How to Prepare for Assam Civil Services?

With the announcement of the APSC examination, it is time when aspirants will start looking for books which will help them study effectively for the D-Day. While it is challenging to find the best books that can help you prepare comprehensively, with the right guidance finding the ideal books is easy.

McGraw Hill has recently announced the release of two major titles in the exam segment of APSC. These titles are: An Introduction to Assam General Knowledge authored by Sailen Baishya and General Studies Manual for Assam Civil Services Examination written by Raj Kumar Das and Biswajeet Dutta. These books essentially cater to the aspirants of APSC examination and provide them with comprehensive study material for their preparation.

Every year, the Assam State Government conducts departmental examinations, as per the vacancies including State Civil Services. Before going for any of these exams, it is important to understand the required syllabus for the exam. The APSC examination has a defined syllabus. It is essential to go through the notification of examination and then go through the syllabus and previous year’s papers so that one can get to know what they are getting into. It is also important to have a fixed routine and more important is to follow it without fail. Hence, making a proper preparation routine and keeping track of your performance will be a helpful strategy. Choosing the best books for a particular subject is also an important part of any competitive examinations. So, students should go with the best books available in the market for these types of examinations.

It is also very important to remain positive throughout the preparation. Prepare well and practice well and do not overthink about the result. If you enjoy the preparation phase, cracking the examination will be a cakewalk.

Here are how both the books are relevant and useful for aspirants:

An Introduction to Assam General Knowledge:

According to the Assam Civil Services’ latest syllabus, the Prelims examination will include 30-35 per cent questions which will be based on Assam and there will be a compulsory 250 marks paper on “Assam” in the Main examination. Apart from APSC, the significance of “Assam” section has also been growing in other State Government Examinations. Thus, this book has been developed keeping in mind the new pattern and the importance of the state’s information. Important chapters have been included in the book such as Assam History, Geography, Economy, Media, Education, Current Affairs, Assamese Culture & Literature, Science and Technology, 100 famous Personalities of the State, Environment, Sports and many more.

The book also comprises over 1000 MCQs on Assam which helps to prepare for Prelims and Interview/Viva of different State Government Examinations. Hence, we believe, the book is a complete guide on Assam aimed to serve the interest of students who are preparing for different competitive examinations held in the State in the coming time.
This book is a one-stop complete guide on Assam aimed to serve the interest of students preparing for competitive examinations held within the state of Assam, including the Combined Competitive Examination conducted each year by APSC. The book covers all the topics about the state in great details as 30 to 35 per cent questions in both the Prelims and the Main are based on Assam state. It includes Assam’s history, economy, Information and Communication, Agriculture, Polity, Geography, climate and demography, water resources, art and culture, education, important 100 personalities of Assam etc., with Special focus on states Current Events, CAA, NRC, COVID-19 & India: Assam lockdown. The book is an all-encompassing material on the state of Assam. It touches upon all the facets of Assam represented in the past including those aspects that remains undeciphered. The States monthly current affairs will be updated regularly on the online supplementary link. A pluck out chart on the state administrative boundary, physiography and other thematic details add as a helpful tool for the upcoming aspirants. A thorough study of the book will surely provide an edge to the preparation of examinations held by the Government of Assam as well as by the APSC.

General Studies Manual for Assam Civil Services Examination:

The General Studies Manual for Assam Civil Services Examination is modeled, keeping in mind, the Assam Public Services Combined Competitive Examination (Amendment) Rules, 2019.
Unlike in the previous CCE syllabus, where only one General Studies (GS) paper was needed in the Main examination, the new Amendment Rules, 2019 provides for five GS papers for the Main examination. As such the importance of GS in the examination has increased manifold. This book has been designed to cater to the syllabus as mentioned in the Amendment Rules, 2019. The book is not only useful for Candidates appearing for Assam Civil Services Examinations, but also for UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) and other State competitive examinations conducted by Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Sikkim will find the Manual very useful, comprehensive and handy. To add, since the syllabus of both UPSC CSE and APSC CCE are similar, the Manual has hence been prepared considering the convergence of the syllabus. Therefore, this will be largely helpful for candidates to prepare for both the competitive exams from a single source.
All the five GS papers for APSC CCE and the four GS papers of UPSC CSE are arranged into 4 sections.
An additional GS section has been added to cover the North Eastern States other than Assam.
The GS paper on Assam (Paper VI as per the Amendment rules, 2019) has been further segregated into sub-topics like Assam History, Art and Culture, Assam Geography, Assam Polity, Assam Economy, Assam Biodiversity and Environment as well as Security and Disaster Management of Assam which is placed under the first 3 Sections alongside the Indian part of the GS papers.
The book is designed with a unique feature to make it look interactive and valuable for the aspirants to quickly learn and revise - 'Learning Objectives' and 'What Have You Learnt?' as a summary at the end. Current affairs related to Assam and other North-East states is provided in the book along with Special focus on states Current Events, CAA, NRC, COVID-19 & India: Assam lockdown. An Online supplementary link has been provided for Monthly Current affairs update for all North Eastern States in India. The book consists of Analysis of Previous Years APSC CCE Prelims and Mains Questions along with Mock Questions for both Prelims and Main examination are provided section-wise. Two Pluck-out Charts are provided in the book which covers the Maps of both Assam and North Eastern states along with detailed information. This will ensure a comprehensive holistic understanding of the topics.

So, these are two books that will come in handy once you start preparing on full swing. These books are available at retails stores near you as well as on Amazon and Flipkart for your convenience. What is best about both the books is that once you buy the books, you will also be able to access further online content related to the subject. Online content is additional material which we have provided to ensure that you have a holistic preparation and come out of your examination with flying colors.

All the Best!