PaGaLGuY brings you a review of the UPSC Prelims exam, by Manish Gautam, Director of Alternative Learning System (ALS) IAS. The exam was conducted today, August 7, 2016.
Paper pattern
The main focus of the paper was on contemporary syllabus, rather than on conventional topics. A majority of the questions were from current and contemporary development. Subjects like History and Geography had low emphasis in the paper. In particular, there were a lot of questions from Climatology and government programmes and schemes.
Difficulty level
The difficulty level of the exam was not that high, the questions were direct and simple.
Expected Cut-Off
The expected cut-off for General category should be between 105-110. Even if somebody did not take any coaching, but covered multiple open sources (since one source is not adequate) like books, newspapers etc even they have good chances to qualify.
Tips for UPSC Mains exam
There are more surprises in the Mains exam, since it is already in the process of evolving. UPSC will continue to ask questions the way they have asked in the last two years. The only indication is that candidates should put more focus on contemporary issues, and be clear with their basics and concepts.