One of the most difficult academic processes in India is the preparation of the UPSC Civil Services Examination. It is the same objective of thousands of aspirants who start this marathon every year to become an IAS officer. However, when you give close attention to the pattern of preparing toppers, the only thing that they all have in common is that they begin with NCERT books. These are the school-level textbooks published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) which are the foundation of level preparation (UPSC).

The NCERTs and their role in the preparation of UPSC

The subjects that the UPSC syllabus goes through are enormous and it includes history, geography, economics, and polity. All these subjects have a relatively blunt, concise, and understandable introduction provided in NCERT books. They are simple written and they assist in developing conceptual clarity- which is critical in answering analytical questions both in the Preliminary and Mains examination.

An example would be NCERTs in history and geography which offers a very perfect timeline and sequence of events which give the aspirants an idea of the why and how of the development of India. The same can be said of the polity NCERTs which provide a good base on the Constitution, fundamental rights and governance which are among the areas that are frequently found in the UPSC exam.

Developing an Ideational Persistency out of the Foundations

A large number of students will be heading straight to the reference books or coaching materials that are on advanced levels but without a clear foundation, this may cause confusion. NCERTs cover all the issues in a bottom-up manner and hence a beginner with no experience regarding the social sciences or the humanities can easily learn the concepts.

As an illustration, it is much easier to grasp such sciences as the water cycle or the climate system, economic concepts such as GDP and inflation when initially learnt with the help of NCERTs. After these fundamentals are in place, the aspirants will be able to graduate to higher sources like Laxmikanth to study polity or Spectrum to study modern history and make the dots much easier.

The NCERTs and the Prelims Advantage of the UPSC

Many questions in the UPSC Prelims either are copied directly or were conceptually copied based on NCERT textbooks. It can be a question regarding the Indian freedom movement, the ideas of ecology, and economic basics, but the basics provided by NCERTs tend to provide the aspirants with an advantage. Most toppers highlight that it was necessary to revise such textbooks more than once, which enabled them to avoid confusion when taking the exam.

Additionally, NCERTs encourage critical thinking - the type of insight that is required in order to solve the multiple-choice questions of the dense questions in the UPSC that test knowledge as well as comprehension.

An Affordable and Trustworthy Service

NCERT books are also one of the cheapest and the most reliable sources of information in an era where coaching institutes and study materials might be costly. The details and descriptions posted in these books are confirmed and revised, and thus serve as a reliable point of departure to any zealous student of UPSC.

Conclusion

The basics on the NCERTs are the initial step to the mastering of the exam itself. At Dhyeya IAS, applicants are instructed to start their preparation with these very basics and in this way build their foundation first and then proceed to more advanced concepts. This will make sure that no student goes through the untested route to the top of the world, one that has started with NCERTs and a dream at the end of it the IAS dream.