Majority of the civil services aspirants face the difficulty in choosing the correct optional subject for their Civil Services Mains examination. The higher share of marks allotted to the optional subject in the scheme of UPSC examination mandates the candidate to make a right choice about optional subject. The choice of an optional subject by the candidate needs a systematic and rational approach before finalising it for its thorough preparation. This article tries to throw light upon the importance of an optional subject and the criteria to be taken into consideration before making a final choice about it in the UPSC Civil Services Mains examination.

The Civil Services Examination consists of three stages, namely- Prelims, Mains examination and the Personality test, respectively. The Preliminary stage of the examination is a screening test and includes objective type of MCQs. The Mains examination is the most important phase of Civil Services Examination and decides the ultimate fate of the candidate in this examination. Out of the total 1750 marks of the Mains Examination which are considered in the final score of the candidates for selection, total marks of 500 are derived from a single optional subject only. After the recent changes in UPSC Civil Services Examination pattern post 2012-13, the candidate has to face only one optional subject consisting of two papers of 250 marks each. Considering the significance of optional subject in the Civil Services Mains Examination, every aspirant must choose the optional subject with due care so as to score the maximum in the same.

Out of the total number of 56 different types of optional subjects allowed by UPSC for the Civil Services Mains examination, any one optional subject can be chosen by the candidate for their Mains examination. A candidate should make the decision of correct optional subject based on four criteria. Firstly, the aspirant should take into consideration his/her interest in the respective subject. If the candidate has developed interest in a particular subject then certainly he would be in a better position to develop and thoroughly understand that subject. If this optional subject happens to be one of the subject which the candidate has pursued during his graduation then the study of that subject would be complementary and supplementary to UPSC examination and graduation level examinations, respectively. Secondly, the candidate should also consider about the availability of quality study material as well as the correct guidance available for the optional subject under consideration. If somebody is thinking about some technical subject or some rare subjects like some of the literature subjects, then the candidate would face difficulty in thorough preparation of these subjects. Thirdly, the candidate should also keep in mind the recent trend of scoring patterns and success ratio of candidates with the optional subject under consideration. Though this factor is debatable and nobody can predict about the upcoming trend of any subject in future, still the grapevine about a particular favorable optional subject does affect the sentiments of the candidates about success potential of a particular optional subject.

The candidates must keep in mind that UPSC adopts a system of scaling of marks of optional subjects and makes a fair and equitable competition amongst the aspirants in an unbiased manner. The last and the most important criterion to be considered before making the choice of any optional subject is about the potential of that subject in the preparation of compulsory General Studies and Essays papers. In view of the syllabus of General Studies subject and the Essay topics, the Humanities subjects gain an upper edge over the technical or Literature subjects. The optional subjects like Public Administration, Political Science, History, Geography, Sociology – give an edge to the aspirants in their preparation of General Studies subjects. The overlapping of syllabus of these optional subjects with General Studies syllabus as well as the current affairs components of the syllabus provides an additional advantage to these candidates. The subjects like Public Administration or Political Science give an advantage to the aspirants of approximately 120-150 marks related questions on Indian Polity in General Studies papers as well as an advantage in Essay topics of total 250 marks related to Indian constitution or Indian Governance system. Additionally these candidates are also benefitted in tackling the General Studies Paper IV on ‘Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude’ as well as many questions asked in Personality Test on current affairs and Governance.

It can be safely concluded that choice of an optional subject for UPSC Civil Services Examination plays an important role in the success of a candidate in this examination. Though choice of an optional subject is subjective, certain criteria in terms of interest in a particular subject; availability of quality study material and guidance; the current trend of success related to various optional subjects and most importantly, the direct benefit of optional subjects in scoring higher marks in General Studies as well as Essay subjects- hold the key in cracking the civil services examination. In a cut throat competition at national level for the most premiere examination of civil services, the correct choice of an optional subject would turn to be a game changer for all of you. So think rationally and make a correct decision for your success in the civil services examination.

(The author of this article ,Lt Col (Dr) Satish Dhage, is an ex Army officer and has been qualified for IPS (Indian Police Services) through IPS LCE 2012. Presently, he is Director, MGM Institute of Competitive Exams Aurangabad. For any queries or feedback, he can be contacted on email id : drsatishdhage@gmail.com)