What are the Sources of Reference?

Important Government Sources (Websites)

• Art & Culture: http://ccrtindia.gov.in/
• Constitution of India: http://indiacode.nic.in/
• Parliament - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges: http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/
• Government policies, Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections, Social Sector Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources: http://wcd.nic.in/, http://mhrd.gov.in/, http://socialjustice.nic.in/, http://www.mohfw.nic.in/, http://rural.nic.in/netrural/rural/index.aspx, https://india.gov.in/my-government/schemes, https://www.pib.gov.in/indexd.aspx
• Governance, Transparency and Accountability, e-governance, Citizens charters: http://darpg.gov.in/
• India’s Foreign Policy, Indian Diaspora, Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate: http://mea.gov.in/, http://www.idsa.in/, http://www.mea.gov.in/overseas-indian-affairs.html
• Government Budgeting, Economic Survey: http://indiabudget.nic.in/
• Indian Economy, Planning, mobilization of resources: http://niti.gov.in/
• Space Technology, Issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights: http://www.isro.gov.in/, http://dipp.nic.in/
• Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment: https://moef.gov.in/en/, http://cpcb.nic.in/
• Disaster and disaster management: http://www.ndma.gov.in/en/
• Internal Security, Agencies, etc.: http://www.mha.nic.in/, http://www.idsa.in/
• Ethics in Public administration: http://arc.gov.in/
• Probity in Governance, Information sharing and transparency in government, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct, Citizen’s Charters: http://darpg.gov.in/, http://rti.gov.in/

Relevant Magazines and Journals

• Civil Services Chronicle (Monthly Magazine): Chronicle has been guiding civil services aspirants for the past 30+ glorious years and is in tune with the changing trends of UPSC Civil Services Examination. The monthly current affairs magazine, Civil Services Chronicle (in English and Hindi) of the publication deals exclusively with topics for the Civil Services Examination.
• The magazine publishes crisp, relevant and succinct content on current affairs, ensuring comprehensive coverage. Important news from major national dailies, Yojana, Kurukshetra, and numerous other resources are adequately presented in the magazine, keeping in view the requirements of the Civil Services Examination.
• Also, there are a number of books published by Chronicle for Civil Services Examination that are very helpful for preparation.

Yojana

• One of the greatest monthly current affairs publications for the IAS Exam is Yojana. From an Indian perspective, it addresses important socioeconomic issues.
• The Indian government's I&B ministry publishes Yojana magazine. English, Hindi, Assamese, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Oriya are presently among the 13 languages in which the magazine is offered. It provides you with information, facts, etc. that the government has approved.
• Importance: In recent years, numerous successful candidates have cited the Yojana as one of the magazines that they referred to for UPSC preparation. Every year, one or two essays taken directly from Yojana magazine can be found in the UPSC Main examination. It includes significant subjects like federalism, administration, finances, agriculture, etc.
• Kurukshetra: The Indian government's Ministry of Rural Development publishes Kurukshetra on a monthly basis. It focuses only on rural development. It provides a place for thoughtful discussion of the different challenges surrounding rural development and agriculture. The applicant will benefit from this in understanding the government's new programmes. This is very helpful for public administration professions. Reading Kurukshetra will be beneficial for both the Prelims and Main Exams as the UPSC is focused on the environment, rural development, and other recent trends in the Civil Service Exam.
• Economic and Political Weekly: The Economic and Political Weekly is a multidisciplinary journal that focuses on economic concerns while also covering sociology, political science, history, and environmental studies.

How to Read the Newspapers? Reading the Complete Newspaper There are usually just 5–6 significant stories per day in a newspaper that are important from the examination’s perspective. But we frequently read news that is irrelevant as well. The UPSC has changed its focus from a static to a dynamic approach, with a particular emphasis on current affairs. Newspaper reading needs to be accordingly strategized. In both the Prelims and the Mains, there are direct questions from the media. In GS2 and GS3 papers of the Mains test, the newspapers play a particularly important role. Few important points related to newspaper reading: News related to crime, functions of political parties are irrelevant from civil services point of view. News related to Environment, Govt. Schemes, Economy, International Relations, Science and Technology are very important from civil services point of view. Editorial of news-paper helps to build the view on recent affairs which is mandatory for civil services aspirants.