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Fighter Planes of Indian Air Force

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Fighter Plane of Indian Air Force

Indian Air Force has started upgrading its combat aircraft fleet since the last few years in order to enhance its operational capability and maintain fighter plane of Indian Air Force as modern weapon platforms, capable of meeting the present challenges posed by the security scenario in our region.

List of Fighter Planes of Indian Air Force

Sukhoi Su-30MKI

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter plane of Indian Air Force (IAF) designed by Russia’s Sukhoi Corporation beginning in 1995 and built under licence by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) IAF. Development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets. The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was accepted into the Indian Air Force in 2002, while the first indigenously assembled Su-30MKI entered service with the IAF in 2004.

The Su-30MKI is a highly integrated twin-finned fighter plane of Indian Air Force. The aircraft is tailor-made for Indian specifications and integrates Indian systems and avionics as well as French and Israeli sub-systems.The airframe is constructed of titanium and high-strength aluminium alloys. The Su-30MKI is expected to form the backbone of the Indian Air Force’s fighter fleet to 2020 and beyond. The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is the most potent fighter plane of Indian Air Force in service in the late 2000s. The MKIs are often fielded by the IAF in bilateral and multilateral air exercises.

Su-30MKI is a two seat long range, multi role interceptor and uses an aerodynamic configuration. India Today reported that Russia had won a contract to upgrade 40 Su-30MKIs with new radars, onboard computers, electronic warfare systems and the ability to carry the BrahMos cruise missile. The Brahmos missiles integrated on the Su-30s will provide the capability to attack enemy formations from stand-off ranges of around 300 km.

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HAL Tejas

The HAL Tejas is an Indian fighter plane of Indian Air Force with single-seat, single-jet engine, multi-role, lightweight, high-agility supersonic, tactical fighter aircraft. The aircraft’s design and development programme is being led by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the Indian Department of Defence, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the prime industrial contractor.

Tejas is being developed as a single-seat fighter plane of Indian Air Force (IAF).The first Tejas squadron for the fighter plane of Indian Air Force is expected to be formed in July, 2016. Tejas has a pure double delta wing configuration with no tailplanes or canard, and a single dorsal fin. It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system, composite material structures, and a flat rated engine. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.

The HAL Tejas, fighter plane of Indian Air Force is fitted with the fly-by-wire (FBW), flight control system (FCS), multi-mode pulse-doppler radar, and afterburning turbofan engine. The aircraft can be armed with air-to-air, air-to-ground and anti-ship missiles, precision-guided munitions, rockets and bombs. Electronic warfare, targeting, surveillance, reconnaissance or training pods can be carried on the hardpoints. Drop tanks can also be carried.

It can fly at a maximum speed of 2,205km/h and at maximum altitude of 15,200m. The range of the HCL Tejas, fighter plane of Indian Air Force is 3,000km. Its service ceiling is 16,500m and weighs approximately 5,450kg, with a maximum take-off weight of 13,500kg.

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Mikoyan MiG-29

The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a twin-engine jet fighter plane of Indian Air Force designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the larger Sukhoi Su-27, was developed to counter new American fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The MiG-29 entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1982. The MiG-29 was first publicly seen in the West when the Soviet Union displayed the aircraft in Finland on 2 July 1986.

The MiG-29 has a mid-mounted swept wing with blended leading-edge root extensions (LERXs) swept at around 40°; there are swept tailplanes and two vertical fins, mounted on booms outboard of the engines. Automatic slats are mounted on the leading edges of the wings; they are four-segment on early models and five-segment on some later variants. On the trailing edge, there are maneuvering flaps and wingtip ailerons.

The baseline MiG-29B has a Phazotron RLPK-29 radar fire control system which includes the N019 Sapfir 29 look-down/shoot-down coherent pulse-Doppler radar and the Ts100.02-02 digital computer. The MiG-29, fighter plane of Indian Air Force has two widely spaced poweplant ie, Klimov RD-33 turbofan engines and in afterburner.

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Dassault Mirage 2000

The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single engine combat fighter from Dassault Aviation of France. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter based on the Mirage III for the French Air Force. It has been operational since 1984, and has been selected by Abu Dhabi, Egypt, Greece, India, Peru, Qatar, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates. The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole fighter plane of Indian Air Force with several variants which include the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5 and several export variants.

Mirage 2000 fighters in operation with the French Air Force are: Mirage 2000C/B single seater and two seater for air defence; Mirage 2000N, two seater, designed for all weather nuclear penetration at low altitude and very high speed; Mirage 2000D, an upgraded version of the Mirage 2000N, for automated bombing using conventional and laser guided munitions; and Mirage 2000-5, incorporating advanced avionics, new multiple target air-to-ground and air-to-air firing procedures using the RDY radar and new sensor and control systems.

Mirage 2000 has nine hardpoints for carrying weapon system payloads: five on the fuselage and two on each wing. The single-seat version is also armed with two internally mounted, high-firing-rate 30mm guns. Aircraft can carry four MICA missiles, two Magic missiles and three drop tanks simultaneously. Mirage 2000 is also equipped to carry a range of air-to-surface missiles and weapons including laser-guided bombs.

Mirage 2000 has an upgraded digital weapon delivery and navigation system (WDNS). The Mirage 2000, fighter plane of Indian Air Force is fitted with a TV/CT CLDP laser designation pod from Thales Optronics, which provides the capability to fire laser-guided weapons by day and night. Mirage 2000 is equipped with an SNECMA M53-P2 turbofan engine, which provides 64kN thrust and 98kN with afterburn.

The Mirage 2000 can climb at the rate of 285m/s. The maximum and approach speeds of the aircraft are 2,530km/h and 259km/h respectively. The ferry range is 3,335km. The range and service ceiling are 1,550km and 17,060m respectively.

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Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter plane of Indian Air Force, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed “Balalaika”, from the aircraft’s planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage.

The MiG-21 jet fighter plane of Indian Air Force was a continuation of Soviet jet fighters, starting with the subsonic MiG-15 and MiG-17, and the supersonic MiG-19. The MiG-21 was the first successful Soviet aircraft combining fighter and interceptor characteristics in a single aircraft. It was a lightweight fighter, achieving Mach 2 with a relatively low-powered afterburning turbojet.

Mikoyan-­Gurevich was formed in the relatively early stages of World War 2 by the Soviet government. The firm’s initial production offerings became the modestly­ successful MiG­1 and MiG­3 piston ­engined fighters that helped to stave off the German advance into Russia. By the end of World War 2, the firm had produced their first production jet ­powered aircraft in the MiG­9 “Fargo”.

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SEPECAT Jaguar

The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet fighter plane of Indian Air Force originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with the Indian Air Force.

Jaguar is a twin-engine, ground attack fighter plane of Indian Air Force designed and developed jointly by Breguet of France and the UK-based British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). The two companies formed a joint venture called SEPECAT to develop the aircraft.

Breguet and BAC joined in 1966 to develop the Jaguar. The fighter plane of Indian Air Force was initially developed as a jet trainer with light low level attack capability but later its missions were upgraded to include supersonic, reconnaissance and tactical nuclear strike roles. Construction of the Jaguar was equally shared between the two companies, with BAC developing the wings, intakes, rear fuselage and tail, and Dassault building the nose, centre fuselage and landing gear. Dassault became a partner in the project by acquiring Breguet in 1971. The maiden flight took place in September 1968 and the aircraft entered service with France in 1973.

The Jaguar has 23 variants. The Jaguar is powered by two Adour Mk 102 turbofan engines rated at 22.75kN of dry thrust each. The engine is designed and built jointly by Rolls-Royce of UK and Turbomeca of France in 1968. It is a two-shaft engine which generates 32.5kN of thrust after burner.

The Jaguar, fighter plane of Indian Air Force is of monoplane design with an aluminium airframe. The aircraft is equipped with an in-flight refuelling probe at the starboard side of the front fuselage to execute air refuelling missions even under the worst weather conditions. It is equipped with spoilers, air brakes, rudder, double slotted flaps, slats, critical systems and bulletproof windscreen.

The Jaguar, fighter plane of Indian Air Force can fly at a maximum speed of 1,699km/h. The combat radius and ferry range of the aircraft are 908km and 3,524km respectively. The service ceiling is 14,000m.

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MiG-27 Bahadur

The Mikoyan MiG-27 is a variable-geometry ground-attack fighter plane of Indian Air Force, originally built by the Mikoyan design bureau in the Soviet Union and later license-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur (“Valiant”). It is based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized for air-to-ground attack.

They are designed to carry heavy armament load to the tune of six tons and fly over long distances. Flown by a single pilot they have accurate navigation and weapon delivery systems.

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C-17 Globemaster

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. It was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. The C-17 commonly performs strategic airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo throughout the world; additional roles include tactical airlift, medical evacuation and airdrop duties. It was designed to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, and also fulfill some of the duties of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, freeing the C-5 fleet for outsize cargo.

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military airlift aircraft is a high-wing, four-engine, T-tailed military transport vehicle capable of carrying payloads up to 169,000lb (76,657kg).

It has an international range and the ability to land on small airfields. A fully integrated electronic cockpit and advanced cargo system allows a crew of three (the pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster) to operate all systems on any type of mission.

A propulsive lift system allows the C-17 to achieve safe landings on short runways. The C-17 is capable of landing a full payload in less than 3,000ft. The propulsive lift system uses engine exhaust to generate lift.The engine exhaust is directed onto large flaps, which extend into the exhaust stream, allowing the aircraft to fly a steep approach at a relatively low landing speed.

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UPSC Civil Services Examination Dates (2019 Exams)

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upsc ias exam 2019 schedule
upsc ias exam 2019 schedule

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has already announced the dates for Civil Services Examinations of 2019 on its website.

New dates are as follows:

upsc ias exam 2019 schedule
UPSC IAS exam 2019 schedule

Name of Civil Service Exam Date of Notification/ Last date for receipt of applications Date of commencement of Examination and its duration Remarks
Civil Services
(Prelims) Exam 2019
19.02.2019/ 18.03.2019 02.06.2019
(Sunday)
1 Day
Civil Services
(Main) EXAM, 2019
20.09.2019
(Friday)
5 Days
Only for those who have cleared the Prelims
Indian Forest Service
(Prelims) EXAM, 2019
19.02.2019/ 18.03.2019 02.06.2019
(Sunday)
1 Day
Indian Forest Service
(Main) Exam 2019
01.12.2019
(Sunday)
10 Days
Only for those who have cleared the Prelims

 

The prestigious Civil Services Examination is conducted annually to select officers for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The examination is conducted in three stages – preliminary, mains and interview. According to a tentative timetable, the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination is scheduled to be held on June 2, 2019. The mains examination is slated to be held from September 20.’

All You Need To Know About IAS Exams

Chabahar Agreement: Path to the Future India-Iran Relation

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chabahar agreement

By signing a slew of pacts including Chabahar Agreement with Iran, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his two day visit to Iran not only catered a momentous boost to New Delhi – Tehran relations but also increased India’s strategic depth in West Asia. In fact these pacts are going to provide New Delhi an unprecedented access not only to Iran and Afghanistan but also to Central Asia, Russia and Eastern Europe through a network of ports, rail lines and roads.

Chabahar Agreement

Of the 12 MoUs and agreements penned down and signed by India and Iran, the most significant is the development and operation of the Chabahar port that is situated in the Southern Coast of Iran.

The Chabahar Agreement as it is named by the President of Iran, is going to provide, through the use of the south-eastern Iran port of Chabahar, New Delhi the gateway into regions which were previously hard to reach. It is so the Chabahar Agreement is considered as ambitious overseas infrastructure initiative India has ever attempted.

The agreements consist of a commercial contract to evolve Chabahar port that would, as it is proposed, connect the port to Zahedan on Iran’s border with Afghanistan and Pakistan through a railway line and a transit agreement to transport goods into Afghanistan.

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What did the two leaders said on the occasion

PM Shri Narendra Modi was quite aware that Tehran took India’s promises with caution due to frequent past delays. So it took the PM of India to read out a Persian Ghalib couplet from a prepared text at the Sa’dabad Presidential Palace which if translated, however PM Modi himself translated it there, reds: “Once we make up our mind, the distance between Kashi (Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s Constituency) and Kashan (a major Iranian city) is only half a step.” On this gesture of PM Narendra Modi his counterpart, the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, responded with a smile showing a sign of breaking the ice in the relation between Iran and India.

This visit, many persons related to foreign affairs think, should have come earlier, as Iran hoped too, immediate after the US and European Union lifted sanctions connected to Tehran’s nuclear programme in January, 2016.

Speaking on the occasion President of Iran Rouhani acknowledged India as an ‘old friend’ and Modi stressed that the “dosti” between the nations is not new.

When the PM Modi, recalling Iran’s help after the 2001 Gujarat’s earthquake,  said India was “proud” of standing by Iran in its difficult times. On this, making the mood of Tehran obvious, Rouhani made it clear that it was the lifting of sanctions that hadcreated the right environment” for an elevation of ties. He further said that India’s commitments on investments in Chabahar could emerge as a symbol of the bilateral partnership. His cautious approach clearly indicated the tempered expectations from a project first discussed in 2001.

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Contracts signed by India and Iran

Under the Supervision of Indian PM Shri Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, officials of India and Iran also signed a separate agreement under which India committed a $150 million soft loan to Tehran, apart from a promised investment of $85 million under the Chabahar commercial contract.

The loan is also aimed at developing Chabahar which, along with other pacts, is going enable India to bypass Pakistan while increasing trade with partners in the region. Surpassing the limit of agreements the PM of India announced that India would consider investments in the Chabahar port development project worth upto $500 million.

In fact the commercial contracts inked on Monday consists the commitment on the part of India to transfer the soft loan in four months and to develop two terminals and five berths in 18 months.

According to Chabahar Agreement Cargo is to be shipped out from the beginning of third year of the contract that is indicative of the strict timeliness aimed at wining Iran’s trust in India’s commitment.

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Cause of Iran push for timely implementation of pacts

The Chabahar port and connectivity project main, part of the Chabahar Agreement, has been a talking point for over a decade. In this context, in 2003, the first trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan was signed; in 2012, another trilateral MoU was signed by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, the first framework agreement occurred only in 2015 when Nitin Gadkari travelled to Iran. PM Narendra Modi has scaled the final deal on Monday, by signing the pacts, to construct and operate the port.

It is imperative to know, in the context of this historical Chabahar Agreement that India had completed the construction of Zaranj-Delaram highway right by the year 2009, but connecting to the port was not done, leaving the India’s grand dream of linking to Central Asia unfulfilled as the project is still in progress.

Importance of this MoU can be gauged from the fact that the President of Iran while emphasizing the significance of the pact said that the “ Chabahar Agreement ” had shown the region that cooperation lone was the path to the future. He emphasized it by saying, “Today will be known as Chabahar Day.”

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Bharatmala Road and Highways Project

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Bharatmala

Bharatmala Project is biggest ever road and highways development program taken by India. It is bigger than National Highway Development Programme (NHDP) started during Vajpayee government. Bharatmala is an umbrella scheme under which many other schemes, projects and programs are integrated. The project is under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Transport infrastructure is the backbone of economy. And it is a vital linkage between consumer and producer. It is estimated that the impact of Bharatmala project after achieving its targets will be phenomenal on Indian Economy.

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Bharatmala Project is going to build approximately 25000 kilometers of roads (and also bridges) with an estimated cost of Rs. 2,67,200 . The target of project completion is in 2022.

The project is a good example to showcase the cooperative federalism; where the central government is making plan for the development of state subject roads.

Roads in India

India has the largest network of roads in the world, which is 52.32 lakh kilometers. The current rate of construction of new road is 18 km per day. Government is working on increasing it to 30 km per day.

Roads in India are divided into four categories namely – National Highways, State Highways, District Roads and Village Road. Out of this 52 lakh km of entire road network, the National Highways is only 2 percent (i.e. 1,00,475 km). However, National Highways are carrying 40 % of road traffic.

Bharatmala project is aimed at improving the percentage of better quality roads in this huge road network of India.

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Components of Bharatmala Project

There are four components of Bharatmala scheme:

I. Development of State roads along coastal area, border area, special focus on connectivity of non-major ports –

About 7000 km of roads is to be constructed under this component of Bharatmala project. The estimated cost of Bharatmala project is Rs. 80,250 crore.

II. Backward Areas, Religious and Tourist Places Connectivity Programme –

As the name suggests its objective is to connect backward areas, religious and tourist places. This component is also aimed at building 7000 kms or new roads with an estimated cost of 85,250.

III. Setubharatam Pariyojana –

It is on of the major component of Bharatmala project. Setubharatam is aimed at elimination of the Railways crossing in India by constructing 1500 major bridges and 200 Railway over Bridges (RoBs) or Railway under Bridges (RuBs).

Railway crossings are slowing down the road transport and rail transport both. It has also ill impact over environment because of road traffic congestion bear crossing. In India average speed of passenger trains are running at average speed of 60 kms per hour (very slow). The Setubharatam Pariyojana will ensure the high speed road vehicular movement and train movement.

Deadline for the completion of Setubharatm Pariyojana is in 2019, which is three year before the completion of entire Bharatmala project (in 2022).

 

IV. District Headquarters Connectivity Scheme –

In the fourth component of Bharatmala project, 9000 kms of road will be constructed and declared as National Highway. The object is to provide better connectivity between district headquarters. The cost of this construction is estimated to be Rs. 60,000 crore. By declaring these district roads as National Highway government is trying to ensure its proper maintenance.

Also Read: Chabahar Agreement: Path to the Future India-Iran Relation .


 Test Your Knowledge about Bharatmala Project

1. Bharatmala and Sagarmala are projects under the ministry of Road Transport and Highway.

(a) True

(b) False

2. The estimated cost involved in completion of Bharatmala Project is about 2.6 lakh crore.

(a) True

(b) False

3. Consider the following statements –

I. The deadline for completion of  Bharatmala project is 2022.

II. Deadline for completion of Setubharatam Pariyojana is 2020.

Choose the correct statement/s-

(a) I only

(b) II only

(c) both I and II

(d) none of these

4. National Highway contributes only 5% in the total road network of India.

(a) True

(b) False

5. There are around 1500 Railway over bridges or Railway under bridges are to be constructed under this project.

(a) True

(b) False

Answers: 1. (b) | 2. (a) | 3. (a) | 4. (b) | 5. (b)

How to Prepare for Comprehension test of CSAT?

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comprehension

The first thing that you need to know is that there is no ‘Theory’ of Comprehension Test which will lead you to correct answers; because it is an ‘Art’. It comes with practice and deep understanding. Even though UPSC’s comprehension test is of Moderate level, aspirants end up losing 30-40 precious marks in it that makes all the difference in “being selected”.

Prelims Paper 2 Analysis

The paper 2 consist of 80 questions. A major part of this paper consists of Reading Comprehensions. We have to prepare it very well because around 35% to 40% of paper will be reading comprehension. To solve these reading comprehension problems successfully read The Hindu newspaper daily and give special attention to Editorials. Apart from that, you must follow NCERT books because most of the passages are taken from NCERT and The Hindu. For the Science part of the comprehension test, read the Thursday’s edition of The Hindu.

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UPSC introduced this paper pattern in 2011. It replaced optional subjects in prelim because people used to mug up answers for their optional subjects by using notes from the coaching institutes and other resources.

Reading passages is always fun, although time consuming. But questions on passage reading hold one big advantage over other types of questions : they offer easy marks for everyone when compared to questions on Mental Ability, Decision Making, Data Interpretation and so on.

To sharpen and improve your comprehension skills, the first thing that you need to do is to “read a lot”. What you need to read is the same level of stuff that you read for your preparation i.e.,

  • Newspapers daily, especially editorials
  • Magazines weekly – can be Frontline or Yojana or what you prefer
  • Watching discussions on LSTV, RSTV will improve your language skills

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Strategy for Reading Comprehension

Paper 2 contains about 6 to 9 passages and each passage contains 2 to 7 questions. You should attempt those passages first, which have the maximum number of questions. Why? Because each comprehension passage you solve will complete approximately 8% of your paper. In CSAT, the examiners don’t write the passage on their own, they simply copy it from a newspaper column, articles etc. They only frame the questions by themselves.

Always Read the Passage First Before Attempting the Questions

This is a simple method but often overlooked by students. Many directly jump to the questions trying to save some time. This paper has been set by UPSC and it follws then that there will be few, if any, direct answers. Rather questions are based on your understanding of the issues raised in the passage or the central message of the passage. And you cannot grasp the message or the point of view of the passage author until you go through it once. Once you have read the passage in its entirety, locating the answers becomes much easier.

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Don’t Try too hard to Understand the Passage, just get to the questions

Some passages are really boring and difficult to understand. In such a situation don’t waste too much time trying to figure out the meaning of every sentence and word. Just read the passage once and get to the questions. You can then re-read parts of the passage to get a better understanding before selecting the right option.

Use your Common Sense while Eliminating Options

This might seem controversial but it’s true. Some options seem plain stupid to be correct and if short on time or when options contain multiple choices you can usually safely eliminate those that contain extreme views or impossible inferences.

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Time Division

This part contain 80 questions. So, You have to attempt 44 questions in the first hour. In the next 40 minutes you have to jump to the decision making section and other sections.

Decision Making Section

Decision making section consists of approx 6 to 8 question and we choose it just after reading comprehension, because of these is “No negative marking” in this section. Also 2 options out of 4 are correct. So, after 1 hour when you completed around 40+ questions, jump to decision making questions and finish those within 15 minutes.

Well, you exhausted 1 hour and 15 minutes and have solved about 50+, now you have remaining 30 questions and 45 minutes. Use 35 to 40 minutes to solve the remaining sections. In the next 5 to 10 minutes, attempt those questions which you have not understood in the first go, and make sure that you attempt at least 70 to 75 question from this part.

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Useful Steps for Reading Comprehension:

  • Read the passage very fast, just skim through it within a minute.
  • Read the questions with their options.
  • Go to the relevant section of the passage.
  • Mark the answer which you think is correct.
  • Complete all the questions of one passage in one go.
  • Always mark the answer by using eliminating method, eliminate those options which are least likely to be correct.
  • Do not assume anything on your own.
  • Whatever is written in the comprehension, that is the relevant material as far as the answers are concerned.
  • The candidates who have poor English skills or are from non-english background, they can refer to basic English grammar by Wren & Martin.
  • One more tip for all the students, irrespective of your English skill level: watch good English movies with subtitles, as it will help improving your comprehension skills.

The Comprehension section is of great importance for the candidates preparing for IAS Prelims Exam as around 40-50 per cent of the paper is comprised of questions from this section i.e. around 30-40 questions are asked from this section. This means that mastering the comprehension section is essential to clear the IAS Prelims Exam.

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The Correct Approach to Tackle the Comprehension Passage is as follows:

  • Read the comprehension passage properly word by word and mark the important and significant points simultaneously.
  • Try to avoid all kind of biases and solve the questions very objectively, strictly on the basis of information provided in the comprehension passage.
  • The questions are very tricky sometimes. So, confirm again from the passage before marking the option.
  • First, go through all the questions from past years question papers from this section. This will help you understand the kind of questions that are asked in the exam.
  • Also see the solution of the questions in order to have an idea of the line of thinking that you have to follow while solving the questions.
  • Then try to solve comprehension passages from sample papers from some good books like Tata Mc Graw Hill.
  • Time management is a very important factor in GS Paper II. So try to practice as many Comprehension passages as possible so as to increase your speed for reading the passage.
  • Reading newspapers helps to increase speed of reading the Comprehension passage.

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To Summarize the Key lessons:

  • Be careful of extreme and emphasizing words like only, necessarily, permanent, totally, completely etc.
  • Be careful with the ‘keywords’.
  • First eliminate, then choose.
  • While reading try to get the essence (central core/idea/message/view) of the passage.
  • Evaluate the options in the light of the essence of the passage.
  • Stick to what the passage tells you. Don’t extrapolate from the passage i.e. don’t read too much between the lines.
  • Read carefully objectively.
  • Keep a check on general and over-arching statements.
  • Just be aware of these lessons while you are on a question. With more and more practice supplemented by careful reading, you will be able to solve most questions correctly.

Hope this would clear out the issues you had in comprehension.

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