There has been radical change in the format of ESE.

At this point , it is very

difficult to predict nature of questions and difficulty level for 2017 aspirants.
They will be appearing for the exams without having the backup of previous
year papers. Till now we were almost sure of nature and pattern of questions
which were being asked in ESE but this luxury will not be available for next
few years. Aspirants have to be ready for surprises till UPSC exhausts its
question bank.
Biggest change has been the introduction of stage-1 a.k.a prelims . However
i dont think that this stage-1 is equivalent to prelims because the prelims
should be just a qualifying stage but in this case that marks of stage-1 will be
considered for final selection. In a way, not only you have to perform good to
be eligible for stage-2 but also you have to score good for clearing next
stages. In civil services, prelims is just a qualifying paper but in ESE it is part
of overall process.
Stage-1
Paper -1:- This paper is common for all the candidates. The questions asked
will be from general studies and engineering aptitude, thus setting the stage
for further competition.Although the general studies still remains the part of
paper-1 , its scope has been severely curtailed. There is no separate syllabus
for general studies and engineering aptitude. In all, there is combined syllabus
given for paper-1. For GS portion , the syllabus given is Current issues of
national and international importance relating to social, economic and
industrial development, this almost negates the necessity of old pattern
of static GS portion from NCERT. But the problem is that we cant make this
presumption about UPSC that everything will be from what it has given as
syllabus. So , over the course of one year , at-least one reading can be given
to NCERT books for basic understanding. This new pattern has heavily
increased the importance of newspaper reading. Even you will be required to
make notes from newspaper on a daily basis so that you understand the
issues at hand. How to make notes from newspaper is a tricky affair. It will
take some time to understand the relevance of news from examination point of
view. This article will help you to grasp the techniques of note making from
newspaper.
Engineering Aptitude covering Logical reasoning and Analytical
ability: This should be manageable at the level of aspirants himself. You can
also follow mrunal.org because he has lot of resources on this topic which he
gives for other exam but it may be relevant here too. Logical reasoning and
analytical ability should not be a big issue for any average engineer. You can
by any decent book from market , or wait for coaching institutes to release
their material
Engineering Mathematics and Numerical Analysis : We all study this
subject in first year of our colleges. Also , this topic is included in GATE
examination for every branch. Pick up your first year books and start
preparation now. Those who are in their first year of college should take this
subject seriously.
General Principles of Design, Drawing, Importance of Safety: Civil and
mechanical engineers study design and drawing in second year of
their course so your friends in this department will helping you to get through
this subject. I think coaching institutes will bring out study material as soon as
possible
Standards and Quality practices in production, construction,
maintenance and services: This belongs to the domain of Production and
Civil engineers. Those who are still in graduation should really look into others
branches as well.
Basics of Energy and Environment: This is the primary domain of Civil and
Environmental engineers. In fact, environmental engineering takes the lead
here.
Basics of Project Management: Again this is topic straight from civil
engineering like CPM and PERT.
Basics of Material Science and Engineering: Every branch has this
subjects , so each aspirants should study books of other department
Information and Communication Technologies: This is the domain of
Computer Science and IT department. Apart from just using Facebook and
WhatsApp try to learn the IT structure of these applications, atleast of those
which you use regularly.
Ethics and values in Engineering profession: Here this most important
question Why did you become an engineer. What are the core values of an
engineer? How will you serve the society in this profession.?
Right now there is no study material which comprehensively covers all the
topics of Paper-1. We will have to wait few months before the materials are
out in the market. I will also try to update this article with the relevant links
from other websites. At present, you will have to manage yourself till coaching
institutes do their job. NPTEL is a good website to start learning basics of
core engineering. UPSC wants you to study basics of almost every core
branch and acquire interdisciplinary skills so that in future you will be better
able to communicate with officers from other department.
You should be able to appreciate the technicalities of other branches of
engineering. You should not shouldnt study in isolation. Take interest in
basics of other department. Make friends from diverse background of
specialization. After few months, coaching institutes will flood the market with
study material for above topics. At this juncture, you will have to arrange such
material which seems beneficial from point of view of Stage-1 examination.
Paper-2:
This is an objective paper which will be discipline specific. Earlier the pattern
was of 2 papers with 200 marks each. The syllabus was also divided
accordingly. Now, there is a single paper of 300 marks which means that
whole syllabus will be covered in a single paper which makes it quite tough.
The best way to prepare is to go for objective papers of previous years. Both
Paper-1 and Paper-2 should be covered as there is a single objective paper
this time.
Mains/Stage-2
The word mains has traditionally been associated with civil services. From
2017 onward, the vocabulary of ESE aspirants will also change. After you
qualify stage-1 , there will be a subjective examination of 600 marks. UPSC
will announce results of stage-1 atleast after 1 months but it can easily go to
two months. Those selected in stage-1 will write two conventional paper of
300 marks each. Compared to previous format, the number of question will
increase for subjective papers. However,I dont think that the strategy for
preparing subjective exam will undergo significant change. After two months
of prelims , you will give one single day exam thereby concluding your written
part of the process. By this time ,you would have been judged for 1100 marks
in total.
Introduction of mains in ESE is debatable. On one hand ,it increases the
overall duration of examination process, while on other it gives you enough
time to prepare for subjective examination.
We dont know the examination cycle of new format. It would be difficult to
guess so as to which other exams would be affected because of
ESE. Suppose the cycle of exams start in January, so you will be preparing
of GATE as well as Prelims simultaneously. If the prelims are held in May ,
then some of you who are civil services aspirants will not be able to go for
prelims of civil services. At present ,there is no option before you except to
prepare in uncertainty. Whatever comes , you should be ready to make full
use of the opportunity at hand. Whenever an examination format changes, it is
either an opportunity or catastrophe for aspirants.
Due to mains, the strategy changes from now. Earlier you prepared to be
ready for objective and subjective exams at the same time. Now you can
prepare one thing at a time. Objective before prelims and subjective before
mains. 1-2 months time would be sufficient for revision of subjective
questions. I think the test series would also get modified to suit the needs of
changed examination format.
Personality Test
Interview weight-age has been left untouched, I think it is a good decision.
After clearing two stages, no one would want to fail in third stage due to high
variation of marks in interview. The preparation and mock for interview would
the remain same. .
Conclusion
Apart from structural changes in format, the content has been changed only
for paper-1 of stage -1. This exam will bring out knowledge required for an
engineer and patience required for a manager. All the stages are filled with
traps and the one who knows the maze or the pit-falls of the game is going to
win it. Now you can say that format has been changed from one day cricket to
a test match. As Always , GATE remains T20 sizzler. You have to be all-
rounder for surviving in the game. I would suggest you not to play IPL, only
the genuine player will win here. Dont run after quick results, remember that
in the end you have to be a man of match. Remember, Interview will like a
journalist asking for your opinion before the game is over and the result will
be like a captain who is holding the trophy.