Knowledge vs. an Analytical Mind: What Counts More in IAS Exam

Indian Administrative Service is one of the most prestigious services and hence deserves to test candidates on all the dynamic parameters. UPSC exams are conducted for searching ...

Knowledge vs. an Analytical Mind: What Counts More in IAS Exam

Indian Administrative Service is one of the most prestigious services and hence deserves to test candidates on all the dynamic parameters. UPSC exams are conducted for searching for prospective administrators and hence it is very crucial to test knowledge as well as the analytical mind of a candidate. So, we can safely conclude that knowledge is not everything that UPSC exams test in a candidate. Of course, knowledge is important to clear the UPSC exams but the purpose is not just to qualify in the exams. The real purpose is to judge whether the candidate can be a true administrator or not. And for testing this, a candidate must have analytical skills along with the complete knowledge.

Knowledge

"Knowledge is the key to success", this is also true for cracking UPSC exams. Without knowledge, you can't open the door to success. You would be able to write correct and appropriate answers only if proper knowledge and understanding of the subject is there. So in the battle of Knowledge vs. analytical mind, we can't say that knowledge is not at all important. In fact, one would be able to apply analytical mind only if he has the proper knowledge.

A Sharp Analytical Mind

By analytical mind, we simply mean a mind that can put knowledge to the effective use. Let us discuss with an example. Suppose a Collector of the city has to decide if curfew is needed or not for the peace in the city, his analytical mind helps him to decide more than his knowledge. A person with an analytical mind may even make a better decision than one who has immense knowledge.

It is, therefore needed that an IAS officer should be capable enough to put his acquired knowledge to use at the right time and at the right place as per his discretion. And this is only possible by having a sharp analytical mind.

Practical Approach for Question Paper

UPSC exam papers are based on practical approach more than anything else. Candidates are given with some practical and real-life situations and have to answer such questions applying their analytical mind rather than just a theoretical answer. Examiners will only be able to judge your analytical ability through your answers. So candidates are advised to write answers after carefully analyzing it.

Awareness about What is Happening Around 

A good administrator is the one who keeps himself updated about the surroundings and happenings around the world. Whether it is politics, sports, entertainment, economy or any other thing, an administrator should be aware of everything about the changing scenario.

Remaining updated about the surrounding helps an administrator to take a more informed and practical decision. It is also to be noted that an administrator should take a decision which is feasible to implement. Plus, the decision taken by the administrative officer should be timely and not delayed.

Quality of Being Unbiased

Being an administrator, it is very important and crucial that he/she must be unbiased and make judgments without any prejudice. To do justice, an administrator must be free from all types of prejudice. Usually, it happens when a decision has to be made between two religious communities. In such a case, an administrator must take rational decision irrespective of his caste, creed, and community. This is important because being an administrator; an IAS officer is responsible for making the right decision for all the sections of society. For him, the district is like one big family.

The Verdict - Knowledge vs. An Analytical Mind What Counts More in IAS Exam

So, altogether what is more important for UPSC exams - Knowledge or Analytical mind? Well, knowledge is important and there is no doubt about that. But an Analytical mindset is also very important or we can say both are complementary to each other. Without knowledge, one can't develop an analytical mindset and with only knowledge, one can't be a good administrator.

 So, a UPSC aspirant should prepare and study in such a way that he develops an analytical mindset along with sufficient knowledge of the syllabus. He should be capable enough to deal with even those matters that he has not learnt in theoretical knowledge. This is possible only through gaining 360-degree knowledge in all fields and areas. An IAS officer should be well versed with all types of affairs in the country and the world for taking a more informed, logical, and feasible decision.