Regarding LBSNAA....Reply to Miss/Mr Anonymous

Miss/Mr Anonymous:-Hi!
I read your post http://neutralviews.blogspot.in/2008/07/for-all-those-going-to-lbsnaa.html. I'm preparing for CSE, I suffer from a metabolic condition which though doesn't disqualifies me from appearing CSE, but makes my diet quite restrictive in order to manage the ailment.
I saw in your post that in LBSNAA, they don't allow accomodation for members of family, residence within the academy is compulsory, membership of mess is compulsory and we aren't allowed to cook in hostel room. How can I accommodate myself to the situation?
Thanks... 

 Manmauji:- Hello Miss/Mr Anonymous, thanks for your visit on the blog...Regarding your query, Don't worry about the diet...once you got selected in CSE, these are the small issues which will be taken care by the academy. Regarding the family accommodation, though you can't stay in hostel but you can still manage it with the help of guest house,etc...So don't worry...just relax and prepare well for CSE...good luck...further query is welcome...keep on blogging..

Paradigm change in Civil Service Exam[Mains] is on anvil...Attention all CSE aspirants

Hello all...here is the news which was most awaited for a long time.I am reproducing here what has been reported in a national daily....
The format of the Civil Services Examination, arguably the most competitive test in the country that selects IAS, IPS and allied officers, is set for a makeover.
Each year, around 4 lakh aspirants apply for the exam for about 1,050 available posts. Government is set to reduce the weightage given to optional subjects by half - from 1200 out of 2300 marks to 600. At the same time, weightage for general studies will be increased to 1200 marks from the current 600.
PM Manmohan Singh is expected to clear the revamped version this week, enabling the Union Public Service Commission to notify the examination that has already been delayed by three weeks.
The extreme variations in scores between optional subjects have been a subject for debate for a long time.
For instance, there are optional subjects such as public administration and political science in which candidates expect to score much higher than ones who take, say civil engineering or mathematics. As a result, candidates end up opting for subjects on the basis of perceptions of scores rather than what they graduated in. The UPSC hopes to reduce this distortion.
The reduced weightage of optionals will be given to General Studies - which is common for all candidates - to provide a level playing field for them. The government had in 2011 similarly revamped the preliminary examination when it had made general studies the focus of the qualifying examination rather than subject knowledge.
The UPSC has a three-tier selection process to select civil servants.The first is the preliminary exam, an objective-type exam which serves as a screening test.Those who clear this are entitled to appear for the subjective-type main examination.About one-fifth of those who take the main examination get called for a personality test.....Keep on blogging
Source:-  Hindustan Times,Delhi edition

IPS Vs IRS...Reply to Mr Saransh Aggarwal

Mr Saransh Aggarwal:- good evening sir,
even after thinking a lot,i am unable to decide whether i should have ips or irs as the second service choice after ias. The reason being;i feel ips has a lot of insignificant postings, completely politicised, no technical skill learnt which can be used in some other sphere if one desires to leave the service.So after thinking on these lines, i believe i should put irs over ips, the reason being that though there is comparatively less power and there are infrastructure issues, but at the same time i would be learning a skill which will come handy if a decide to leave the service(one should always have a contingency plan-abraham lincoln). I have read about some irs officers who left the service and getting big money in the private sector; some even started their own companies.
Sir, please tell me as to how many years does it take for an irs officer to learn as much, as is required to start his own tax consultancy.Furthermore, i have read that there isnt such a thing called indirect tax consultancy as yet,this field is just emerging but i dont feel that it is going to come anywhere near direct tax consultancy.
Please tell me
-whether what i have written above is true?
-should the above given points be taken into consideration while deciding the service choice or are they insignificant
-let's suppose i put irs over ips.Then considering that i am joining the service only to learn the skill and plan to start my own tax consultancy in future, what will be better irs(it) or irs(cce). i believe direct tax would be better.
Dont forget to answer; ips or irs.As far as my attitude and tastes are concerned , both the services suit me.
Please help me out of this dilemma.I have wasted a lot of time on this.

Mr Saransh Aggarwal:- sir, if suppose i put ips over irs, but later on ,say after the results have been declared and i get to know more about the various services, i decide not to go for ips, Can i deliberately fail the physical test? Which service will be allocated to me in such a situation?waiting for reply....

thank you
Mr Saransh Aggarwal:- sir , in ias, is agmut cadre better than other state cadres?
I have noticed officers whose parents themselves are/were in civil services have preferred to go for the ut cadre.moreover i believe that though they have less power but since they are posted in different areas(delhi,arunachal,mizoram and other UTies), they have more autonomy,the politicians dont have much leverage on them.Is it true?   

 Manmauji:- Hello Mr Saransh Aggarwal, thanks for your visit on the blog...I can understand your dilemma which most of the CSE aspirants have in their mind...the answer to this question can't be straight...I will try to answer your queries one by one in point form...These views are personal...one may differ on these findings...your discretion should be applied before jumping to any conclusion.
The reply is as follows:-
 [1] So called insignificant postings are in all services. There are lot of positions/postings in IRS [both IT & C&CE] where you don't have basic things like vehicle,manpower and some time even separate room to sit...This is very common in IRS[IT] where you don't have separate room..you might sit in cubicles just like in call centres...There is Central Revenue Building in Delhi near ITO....you can go there and see how IRS[IT] people are sitting and working with one telephone shared by two officials...This is not so with IRS[C&CE] at least where you have almost separate rooms with modest infrastructure. In IRS[IT], at lower levels, you don't have staff at all below you...Regarding, expertise is concerned, it is true that you will not gain much in IPS...therefore you have very less chances to get second job in IPS..but again there is no straight answer...if you work professionally in IPS and earn name then you will never retire from IPS as you will get numerous chances to serve the government in various capacities...In IRS, you will get expertise in taxation and can start your consultancy or firm afterwards very easily.
[2] You rightly said that several IRS officers have started firms after quitting the job...the time for expertise depends on you..you may take 5 years or 10 years to be perfect in the law...but tax administration is dynamic and changes every year post budget..therefore you need to update yourself everyday...But,I have a question for you, if you have already decided to start your firm then what is the need to compete for CSE as you can do it by clearing CA exams as CA's are more expert then any IRS initially...
[3] you rightly said that consultancy in direct tax is better at this time as compared to indirect taxes but due to Service Tax, now there is huge scope of consultancy in indirect taxes as well..After GST, this scope will further increases.
[4] Regarding IPS or IRS as you have written that you have taste for both...I think it is not possible that you have liking for both as both requires different taste and temperament...See,if you want to serve common people and can afford less urban life style, have appetite for power and stardom then IPS should be your choice, if you want to have urban life style,anonymous status,less power, no contribution to common man's life,satisfied with no manpower,no visible status symbol, file oriented typical office work profile, suited booted clients base, then IRS should be your choice...
[5] After selection, how can you deliberately fail medical test.....See before the result and immediately after interview, you will be asked to appear for medical in Delhi and it is full body check ups and nothing else..you can fail yourself in Eye test or colour blindness which will debar you from IRTS..in that case you will be given next opted service in your mains form.
[6] Your findings are not true..Look, if you are in IPS then definitely your work will be influenced by politicians..Why are so much afraid by them....they are a part of system...better to make them friends and enjoy job and life...you can negate reality...regarding UT cadre is better then other state cadre..I can say only that if you belongs to north Indian states then you won't prefer to serve in north east states or southern most states...in such a scenario,UT cadre is much better for you.
I hope, I am successful in clearing some of the dust from your mind...further query is welcome...keep on blogging... 

Regarding contradictions in officer's mind...Reply to Mr Gopal

Mr Gopal:- Dear Manmauji,
I hope you are doing well. I know you are very busy but may I still request you to write often as your articles are very informative and helpful to us. I am glad you had a wonderful evening enjoying Kailash kher concert as well as having a little introspective thought.
Those who are better suited working on IRS lines, but instead chose IAS/IPS because of the perks the latter services entail, it is very bad. They sure disappoint others and themselves as well. But for aspirants who want to be an administrator, but had to contend with other services, it is a tough pill to swallow.
  I can think of one suggestion. Perhaps it would be helpful if students were informed about the inner workings of different services under CSE. Your blog helps a lot regarding this. There is also this babusofindia.com ; it tells us what's happening. I was an aspirant myself and I still don't know how different is, a 'routine job day' for IAS or IPS or IRS officers. Many other students don't know. So, it would be good if these two things happen
a) change in perception of students
b) to know about different services and how they function so as to make an informed choice.
Regards,
GopaL.

Manmauji:- Hello Mr Gopal, thanks for your visit on the blog and kind words about it...you rightly said that there has to be proper awareness among the civil service aspirants so that they can opt a service which  best suite them. I tried to disseminate some information in that direction through this blog. Still there will be problem. For e.g. even if the candidate is well informed, he/she doesn't have option to choose the service after the selection as the choice of service has to be filled in the CSE[Mains] application form. At that time, nobody is sure what rank one is going to get due to unscientific selection process. You see, someone is getting good marks in mains exam but due to poor marks in Interview his/her rank will be low and hence he will land up in services other than All India services. The same is the case with other way situation when you score poor in mains exam and good in interview. In mains exam, you have several chances to offset your bad score. Suppose you performed bad in GS paper then you have still chance to score good in mains by performing good in optionals but this is not the case in interview. Within 15 to 20 minutes,your life is being decided by few people sitting in Board.
       Therefore,what I feel is,since everyone is writing the same exam hence those who qualified CSE have equal merit and intellect level. After the selection process is over, there has to be some intense field testing or some method must be devised by Ministry of Personnel to know the real interest and aptitude of the selected candidate and accordingly service should be allocated...one might differ with my views. But this is actually serious matter and must be thought,discussed and planned to prevent wastage of talent. I know officers in IPS who prefer to be in IRS but landed in IPS due to rank. Now they are not able to perform in IPS, occasionally proceeding on leave. One of the IPS officer took leave and now teaching in some Civil service coaching institute in Delhi and feeling more satisfied then in IPS. At the same time,some of the IRS are just frustrated in IRS as they like more common people oriented service profile as they belongs to rural areas and want to work for their problems. But in IRS, they need to deal only with rich people.Now you see the contradictions and complete wastage of manpower,talent,etc....keep on Blogging...  

Kudos to CSE-2012[Mains] candidates...

Hello,UPSC has declared much awaited CSE-2012[Mains] result on 22/2/2013..I extend my congratulations to all those who figured in this list.Wish you a very best of luck for the interview...At the same time,I want to say to all those who didn't make it to this list that life is not over here..You must put your best effort next year exams....all the best...keep on blogging...

Do I have a passion about anything??I am confused...

Hello everybody, I am sorry for not able to update the blog since long time due to very hectic schedule...Today,I attended a concert by Mr Kailash Kher...I was mesmerised by the live performance by him...His voice is so unique and strong that whole crowd was enjoying this evening....in between he told that people used to ask him that he is travelling on almost every alternate day but he looks so fresh and alive all the time and give performances seamlessly and effortlessly...He told that indeed it is correct and it is possible only because "HIS PASSION IS HIS WORK"....when somebody work in the area where he has passion then nothing like it...he/she will never feel tired.
     I am continuously thinking after this wonderful evening...whether I have passion for anything or Do i have passion for what I am doing right now....the answer goes in blank....actually,I don't have passion what I am doing right now that is why I feel tired after the office hours...My heart is somewhere else all the time...then who is at fault...whether I am responsible for this or the system which recruits people like us.I think there are some problem in Civil Service recruitment itself as in other areas be it engineering,medicines,etc.I know various people who did engineering to earn money and enjoy life but they landed somehow to institute like DRDO or ISRO...these are premier research institutes of our country where different type of mentality is required. Here, you need to have people who have passion for research.They must drive motivation from their research work but due to unemployment and less opportunities outside,students landed up in such institutes and get frustrated very soon as they don't have passion for R & D....same is the case for Civil services also...I know many officers who landed in IPS or IAS or IFS who don't have passion for such jobs...They are more suited for IRS or audit jobs due to their back ground or likings...so they are not able to perform to their best...They are just cursing the system and getting frustrated...On the other hand people who landed in IRS don't like their profile and have more suitable aptitude for IAS or IPS but due to mere ranking in CSE, they landed up in their present profile...I think this system of service allocation as per ranking is not healthy and good for the country as it is mere wastage of talent....there has to be some alternate method to allocate service as per taste,temperament,attitude and likings/disliking of the person after the CSE results...then only officers can perform at best.
   This mental confusion is pervasive all around the service profile of the civil servants of this country...so I am....there is continuous search is going on about my real passion...so that i can quit this profile and join the area of my passion so that i can enjoy my work and excel in that field like Mr Kailash Kher is doing...