One Year Strategy to clear UPSC Civil Services 2020

UPSC is not an easy nut to crack, speaking of which, you must be thoroughly
prepared, for it spares no disregard or negligence in your preparation. Here the most common question arises- How long does it take to crack UPSC? What is One Year Study Plan For UPSC?

According to most of the toppers, you need only one year of wholesome systematic preparation with perfect time management. The vital point we
must look over is time management.

With a structured pattern and a planned out routine, UPSC becomes not that touch a nut to crack. The exam pattern and syllabus should be known well enough in order to prepare for UPSC.

Download: UPSC Prelims Question Paper (2014-2019)

Best Booklist For UPSC Civil Services

Booklist For Prelims

Subject/Topic	Book/Material
NCERT Books	NCERT books (6 th -12 th standard) are to be read thoroughly. It gives shape to your foundation of your knowledge.
Ancient History	Ancient India by RS Sharma
Medieval History	Medieval India of India by Satish Chandra
Modern History	i) ‘World History’ by Norman Lowe, ii) Spectrum's Brief History of Modern India (Most Prefered for Modern Indian History) iii) ‘India Struggle for Independence Indepedence’ by Bipan Chandra
Indian Culture	i) Facets of Indian Culture by Spectrum ii) Indian Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania iii) CCRT website.
Geography	i)Certificate Physical and Human Geography by GC Leong ii) NCERT Geography books (Class XI-XII)
Economy	i) NCERT Book (Class XI-XII) ii) Ramesh Singh’s Indian Economy iii) Recent Economic Survey as well as PMFIAS Notes.
Polity	i) Indian Polity by Laxmikanth (Most Preferred) ii) An Introduction to the Constitution of India- D.D. Basu iii) The Constitution of India by P.M. Bakshi (Optional) iv) Old NCERT books for Indian Polity (Optional)
Current Affairs	i) PIB ii) Jagran Josh iii) The Hindu
Science and Tech	ISRO website and Newspapers are enough
Government schemes	Civils Daily
Environment and Ecology-	Shankar IAS Notes
Previous Papers	20 Years Prelims Papers Book

Download: NCERT Books

Booklist For Mains

Subject/Topic	Books/Material
History	India's Struggle For Independence by Bipin Chandra
Geography	Geography of India by Majid Hussain
Culture	The Wonder That Was India by A.L. Bhasham
Constitution/Judiciary	Important Judgments that transformed India by Alex Andrews George.
Economy	i) Economic Survey ii) Ramesh Singh’s Indian Economy
Science and Technology	i) Environment Studies From Crisis to Cure- Rajagopalacharan ii) Environment for Civil Services Prelims and Mains- Dr. Khuller
Current Affairs	i) India Year Book ii) Manorama Yearbook

Download: UPSC 2019 Mains Paper

Booklist For General Studies And Essay Paper

Paper	Book
Essay Paper	Essays for Civil Services- Pulkit Khare
General Studies 1: History	India after Gandhi
General Studies 1: Indian Society	Social problems
IAS Mains General Studies 2 Book	Arihant Manual
General Studies 2: Current Issues	What’s Hot Today(ClearIAS ebook)
General Studies 2: Governance	Governance in India for CSE
General Studies 2: Foreign Policy	i) Pax Indica by Shashi Tharoor ii) India and the World by Surendra Kumar
IAS Mains General Studies 3 Book	Arihant Manual
General Studies 3: International Security	i) International Security:A Reader ii) Challenges to Internal Security of India
General Studies 4: Ethics	i) Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude ii) IAS Mains General Studies 4- Arihant Manual

Read: UPSC 2020 Calendar, Exam Dates, Schedule.

How to prepare for PRELIMS?

• You must remember that all the books mentioned above shouldn’t be
  mindlessly read to cover the same topics which you can cover
  from one book to avoid wasting time.
• Your Current Affairs should be very strong. Keep yourself updated
  constantly.
• Practice Aptitude/ Logical Reasoning skills related CSAT Questions.
• Give as many mock tests as you can to get control over the amount of time you write.
• Facts and Figures are not to be memorized but focus more on the issue
  and parties involved in the event- What and how?
• Read newspaper not only in print form but also from the OTT platforms where the issues are deeply discussed.

Read: UPSC Prelims 2019 Question Paper Analysis with Detailed Explanation

How to prepare for Mains?

For Modern History

a) Go over the events and find as many links as you can while making
notes.
b) Focus more upon the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of a particular event rather
than just stating facts and figures.
c) Read Bipan Chandra thoroughly for the topics are discussed with
various perspectives.

For Art and Culture

a) Try to find out the significance of art and architecture, whether in
the lines of socio-economic, political, or religious grounds.
b) Analyse the question paper to see what kind of questions are being
asked related to Art and Culture.

Read: SNEAK PEEK INTO ANUDEEP DURISHETTY’S UPSC JOURNEY

For Other Subjects

• Cover International Relations, Governance, Social Justice, and polity using not just books but update yourself with various schemes and policies being changed or created through reliable sources on Internet
• Read a lot of Editorials, for they expose you various viewpoints that
  allows you to write from any point of view without being biased.
• Prepare diagrams and flowcharts to improve your answers.
• Give innovative sub-headings to your essay.
• Be thorough with various agricultural schemes too. The benefits or
  disadvantages might be asked for which you need to have a well-framed answer with few quotes, statistics and facts.
• Case studies are your number one priority. Use them in your answers to bring in comparisons.

Read: UPSC 2018 Topper Kanishak Kataria Preparation Strategy

Mistakes you can avoid by doing the following-

• Read few newspapers like The Hindu and The Indian Express to
  avoid killing too much time.
• No need of reading the entire ‘India Yearbook’. Rather go over
  important recurring issues that you have come across while
  reading newspaper.
• You don’t have to read all the NCERT books cover to cover as most
  of them have the same topics. Just find the chapters relevant to
  your syllabus.
• Don’t spend too much time on your Detailed Application Form.
  Rather spend that precious time going over Mains preparation

Read: Artika Shukla, the girl who Cracked UPSC in Just 8 Months

One Year Study Plan For UPSC

Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

Keep practicing. Avoid procrastinating. Nurture yourself. You must also keep in mind that a healthy lifestyle can help you be more focused and efficient. How you will do in UPSC might be a big question in your life, but it is never unachievable.
Good Luck!

If you still have an query regarding One Year Study Plan For UPSC, do inform us in the comments section below, we will definitely help you in making your own One Year Study Plan For UPSC Preparation.