How to Apply for Group I Civil Services

Many of the applicants to the UPSC or the Union Public Service Commission do not know much about the APPSC Group I exams conducted by the State of Andhra Pradesh. This service commission consists of a board of members who conduct the Civil Service examinations to choose the "cream" of Andhra candidates; in other words, the "best few" to work for Andhra State Administration.

There are various exams for Group I, II, III and IV. The Group I being the highest in authority. Below mentioned is the list of positions declared open for Group I officers. Please click on the link to view the number of positions and posts.
http://campusguruz.com/welcome/appsc-hyderabad-group-1-services-general-recruitment-notification-no392008

There are 12 categories starting from Deputy Collectors, Dy. Superintendent of Police, Commercial Tax Officers, Municipal Commissioners, Mandal Development Officers, Fire officers, State Treasury and so on.

When applying you can choose your order of preference; meaning that if you are more interested in Dy. Collector position, put it in no.1 and so on.

In case you as a candidate qualify all the levels of the examination and is selected for the interview, you will be given an application before the interview, where you can again mark the posts of your choice in your order of preference.

Those who are applying for the first time might be nervous, confused and have lot of questions. Being a former APPSC candidate who also worked for sometime as a APPSC Group I officer, I thought of sharing my experiences for the benefit of the new candidates.

There are several things one needs to know while they prepare for the APPSC Group I exams. Firstly, the candidate needs to have discipline. There should be a strict daily routine to be followed to prepare for the exam. It is a vast area and time would seem to be less.

Secondly, one needs to have a lot of patience because these Civil Service exams tend to get postponed due to strikes and other unfortunate circumstances. However, the APPSC board and the Government takes care to see that the candidates benefit at the end of the day.

Another important factor is to read and be up to date with the news- international, national and state. Candidates who have a regular habit of reading newspapers like "the Hindu, Indian Express" and magazines like "Outlook, India Today, Frontline," would have a better chance with the Current Affairs part of the exam.

This also improves your knowledge, English speaking skills and you can make good notes for the essay papers. The editorial column of the Hindu is immensely helpful for the current affairs essay paper. Magazines like business today and newspapers like economic times would help you with the Economy part of the exam.

Apart from these newspapers and magazines, you would also need to refer a lot to the magazines like "competition success review" and other magazines similar to that. These would be available at the newspaper stores, magazine stores and also at popular bookshops that sell Civil Service exam material.

New candidates or old candidates would have a question about where to buy the perfect Civil Service exam material? Or, where to buy books for APPSC Group I exam?

Since most of the candidates would apply from Andhra Pradesh, it would be a good idea to go to "Shree Book square" in Hyderabad. The owner has good knowledge and suggests the best study material.

This store also keeps copies of older magazines that would be crucial study material for the APPSC Group 1. You can also ask them to send you the books by post. You can place an order through phone or go in person for the first time and then place an order to be delivered at your doorstep.

In case you are applying from Bangalore, the Sapna Book Store has the material for current events, economy and history. You can also try looking for books at their M.G. Road branch in Bangalore.

However, it would be suggested to buy the Group I related material in Hyderabad itself as you would have more choice. The prices are also cheaper.

It is tough to put all the matter in one particular article. Hence, I would be coming up with several articles related to -
How to prepare for Group I exams?
How to join a Study circle?
Should I opt for full time or part time at a study circle?
How to study for the exam?
How to prepare for the various papers?

And many more queries. You can also mail me any additional queries regarding the Group I exams and I will try my best to clarify them.

Wishing a good luck in the preparation and it is important to remember that failure is a stepping stone to success but too many failures mean that the chosen method is wrong and needs improvement.