About the author:

                                      - N. Parthasarathi -

N. Parthasarathi, an engineer by profession worked as an Executive Engineer with a major PSU in Bangalore and while working acquired an MBA degree. He then joined the Indian Police Service in 1980 and the next year joined the Indian foreign service.

N. Parthasarathi offers unparalleled guidance in this book, drawing from his exceptional 30+ year diplomatic career. His distinguished service includes ambassadorships to South Korea, Senegal, and also as the Consul General in San Francisco. He has served as a diplomat in Pakistan, Belgium, Syria, and the United Kingdom.  During his career, he has also served in the External Affairs Ministry and the Ministry of Finance in New Delhi.

                                      - Anil Swarup -

During his career spanning 38 years, Anil Swarup strived to ‘make it happen’. Born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, he did his Master’s in Political Science from Allahabad University in 1978 where he was also awarded the Chancellor’s Gold Medal for being the Best All-Round Student. Before joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1981, he served in the Indian Police Service for a year. He won the Director’s Gold Medal for the Best Officer Trainee at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. As a civil servant, he held various assignments within the State (Uttar Pradesh) as well as in the Central Government. During the final years of his career, he served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Coal where he handled the aftermath of the coal scam. Thereafter, he served as Secretary, School Education and Literacy, where he attempted to foster public-private partnerships to improve the quality of school education.

He has won several awards and nominations, the prominent one being nominated as one of the Policy Change Agents by The Economics Times during the years 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2016. He was also selected as one of the 35 Action Heroes in India Today’s 35th Annual Edition.

He is the Founder Chairman of Nexus of Good, an initiative towards recognizing positive actions and thereby inspiring society to replicate them. He is the author of well-known books like Not Just a Civil Servant, Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant, and No More a Civil Servant.

About the book:

The book aims to be a comprehensive guide, covering everything from the importance of Civil Services to the selection process, application process, study tips, and the availability of free resources. Our goal is to provide a resource that not only highlights the benefits of joining the Civil Services but also offers practical guidance on how to succeed in the exam. The book is intended for anyone considering taking the exam, irrespective of their background or financial resources.

About the exam:

The Civil Services Examination (CSE) is a nationwide competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to various Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS). Also simply referred to as the UPSC examination, it is conducted in three phases - a preliminary examination consisting of two objective-type papers (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II also popularly known as Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT), and a main examination consisting of nine papers of conventional (essay) type, in which two papers are qualifying and only marks of seven are counted followed by a personality test (interview).