Learn IAS Coaching with Free Lessons & Tips

Answered by one of my successful student in IAS Exam- 

You can clear IAS Prelims in one and half month if you put effort equal to 4–5 months preparation? Can you do ? If yes, then following is the strategy

1. Read Lakshmi Kant for Polity
   Here give more attention to few chapters like PREMBLE, FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS, DPSP, FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES, UNION GOVERNMENT (Esp President and some portion of Parliament ), State government ( Esp Governor, Vidhan Parishad ), Constitutional Bodies like Election commission, UPSC, CAG .
   Revise this and solve questions from Lakshmi Kant related with above mentioned topics
2. Spectrum for Modern Indian History
   Focus more on different charter and council acts, 1857 revolt, Bengal split, Surat split (1907), Entry of Gandhi ji to 1947 in chronological orders. Try to tick on important INC session along with President name and outcome for eg- 1885, 1905, 1907, 1920, 1925, 1929, 1931, 1938, 1939, 1947 .
3. NCERT for geography
   Read physical gepgraphy topics like Pressure belts, permanent & local winds, Ocean currents, salinity, temperature distribution, Fronts, cyclone, Rainfall, plate tectonics, volcanoes, types of rocks, atmosphere layers along with climatic region of the world from G C Leong.
   For Indian geography, concentrate more on maps to locate, rivers, tributaries, mountain ranges (esp in southern India and north east) etc.
4. Environment from Shankar IAS book
   Choose specific topics like International organisation related with Environment, Biodiversity, UNFCCC, Pollution, Endanger species along with location, National park with information like vegetation, climate type, endanger species .
5. For Indian Economy
   Go through Mrunal’s videos and pdf
6. Current Affairs
   Here you need to follow any good material like Vision IAS or Shiksha IAS Academy

Along with above you should solve one mock test daily without waiting to complete the syllabus, even though you do not know the answers of more than 30% questions. Practice is must!

I know its easier said than done but nothing is impossible. If you are not able to clear this time, at least it will help you in your next attempt.

Good luck!

UPSC offers a diverse and distinctive questions from various areas in the prelims and mains examination. However there are certain books are must be relied upon in any case as they are very important for conceptual understanding of the subjects. As UPSC is moving towards more basics and opinion based upon those things, it is necessary to follow these books.

For Modern Indian History
1. India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
2. Modern Indian history by Bipin Chandra
3. Indian Since independence by Bipin Chandra

For Indian Culture
1. Indian Culture by Spectrum/ NCERT

For Polity
1. Indian Polity by Laxmikant 
2. Indian Polity by Sriram IAS Academy

For Economics
1. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh 
2. Indian Economy by Sriram IAS Academy

For Geography
1. NCERT 11th and 12th 
2. Certificate Physical and Human Geograhy by Goh Cheng Leong 
There are various books on ecology and environment and are of much importance looking into the fact that Indian Forest Service exam is same as that of Civil Service. So, there is a need for special emphasis on that.

For Environment and Ecology
1. Shankar IAS notes- As Recommended by many
2. Majid Hussain
3. PD Sharma 

For Science
1. NCERT/ S. Chand of Class X



P.S. : The list of in-comprehensive and is not exhaustive. It is based upon my experience with books. Readers can take guidance from other sources as well.

Federalism

Federalism is a principle of the government or an institutional mechanism that defines the relationship between the central and regional government. In federal systems, both sets of polities work cooperatively and independently in their respective domains. Federalism is like a rainbow, where each colour is separate, yet together they make a harmonious pattern.

On the basis of the relationship between national and regional governments, polities can be of two types:

1.       Unitary Government.

2.       Federal government.

Unitary government: In the unitary form of the governments all powers are vested in the national government. Either there is no regional government in such system, or if it exists at all, it drives its power from the central government e.g. Britain, France, Japan, former USSR, China, and Pakistan etc.

Benefit of the unitary form of the government:

1.   It inspires uniformity among the state in the nation, as well as patriotism because everyone has a major thing in common like common laws and single national identity.

2.   Responsibilities and powers of the government tend to be clear cut. Such clear division of the powers led to swift action in the time of crisis. Apart from this, it fixes the accountability of the power center.

3.   Doing the business in single integrated economies is relatively easier due to the single market and same laws and taxation.

4.  In this form of government, there is no duplication of any types of service like central and state services. This saves the taxpayers money and less ‘executive made regulations’ ensures more liberty to the individuals.

Drawbacks of the unitary Governments:

1. Excessive centralisation of the power increases the dictatorship tendency in the government. The governmentis more likely to fall out of touch with local issues. Excessive concentration of the power was the main reason for the breakup of USSR and Pakistan.

2.   Diversity is not represented politically in unitary systems. All local sense of security, community, and pride are lost. No one is allowed to go against the government.

3.     Unitary systems are usually found less responsive for the local issues.

Federal form of the government: In a federal form of the governments, powers are divided between national government and regional governments usually by the constitution or written treaty. Subjects, which concern the nation as whole, for example, defence and currency, are the responsibility of the central government. Regional matters are the responsibility of the state or provincial governments.   Both operates in their respective jurisdictions independently but expected to work in tandem. Example: USA, INDIA, CANADA, RUSSIA and BRAZIL etc.

Advantages of federal from of the government:
It is hard to generalise the benefit and drawbacks of political system because benefits and drawbacks of federalism are dependent upon the nature of the federal system and the practice of federalism in a polity. Real politics, culture, ideology, and history determine the actual working of the federation.  A culture of trust, cooperation, and mutual respect helps federation to work smoothly. For example, federalism is highly successful in the countries like India, USA, Canada but it is not that successful in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Libya etc. Following are the widely accepted benefits of federalism.

1.    Federalism proved successful in protecting the citizens against state tyranny. This is because different power centres act as a check and balance on each other.

2.   Diversity found better political representation in a federal polity.

3.   It provides more room to citizen’s participation.

4.    Innovation in Law and Policy is Encouraged – By allowing for many state governments, different sets of policies can be tried, and the ones found most effective at solving its problems can then be implemented in other states or on the national level.

5.     Federalism enhances the efficiency of the government by finding localised solutions for local problems.

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