IASbaba’s TLP, 2016 (Offline): Registration and Complete Details

Dear Friends,

We hope that prelims went very well. We have received a number of mails thanking us for the ILP program. We expect the cut off to around 100-105. The paper was tricky. People who are claiming anything in the range of 120-125 are only misguiding you. If you are 100 plus (also with keys varying), go ahead with your preparation for Mains 2016 (Anyway you won’t prepare only for 2017 Prelims)

Worst case you miss by few marks, you would be better prepared for next attempt.

Here we present to you the design and features of 2016 Mains Offline batch.

“Imagine a cohort of 100 best minds working on their 2016 mains preparation assisted by top UPSC rankers and senior officers with the vision to build India’s best ecosystem for 2016 Mains”.

PROLOGUE: A brief analysis of trends, expectations and realities of CSM

If we could apply pure statistics to the level of preparation of sincere candidates appearing for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) by converting them into numbers, the standard deviation won’t be too high. If we safely assume that 50k candidates are dedicated enough and have put in serious efforts, the difference between the preparation of the first and the last 10k in the sample won’t be remarkably pronounced.

So, which crucial factors ultimately determine the success of aspirants? Right now, you must be having in your mind, certain aspects which are indeed crucial to this examination e.g. writing skills, analytical ability, interdisciplinary approach and so on.

However, most aspirants ignore these aspects in the course of their preparation. There is so much of ground to be covered in the vaguely worded syllabus of CSE that there is hardly any time to focus on quality. The obvious joy of having covered the syllabus gets shattered when one finds questions that appear to come out of nowhere. Many a times the questions appear to be in your reach but once you start writing their answers, the substance and essence gets lost in the middle!

If you diagnose this problem closely, you are surely to come with remedies like writing practice, repeated revisions, making short notes to retain maximum information and so on. To an extent, you are correct in your diagnosis and remedies. Yet something fundamental is missing here and that is as basic as your ‘understanding’.

Yes, the problem lies in the fact that today most aspirants start their preparation with a wrong footing. Secondly, they also fail to internalize the bigger picture which encompasses the entire gamut of issues, opinions and knowledge base required in the CSE. You must understand that be it a hatchback, a sedan, an SUV or a luxury car, what drives the vehicle is the motor engine. Even the most expensive cars can’t run without the motor engine.

The same applies to CSE. Your writing skills, presentation and knowledge base won’t make much of a difference until your understanding is right. The very disconnect that lies between what you understand and what you perceive, between what you perceive and what you write, between what you write and what is actually asked makes the difference. Only a perfect harmony of your understanding, your thoughts, your presentation and the expectation of UPSC can make you succeed in CSE.

Our first ever offline initiative is precisely about this harmony. We are here to fill in the gaps that are stopping you from achieving this harmony. Kindly bear in mind that what follows is the plan formulated by IASbaba to help you overcome the disconnect we just talked about.

In no way it is a blueprint for a 360 degree preparation for the CSM. It is not possible to start from scratch and achieve the intended levels in a span of 75 days. It is a plan to chisel down the rough edges of your preparation, make your basic understanding attuned to the demands of UPSC and make you realise the larger scheme of things which form the very foundation of CSE. So, let’s get started.

Now imagine:

• A cohort of 100 best aspirants working on their 2016 mains preparation assisted by top UPSC rankers and senior officers.

• High quality 30 tests with peer feedback and one on one writing interaction with the best in UPSC domain.

• On top of this, coverage of over 100 strategic topics in Paper 1 , 2 and 3 of GS in actual classrooms.

• Exclusive classes for honing writing skills for essays and ethics .

Add to the above:

• 10 high quality tests for optionals like Geography, Public administration, Sociology, Anthropology and Kannada Literature along with classes covering strategic issues.

• All the above optional tests and classes designed and executed by top rankers in respective optionals

Our Aim:

• “To create the best environment for mains preparation in India.”

• TLP offline = High quality tests + High quality classes + Optional Support + Best peer group.

Why do we want to do this ? And what gives us the roadmap?

• Our experience with TLP 2015 was excellent. Everyday, we used to post few questions from the GS syllabus and asked the users to post the answers on the website. We reviewed their answers and gave immediate feedback. Then came CSM, 2015 and about 80% questions were from TLP, 2015.

• Imagine that out of mere 270 questions we posted on our website, we were able to cover 80% of UPSC questions.

• That translates to 1 out of 9 . This exactly fits into our core philosophy of smart and minimal work.

• We could of course send you 10 questions every day and then out of 3650 questions we could have claimed a hit ratio of 100%. But then, we do not! We focus on quality not quantity. Quantity would reflect mediocrity.

However, this could be possible only because of the sustained efforts of IASbaba and it’s followers. Regularity and perseverance played the key roles in the success of TLP, 2015. The following article that we posted after CSM, 2015 bear testimony to the success of our TLP programme.

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

• This is no hidden secret that the key to success in CSM is writing, writing and writing.  You might be a wonderful aspirant, well read and fully informed but without writing practice, it is very difficult to translate your knowledge into success. Even Shakespeare had to write down his classics before they got widespread appreciation.The only proof of your hard work or the lack of it will be reflected in the answer booklet. You have got that one chance to prove your suitability for CSE. Before the beginning of CSM, you are supposed to have mastered the art of writing effective and impressive answers.

• Hence we have designed our Offline 2016 course with the similar purpose to make you the best writer.

Features of TLP, 2016 (Offline):

A weekly study plan:

This program is designed for 10 weeks starting from September 1st week to Mid November.For most of you, it will become very difficult to decide regarding the allocation of time for each subject/ topic/ sub-topic. Moreover, it also becomes quite difficult to keep track of your progress in terms of coverage of the syllabus. However, we are going to provide you with a rough weekly study plan. TLP 2016 will be in sync with this plan as tests will be based the above topics covered .

A detailed schedule of the classes with timetable:

Once you join the programme, we will provide you the detailed schedule of tests and classes so that you can better sync your preparation with the schedule.

Feedback from IASbaba:

• Out of the 30 tests we will sit with you, one on one, for detailed feedback on atleast 4 of them. We do not believe in the donkey work of evaluating each and every answer you have written.

• In these 4 sittings we will dissect you enough to make your strengths and weaknesses visible to you, so that you can go ahead and make actionable changes that would go a long way in helping you crack the exam.

• Rest of the tests would be mutually on a peer feedback based system. You will be surprised with the results of the same.

Synopsis and best answers:

We will provide a brief synopsis to all the questions along with few best answers chosen from among the users.

Prizes and encouragement:

• Of course the biggest prize would be you clearing the exam with top rank. Can we hit rank 1 is what we will chase?

• On a biweekly basis, we will select the top 3 performers, put their names on the website. This is to create optimum peer pressure.

• We will also award books to the winners. 

Structure:

• There would be 3 tests per week.

• There would be 3 classes per week (number of sessions may change depending upon the requirement).

• Sunday would be exclusively reserved for optional test plus classroom.

• Classes will follow the tests. So you need to be with us for 3 (4 in case of optional) days in a week.

This is how you can make full use of TLP offline, 2016:

• Never miss any test or class. Give your heart to the programme.

• Pay attention to the feedback by IASbaba experts and keep improving on the areas pointed out by them.

• Review the answers written by your peers and encourage others to review yours

• Consolidate your learning by going through the synopsis provided by IASbaba and also the best answers.

• It will pay you back handsomely if you could prepare topic-wise short notes of TLP, 2016 and revise them regularly.

• Be a competitor of yourself. Don’t compare your performance with that of others. Set a benchmark for yourself and keep improving your answers and score.

We promise you that the quality and ecosystem we would build would be the best.

Thanks and All the Best

IASbaba team

P.S- Offline 2017 Details will be published very soon!

In nutshell

 What we promise:

• 30 high quality tests with feedback from people who have cleared the exam with top ranks.
• High end strategy customised to each one of you.
• India’s best ecosystem for mains with genuine people who have cleared exams.
• Lectures on selected topics/ issues: Broad overview and directives for GS Papers I, II and III
• ‘Let’s Think’ programme.
• Rigorous on-the-spot writing practice and review (of selected booklets)
• Detailed discussion of tests.
• Feedback on answers and synopsis of individual questions
• Special classroom sessions on the approach for Ethics and Essay including writing practice
• Special focus on current affairs

What shouldn’t be expected from the module

• In and out coverage of the CSM syllabus
• Making you understand everything from the scratch
• Study material (apart from synopsis)

Expectations from the participating candidates:

• You must have basic understanding and familiarity with the syllabus
• You must follow the weekly plan religiously, attend classes and appear in the tests regularly
• Your sole motive of joining this programme has to be quality enhancement

This programme is not for those:

• Who haven’t appeared in CSP 2016
• Who are freshers/ first timers planning to appear in the near future i.e. 2017
• Who are not thorough with the basics/ fundamentals
• Who are expecting the programme to be a conventional classroom initiative

Other important aspects

• Sessions/ classes on weekends: In total 3 sessions of three hours duration, 2 on weekdays and one each on Saturday
• Tests will be conducted in all sessions.

Location/ Venue and maximum seats

• Bangalore: KLE College (mini)auditorium.We have booked the auditorium for 4 months for the same purpose. It has AC and most imp lets us present our PPT’s.
• We are looking for 30 top students in each optional .
• We are looking for 50 top people in GS .
• Cumulatively not more than 110 to 125.

Fee structure:

•  The whole course for GS will be 23K + taxes.
• Optionals are priced at 10k +taxes.

Next steps:

1. Have you filled the form? If not fill it : Click here
2. We have enormous response till now. Will take time for us to filter the same. Based on our criteria we will be sending first 50 invites on Aug 10.
3. We plan to close the process by August 18 and start with classes from 1st week of September.

If you get an invite you have 3 days to confirm the seat through payment on:

Ac/name : Prabhakar Kore Credit Souh Saha.

Ac no :046 4946 000 000 52

IFSC : YESB0000464

You need to immediately send the acknowledgement so that we can tick off one seat. (Don’t worry about the account name , its an escrow account in the name of a society affiliated to KLE society)

• Remember only people who have got invite link should call us, confirm and then make payment.
• Alternatively the quickest way is to come to our centre and meet us in person and provided you fulfil our criteria, you get admitted.

Your mails and acknowledgement should reach:

iasbabaoffline2016@gmail.com.

Accommodation

• We are providing a partial list of PGs within 500 mts of the classroom- Click here
• There are at least 30 more PGS in Rajajinagar alone.
• Vijayanagar and Malleshwaram are close by. One can find more number of PGs in Vijayangar.

Final responsibility of accommodation will lie with student. We will share the id of people who have joined on August 18 in a google sheet. You can mutually coordinate .