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It has often been a matter of debate and discussion as to what optionals a candidate for the Civil Services (Main) Examination a candidate should choose, i.e. which subject is “scoring” and which is not. Such debates are often based on preconceived notions such as that Science or Engineering subjects are more scoring than the Humanities; that “popular subjects” have a higher success rate than the not so popular subjects and so on.
Answers to such questions are usually based on half-baked ideas or the personal experiences of a few candidates.
To put the debate to rest, and to give a clear idea about which subjects (optionals) got what results, the following statistics provided by the UPSC may be an eye-opener. The statistics relate to the 2007 Civil Services (Main) Exam and are the latest provided by the UPSC.
Excerpt from the Report of the Civil Services Examination Review Committee (Yogendra Alagh Committee), 2001:
"The Committee proposes to recast the General Studies paper into an aptitude test paper where there would be emphasis on comprehension, logical reasoning, problem solving and data analysis. The candidates would be tested on decision making skills. The overall focus would be on testing of aptitude for public service. This paper may be called the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) paper. It would be an objective type test.
It has often been a matter of debate and discussion as to what optionals a candidate for the Civil Services (
