ISIS

               Read an interesting piece in The Hindu today about ISIS.The US administration is concerned about the enormous wealth that ISIS is able to generate primarily through the sale of oil from oil rich fields of Iraq, Jordan and Syria.It also mentions that situation is so grave that in the wake of failure of Iraqi armed forces now only a fraction of the country along the eastern flanks remains under the control of Kurdish forces which they are trying to defend with significant help from the US.By selling  oil from occupied areas at 60 $ a barrel which is much less than that of the international market rates of around 100 $ they are reaping huge profits on account of large scale illegal trade along the border posts now controlled by ISIS forces.
             The ISIS aim to establish 'caliphate' .The wikipedia describes it as a sunni jihadist group active in syria and iraq in the middle east.Unlike in previous occasions the US or the NATO nations are not in a position to tackle this situation by sending forces.The Obama administration is facing domestic pressure against sending forces to Iraq to support the Kurdish forces hence Obama has adopted a no foot soldier policy wherein US is involved only in air strikes over the ISIS captured regions.
            Must leave this topic here as the noble minds in UPSC say do not to Phd on any topic but be aware of the basic facts.In the week gone by I gave three tests.The experience was as follows;

1.Ethics:Bad, but it was my first test on GS 4.I will improve in future as lot of my time got spent in searching study material.
2.Oceanography:Ok but need to more often revise basic concepts from Ncert and dictionary.
3.Polity:Again Ok but it could have been better.More revision and more careful study of newspaper will do the needful.
         Society and geomorphology tests are lined up this week.Will start much early so that no topics are left out unlike in the previous tests.

Planning....

           On independence day a few weeks back , the PM  made an inspiring speech which also contained a mention of demise of the Planning Commission and bringing a new body in it's place the details of which might come out as the policy makers give shape to it in due course of time.The PC being a non-constitutional body does not require constitutional amendment to make the changes as desired by the new Goverment but nevertheless there seems to be widespread discontent among other national parties over the decision and demands for parliamentary discussions are being a made.
          At this moment i am more concerned about my own plans.Let me list down the things which i am doing on a daily basis:
1.Preparing for weekly tests at Ias score ( which is taking care of my GS preparation ).
2.Preparing for Fortnightly Geography tests (which is catering to my optional preparations).
3.Maintaining a diary containing sectionwise notes of topics like econ, IR, Internal security, constitutional developments, Goverment policies etc etc. (also useful for essay)
4.Reading daily newspaper.
          But i will try to streamline all these activities so that proper time is allotted to all activities including my daily jogs (o.k 4 times a week to be precise), watching sitcoms on you tube.
         

Hello Ethics

           The ias score test series has ethics as the first test to be held coming saturday. I tried preparing for ethics a few times before prelims but could not continue as i was pre occupied with GS preparations and if at all i could get time from the synergy CSAT test series which was held every alternate weekend i would prefer Studying Geography (my optional) instead.But now since i am free from csat preparation i started with ethics yesterday.
           I found the subject so relevant and contemporary not only for a civil servant but for any ordinary human facing ethical or moral dilemmas in everyday life.Is it right to bribe for something that would benefit disadvantaged people, you caught a boy stealing from a shop whether to punish him so as to label him as a thief or let him go which would encourage him to repeat the same deed again.There are different schools of ethics like Utilitarianism, kantian, Rights-based, Contractarian etc which give different views on what to do in above mentioned situations.But lot depends on individual perception also.
          Yesterday evening i was mentally drained so much that I did not feel like studying.So I dragged myself to Batra to watch Mary kom just to re-freshen myself.The approaching weekend would be quite challenging with a test on ethics and Oceanography lined up. Ethics syllabus for test is short so i am confident of preparing it well, oceanography will need revision and diagram practice.Will start with it right away.

PDS and the Subziwala..

           It is a peculiar thing with Mains study that when you read a page about any topic you cannot leave it midway and switch to some other topic because doing so will make you go again through the grind of revising the topic from scratch next time one has to open it.So as i was glancing through an article about Public distribution system on Ias score website but it made me more curious to read all detail notes which i am doing till now.From PDS i went to APMC act,from there i will next go to food processing and in the course revise definitions relating to Min support price, Fair price shop, food subsidy etc etc.
            While i was studying the sabziwala was passing with his thela.While i wa bargaining for reducing the price of lowki and brinjal the though passed my mind on whether these vegetables have come from mandis or directly from a farm.Where there any middleman who were making profits, if so am i paying the correct price to the thelawala.This is the thing which fascinates me the most about the Civil service exam that the syllabus is so much part of our everyday life.
         Now time to get back to studies will finish GS 3 syllabus based on PDS and food chain and start with ethics in the evening as from today i have only 6 days to write my first test on ethics.

Joined Iasscore test series

          Sept 7,2014

           World History, IR,Internal security these all are the most interesting topics to prepare for in the mains exam but perhaps Civil Services is not about ones interests. This exam demands your interest in perhaps every topic which concerns ordinary people be it the constitution of India or that God damn coral reef lying at a depth of 20-30 metre somewhere in the Andamans or the lakshwadeep or anywhere in the tropical region.So soon i will have to switch over to other topics as per the ias score test series schedule.
           I was surprised and totally shocked when i learn t that the first batch for a GS Mains test series got filled.So much demand for a test series !! But the incident gave me a lesson to be more proactive in decision making it took mea lot of time in taking the decision to leave Vision's test series midway and go for Ias score.
         But now I am glad that until November i am bound by a very tight schedule as one cant miss any test to be held on a particular day.The syllabus for mains is vast and simultaneously I have to keep on giving Geography tests also as my optional paper.I wasted 20 minutes at Karol Bagh Bargaining for a pair of lowers Inspite of it being highly tempting i should give precedence to time over money from now onwards and in the end that thelawala did not reduce even a single paisa.Total waste of time !!
          Mary Kom running at Batra cinema just 300 metres from my place. But seriously, whatever might be the report of the movie having watched 'million dollar baby ' atleast 7-8 times i am just not that interested to watch another boxing movie though i adore Mary kom and her achievements.so time to get back to studies tonights itinerary goes like this:Revise World History,Indian Diaspora,Indo-pak, Indo-US, Indo-China but before that will watch 'Lincon' for some time, yet another masterpiece by 'spielberg' Saheb.

Post PRE Recovery....!!

            After having slogged for months studying books on hist,geog,culture,economy,science, writing multiple tests and repeating the procedure time and again made me feel i had done my best and that the Civil service prelims 2014 would be a cake walk.But alas it did not go as expected.With probability of clearing the first stage of exam woefully low in my second attempt self doubts on my ability are all time high.Nevertheless given the very narrow time gap between prelims and mains this time i need to continue with the half left job i started before prelims i.e writing the remaining tests as part of the VISION mains test series (the one which i joined back in Mar 2014). The experience of writing tests will come handy when i get to  write the Mains.
          I think by now i have started developing a fair grip over International relations.With the new BJP Government at power India and its neighborhood section has become very dynamic and thus will have to focus on this area.The middle east crisis, the ISIS crisis in Iraq and Syria are not to be neglected either.Will finish Post independence India today and whatever part remains in World history.Time to get back to study but before that will catch up with 'friends' season 1 on you tube.