Someone has rightly said, the UPSC preparation starts with NCERTs and ends with NCERTs.

Perfection

The  NCERTS THE BEDROCK OF UPSC PREPARATION books, especially the old editions have been meticulously written by the eminent authors in the subject with extensive research.  

The books are published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) which is an autonomous organization set up in 1961 by the Government of India.

The sole objective of this government organization is to assist and advise the Central and State Governments on policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in school education.

RS Sharma, Satish Chandra, Bipin Chandra and Arjun Dev are some renowned authors who incorporated to design the NCERT books.

Build the basic concepts with NCERT

One cannot build a great building on a weak foundation. A solid foundation is a necessity to build a super-strong infrastructure. 

This is applicable to aspirants those who are preparing for civil services. The NCERT books are considered as the basic reading books to build the base of the Civil Services Examination.

It covers all topics which are important and gives us a crystal-clear conceptual clarity. It guarantees that aspirants are no longer a beginner once you go through them thoroughly. Thus, NCERT Books additionally serve as a measure of performance evaluation and improvement.

Authenticity of information

The NCERT books are considered as a genuine source of information. These books are meticulously designed by experts and government officials after thorough research. As old NCERT is suggested for the civil service examination, the candidate should try to update the current data accordingly. NCERT books are the best source for the Civil Services Examination to develop a strong base in any subject.

Direct question from NCERT

From the inception itself, UPSC has asked many questions directly from the NCERT books. The students who make notes meticulously from the NCERTs stand to benefit. For example, in the UPSC Mains 2023, a question came in GS 1 directly from the NCERTs, “Effect of the British Policies on the Tribal in India”. This is just one such example, almost in all the GS papers, questions came from NCERTs.

This once again reinforces the belief that questions come directly from the NCERTs. Likewise, in UPSC Prelims 2023 as well, close to 13-15 question were picked from NCERTs.

A student who prepares from NCERTs stand to gain from this methodology of preparation.

A word of Caution

Some of the tutors and institutes misguide the students saying that NCERTs are just the foundational books and that once you read them, then generally there is no need to revise.

However, it is far from truth. We recommend a student to read the NCERTs in the beginning not because of its basic nature of content, it is primarily because of its lucid language that is designed to help the school going kids with a certain amount of psychometric skills.

In any case, the NCERTs cannot be lowered in quality to any standard book. Their language is deliberately kept low for the school kids to comprehend.

It reinforces the importance of NCERTs. And as an advice it is very essential to revise them at least once before the Prelims and at least twice before your mains examination. I can also take a freedom to say that for mains, NCERTS + News Paper + Class notes shall suffice without any difficulty.

NCERTs for which subjects

While NCERTs are recommended for any GS Subject, however, they are essential bed rocks for history, geography, polity and economy.

If you are a non-science background student, then reading of elementary science NCERT books is a must.

Solving of questions at the end of each chapter

It is strongly advised to read the chapter as a cohesive unit and immediately try to solve at least 2-3 mains answers. It will register the learning for a longer period.

The data bank of these solved questions can be handy at the time of revision for mains after your prelims examination.

Summary books on NCERTs

In the market, many publications have come up with NCERT simplified books. As a thumb rule, it is not so advised to rely on these books. In pursuit of simplification, they tend to miss the essence of message. It may filter out the purpose of a chapter itself.

Should we make notes out of NCERTs?

This is the most frequent question that the students ask. And the straight jacket answer to this question is yes. If you are starting your UPSC preparation early, it is advised to prepare notes out of the NCERT books. It will immensely help in reducing the time period for revision as and when needed.  

Finally, it is an earnest request to all the students aspiring to become bureaucrats, that, NCERTs help you build basic understanding on multiple issues that you must understand from correct perspective.

As these books are written by the experts under strict supervision, the message that will be taken home shall be unfiltered without any influences.

NCERT Foundation Course at Ekam IAS Academy

Ekam IAS Academy provides a beautiful package of over 250 hours of classes on purely NCERTs. Any student who wants to kick start their preparation, can always subscribe to this course and benefit out of it.

For enquiring about the NCERT Online Foundation Course, students can always call the counselling desk on 8121017337/8121027337 and enquire the details.