PRELIMS 2019 PAPER ANALYSIS

In this article, we are going to discuss Analysis of the preliminary exam of UPSC 2019.

The most respectable and respective exam of India i.e. UPSC conducted preliminary examination on 2nd June 2019 in all over India. This was done successfully for 896 vacancies including 39 seats for PwBD category. It was conducted offline.

Preliminary Pattern

The General Studies (GS) Paper comprises of 100 questions, all of which are of the MCQ type. You would be given 4 choices of answers out of which you have to select the correct one.

An incorrect answer will cost you 0.66 marks.
The questions are for a total of 200 marks and you will have 2 hours to finish the paper.
In this article, we are going to discuss the detailed Analysis of the preliminary exam of UPSC 2019.

Detailed Syllabus

General Studies Paper: 

– Current events of national and international importance

– History of India and Indian National Movement

– Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic

– Geography of India and the World

– Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution

– Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

– General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization

– Economic and Social Development-Sustainable

– Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

– General Science

CSAT

– Comprehension

– Interpersonal skills including communication skills

– Logical reasoning and analytical ability

– Decision making and problem-solving

– General mental ability

– Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level)

LEVEL OF QUESTIONS SECTIONS-WISE

Current Affairs

(30-35)
National and International (chairman of public sector banks, AIIB, Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, Ease of Doing Business Index): Moderate To Difficult

History

(10-15)
Modern and Ancient history of India (zamindari system, Harappa civilization) and Indian Freedom Struggle: Difficult

Geography

(5-10)
Climate, environment and ecology (old and new world crops): Difficult

Polity

(15-20)
Indian polity facts, law and governance issues: Difficult

Economy

(15-20)
Indian Economy and social development: Difficult

Science and technology

(25-30)
General principles, summits and conferences (wearable technology, DNA, RNAi, lab technology, digital signature): Moderate To Difficult

– If you note, right from 2011, questions from some areas have been constants in this exam, i.e. they keep coming year after year or every alternate year. Some of these include:-

– Alternative energy sources and materials (e.g. H-CNG, biofuels, shale gas, photovoltaics, fly ash)
– Bio-technology – Hybridization, new developments such as DNA (genetic) engineering/alteration techniques (CRISPR, RNAi), use of important microorganisms (e.g. blue-green algae), symbiotics etc.
– Nano-technology and developments – e.g. Carbon nanotubes

– Astrophysics (e.g. neutron stars, gravitational waves, black holes), Higher physics (e.g. general theory of relativity), space-missions

– Polar regions – Issues, bodies and treaties related to Arctic and Antarctica, new developments such as seed vault

– Diseases in India – Outbreaks, pandemics, eradicated diseases, WHO or MoHFW guidelines

-Patents (issues and developments) – Evergreening, Patents Act, IPAB, WIPO

– Emerging technologies (especially communication)– Li-Fi, Wearable technologies, Internet of Things etc.

– New Banking regulations/developments – E.g. Banking correspondents, payments bank, Core Banking Solutions etc.

– Planning in India– for e.g. objectives of 12th Plan, goals of other FYPs, bodies related to planning, Finance Commission

– Agricultural policy in India – Pricing and issues related, major missions and initiatives, regulation of agricultural markets

– Wetlands – Conventions, wetlands in India, benefits and issues

– Biodiversity/National parks – Almost every year there is a question since 2011.

These are some of the hot favorite topics of UPSC and in a given year you may expect more than 15-20 questions from these topics alone like in 2019 Prelims. Therefore, they form a crucial part of your prelims preparation and due care should be taken that you read at least all the major news articles associated with these topics that have appeared in the last 1-2 years.