I answered following set of questions for a magazine.
This will cover a lot many questions on my upsc journey.
Questionnaire
Civil Services Examination 2018
Medium of writing Exam………..English……..
Medium for Interview…………..English……..
1. Why career in civil service: I come from a rural background and had seen problems of people from vary close quarters. I had seen limitations and shortcomings in rural areas, so always had a desire to contribute to society through a big platform like civil services. Also,In my college (IIT-Dhanbad) I got involved in KARTAVYA, a student initiative to teach underprivileged children living in slum areas near the campus. All these experiences strengthened my faith to join civil services and contribute to the welfare of society, especially weaker and marginalised sections.
2. Anything special that contributed in your success.: I had developed habit of self dependency during the preparation of IIT-JEE itself. This helped me in CSE preparation also. As I was a working aspirant I couldn’t join classroom coaching but my habit of “doing it by yourself” helped me in covering syllabus through self study.
3. Keeping in mind unpredictable nature of this examination how one should prepare?: There are 4 key mantras to clear CSE: 1. Understand syllabus 2. Keep your resources minimum and study as per syllabus 3. Revision 4. Answer writing practice. It is true that unpredictability is there in exam but by following these steps we can reduce the unpredictability up-to a great extent. Ultimately it is 80% handwork and 20% luck that goes into final selection. So our focus should be on controlling the “ controllables “ rather than worrying about what is beyond our control.
4. How important selection of optional subject is and role it can play in final result: Optional becomes a crucial factor as poor optional choice can be the difference between getting selected and being out of list. So choose optional as per your interest and after doing thorough analysis. A score of 300+ in optional is a must these days for having a good rank in final list.
5. How you look at General Studies and approach towards each paper: General studies (GS) is becoming more and more analytical these days. The preparation has to be tuned accordingly. GS-1 which has relatively much static content compared to GS-2 & GS-3 still needs answer writing practice from an analytical approach. A test series along with toppers copy review can be a good way to start. Also, please understand the syllabus thoroughly and prepare each topic in 360 degree manner. Answer writing practice (AWP) and Revision must be continuous throughout preparation.For GS2 special focus on constitutional articles, supreme court judgements, bills etc should be given and these should be duly mentioned in answers. For GS-3 which is the most dynamic paper of all GS paper, focus should be on Indian economy and latest developments. Economic survey, Budget documents, NITI special reports can be utilised for marks enhancement. For GS-4 focus should be on writing answers in your own language and this should be supported by good examples which shows your understating of ground realities.
6. Essay Preparation & Topics you picked: Essay preparation needs focus on introduction, body and conclusion, especially the introduction and conclusion should be well thought of and should be engaging in nature. Personal anecdotes or a story used to be my preferred way of starting an essay. One should work on collecting some useful quotes and anecdotes. The preparation of broad topics like women related issues, education, health, human development, poverty, digital revolution, AI etc can be done well in advance. This will provide fodder material for writing a good essay. One should also focus on practicing some philosophical essays as at least one essay will have to be written on such topics. In CSE-2018 I wrote essay on these topics: 1.Poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity everywhere. 2. Customary morality cannot be a guide to modern life.
7. Interview Board, Date of Interview and Questions asked (Attach Interview Transcript, if made): Date of Interview: 28th March 2019, Interview board: Smita Nagraj ma’am.
8. What role Essay & Interview marks played in your success. Was your final score near your expectations? : I got 127 in essay. Given this year’s essay scores it can be considered as a decent score. I was expecting essay marks to be in between 135-140. In interview I was expecting a decent marks given my interview went well. I got 182 this year which is my highest interview scores in all UPSC attempts (I have given three CSE interviews in 5 attempts). A decent essay score and a good interview marks helped me in getting a good rank finally.
9. Brief about family & their contribution: My father is a farmer, my mother is a homemaker and my elder brother is a station master in Indian Railways. My family has immense contribution in my success. My father always motivated me, especially when I faced failures. He always spoke in a comforting tone making me believe ki “Thik hai, koi na, is baar nahi to agli baar sahi”. He will keep bringing various stories to keep me motivated. My mother always had greatest faith in me. She will pray to God a lot for my selection. Ultimately God helped me in the end. 🙂 A supportive family and a positive environment at home helped me in reaching my dream.
10. From where got the right advice on preparation plan: Unfortunately I didn’t have right guidance in first two attempts. I explored all these aspects myself.I went through various toppers blog, got active on few websites, formed a close peer group on telegram. All this happened in a gradual manner. By 3rd attempt I was much aware and had a greater understanding of what I need to read and how I need to read.
11. What contributed the most in getting top ranks in this attempt: A decent performance across all papers and a good interview score. In previous attempts I was missing selection by few marks only.
12. Anything specific that can motivate future aspirants: UPSC journey is full of unpredictability. There will be moments of failures at various stages. What is important is protecting yourself in all such moments. I say this because I know how difficult it is to not see your name in the pdf, either after pre, after mains or after interview. In those dark moments be a little kinder to yourself. Look in the mirror, look at the person looking in the mirror, feel a little proud of the journey you have taken so far, sacrifices made so far. Give that person a pat on the back, and smile a little bit. “Not today” as Syrio Forel told Arya Stark, you tell yourself the same thing…” Not today”. Today is not the day you let your guards down. Be the finest warrior you are. Be the best on those days. It’s a game of mental strength. You need to become that person, same way Arya stark becomes the sharpest warrior through years of pain and training.
Success will be there eventually with such an attitude
13. Secret of Success: DCP strategy: Dedication & Discipline, Consistency and perseverance. Being a working aspirant I had to show utmost level of discipline in time management and always be dedicated to CSE preparation. There were ups and downs but I did ensure a consistency in my preparation despite having a challenging work environment. Ultimately this exam is also a test of your mental strength and a lot of perseverance is needed to keep going through different failures.
14. Optional Subject: Public Administration
15. No. of Attempts :5
16. If not your first attempt, how you visualize your previous attempts: In first two attempts I was still trying to understand the demand of the exam.Managing preparation along with a full time job was challenging and lack of proper guidance did lead to some misdirected efforts. In next three attempts I was able to reach interview stage and was finally selected in my 5th attempt. There were few areas which needed improvement and one can only learn from one’s failures. However I am also glad that I was able to withstand all the pressure that comes with repeated failures. It ultimately made me a more stronger person and gave me a chance of self-discovery.
17. Any Previous Selections: None
18. Book List (If available)
19. Credit for your success – who deserves the most… My parents and my big brother
20. In the end most important question: Is crossing Preliminary Examination really a challenge as some candidates say it is pure luck: It is true that prelims has become very challenging these years. The nature of question is such that it demands an in-depth study of various issues. Now UPSC is checking the analytical abilities of candidates at prelims level also. Given these dynamic changes aspirants need to tune their preparation accordingly. Unpredictability is definitely there but we can only control the controllable. So one should focus on preparing as per the changing demand of the papers,
Also please send 3-4 Photographs (preferably a family photo also) along with summary of DAF and mark-sheet.