch 1993, said, "First should be compulsory rigorous aptitude test by impartial team. Secondly, a specialised services with all holistic regular training with robust accountability and delegation of power on young civil servants."

2. Clear conscience: Before plunging into preparation, one should have a proper conscience on why he/she wanted to be a civil servant.

"Let the top brains of our youth do critical analysis before plunging into this much so call hallowed civil services. In today's liberalised India, we need more entrepreneurs, NRI, technocrats. The best should not be groomed to be Babus alone." - IGP Robin Hibu, IPS 1993.

3. Systematic preparation: Before an aspirant face the coveted exam, they need to have a thorough knowledge of the basics of several subjects and discipline of studies. Starting from the basic quantitative ability to the core of governance, from climatology to oceanography, from agriculture to economy, from science to modern technology, every successful aspirant must have acquired the basic knowledge and forged with perseverance, patient, rationality, integrity and leadership quality.

In order to accumulate bulk of knowledge, it is recommended one should break the subject topic-wise and prepare according to one's convenience.

4. Think like a policy maker: For one to successfully overcome the civil service exam, one must not only concentrate on books alone, but also enhance its logical reasoning and rationality. Otherwise no amount of knowledge and guidance can earn you the confidence to face the great trial.  

For example, the question that was asked in 2016 prelims GS paper-1 about the Atal Pension Yojana, a scheme for the unorganised sector, is a fitting example of how mastering the concept alone could supplement the slightest knowledge one has already acquired. Each individual is a part of the governance and the questions on governance and economy are directly or indirectly related. To best understand the concept of CSE you must think like the policy maker, the street vendor, the analyst, the observer, and the beneficiary.

5. Time management: Time management is one of the most important attributes every aspirant should always keep in mind. To master time management, regular practice and mock tests are advised by the experts.

Five good reasons to opt for civil services as a career

1. Respect: A civil service career has been one of the most coveted job options since the inception of governance. Rome, before becoming an empire, was a republic with a history of long democratic rule.

2. Decent salary and allowances: Although the salary of a civil servant is not as hefty as the senior executive from the corporate sector, they still get a decent salary and various allowances from the government.

3. All India service: Being a cadre of Indian civil service, one has the privilege to serve the masses across the country.

4. An agent of change: Being appointed as district magistrate, district collector, and district commissioner, one is levied upon with responsibilities to bring changes and educate the masses by rendering the best required services and measures for the masses.

5. Insightfulness: What freedom is more glorious than the freedom from ignorance?

Role of a civil servant in governance

According to Max Weber, bureaucracy is an art of administration and dominance over governance through knowledge. Likewise, the role of a civil servant is to uplift the society, spread awareness, fight against corruption, maintain social and cultural harmony, eradicate superstitious beliefs, advocate social and economic equality, augment the education system and act as the direct representative of the government.  

An IAS cadre can do so much for his/her society in so many ways. There is no yardstick to measure how much the bureaucrats can contribute for the masses.

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