Mandar Patki’s Notes UPSC: Please find below the Mandar Patki’s Notes for UPSC Exam. He is Air 22 in 2019. In his first attempt, he was able to achieve this Rank.
Mandar Patki’s Mains Notes UPSC
MAINS BOOKLIST –
Many of the aspirants were asking for my main resources

I am again re-emphasizing that the notes I am providing/will upload in the coming days are SUPPLEMENTARY. Many students are asking whether they can skip basic books and instead read notes only. Such a strategy will be nothing but suicidal. Basic books are of vital importance.
MAINS NOTES – GS1: Moden History –
The following pdf consists of notes from the book ‘From Plassey to Partition’. Please note that I made this note after my Mains examination.
I am attaching this PDF because this note contains many good analytical points. This note also has data that can be asked in prelims. Thus, aspirants can read and go through this quickly.
MAINS NOTES-GS1: MODERN HISTORY PDF
MAINS NOTES- GS1: Modern History
MAINS NOTES – GS1 MODERN HISTORY PDF
MAINS NOTES – GENERAL STUDIES 2-
This note again is an accumulation of 2 years of my preparation. Current issues in the polity are Comprehensively covered. From Page 88,i have attached some core theoretical part notes which I made offline.
This note will cover most issues in polity and IR. So try to gain conceptual understanding from this.
For the theoretical part, please refer to M. Laxmikanth.
MAINS NOTES – GENERAL STUDIES 2 PDF
MAINS NOTES- GENERAL STUDIES 3-
I am very emotional while sharing this note because this note is the result of my 2 years of hard work. So I will advise aspirants to utilize this note up to its maximum potential and cover all the topics and issues given in the notes.
- Up to page 105, notes are on current issues and topics. Sources referred for this are Visionias Mains 365, the YouTube channel Onlyias, the Newspaper The Hindu, and my own analysis.
- From page 105, handwritten notes are attached. This is my note on a static portion of some topics in GS 3. The resource referred to is Visionias value addition material.
- I can guarantee aspirants that this note will cover most of the syllabus of General Studies 3.
In the coming days, I will upload similar notes for GS 2, PRELIMS, and Anthropology current affairs.
Special thanks to Pratik Juikar Dada who helped me in compiling these notes for mains.
MAINS NOTES GENERAL STUDIES 3 PDF
Essay Strategy –
I will be bluntly honest here about my essay Strategy
- My approach was to quote thinkers in philosophical essays (even if I do not know whether they said particular things or not)
- I made notes on various thinkers, books and Arguments to be used in the essay (pdf attached)
- I had my Introductions and Conclusions ready beforehand. Thus I was able to complete my essay paper in 2 hours and 10 minutes only as I had my Intro, body, and Conclusion prepared. I just need to rearrange them according to the needs of the topic.
- Rather than focusing on gathering quotes, focus on gathering ARGUMENTS to be used in the essay (refer to pdf)
- Those who say flowery language does not yield extra marks in the essay need to relook their approach (if you understand what I mean)
NOTE OF CAUTION – this strategy is indeed a risky one. One needs to use his/her discretion before adopting a similar strategy.
Economic Survey-
I cannot express the importance and need of reading an economic survey for its complete understanding. Most aspirants make a mistake by believing that the survey is ‘value addition’ material.
Rather than value addition, a survey clears your basic understanding of the economy in general. Thus, if you have ample time, you can directly read VOLUME I of the Economic Survey. Attaching my Notes on the Survey of 2018 and 2019 to stress its importance.
Essay Strategy –
I will be bluntly honest here about my essay Strategy
- My approach was to quote thinkers in philosophical essays (even if I do not know whether they said a particular thing or not)
- I made notes on various thinkers, books and Arguments to be used in the essay (pdf attached)
- I had my Introductions and Conclusions ready beforehand. Thus I was able to complete my essay paper in 2 hours and 10 minutes only as I had my Intro, body, and Conclusion prepared. I just need to rearrange them according to the needs of the topic.
- Rather than focusing on gathering quotes, focus on gathering ARGUMENTS to be used in the essay (refer to pdf)
- Those who say flowery language does not yield extra marks in the essay need to relook their approach (if you understand what I mean)
NOTE OF CAUTION – this strategy is indeed a risky one. One needs to use his/her discretion before adopting a similar strategy.
Economic Survey-
I cannot express the importance and need of reading an economic survey for its complete understanding. Most aspirants make a mistake by believing that the survey is ‘value addition’ material.
Rather than value addition, a survey clears your basic understanding of the economy in general. Thus, if you have ample time, you can directly read VOLUME I of the Economic Survey. Attaching my Notes on the Survey of 2018 and 2019 to stress its importance.
CONCLUSIONS FOR GENERAL STUDIES –
This is the rough format in which some of the ‘universal Conclusions’ that can be included in our answers can be prepared. This comes really handy in writing an actual paper as you don’t have time to think and innovate new Conclusions in the actual exam. So aspirants are advised to form some of such Conclusions on their own
CONCLUSION FOR GENERAL STUDIES PDF
Optional Notes
Here is Booklist that I refer to for Anthropology:
Important Notes: Abbreviations Used
There is some confusion about the abbreviation used in my anthro notes. Following are the meanings of these symbols
Aka = Also known as
w/o = without
@ (A circle) = Anthropology
P (circle) = Anthropologists
ANTHROPOLOGY PAPER 1 NOTES-
Socio-cultural Anthropology
ANTHROPOLOGY PAPER 2 –
This note is an accumulation of my 6 months’ efforts on the anthropology subject. Please read the instructions given in the pdf carefully before reading the notes. This covers most of the syllabus of paper 2 of anthropology.
This is a detailed segregation of Anthropology Previous Year Questions for Paper 2. I did this by myself because many compilations in the market miss some important questions. And one thing, plz do refer to these questions while preparing, because UPSC is repeating PYQ year by year. Hope this helps.
ANTHROPOLOGY PREVIOUS YEARS QUESTIONS PDF
Archeology Chart – only for quick revision
ANTHROPOLOGY PREVIOUS YEARS QUESTION PDF
Archeological Anthropology – Please read the instructions before reading the notes.
ANTHROPOLOGY NEWS-
This note is my collection of current affairs related to anthropology. Note also includes some summary of book ‘Sapiens’ by Yuval Noah Harari
Credit Source: Mandar Patki’s Telegram Channel: https://t.me/mandar_ias
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