I have compiled some of the questions that very frequently come to the minds of most of you. Many aspirants message me and ask me these questions. So I am making this small effort to answer those questions. Please go through it till the end. Hope you will like it.

1. Why to choose a career in civil service? I chose Civil Service as a career for one simple reason that I found it the most intellectually challenging, physically demanding, and emotionally testing. At the same time, it is the best way to give back a measure to the society that we receive from it. Civil Service pays you decently as well. What can be a better career for anyone when one can get the best of all worlds in Civil Services!

2. Anything special that contributed in your success: An inclination towards understanding the Indian society right from the childhood and love for reading and listening to different people have helped a long way.

3. Keeping in mind unpredictable nature of this examination how one should prepare? This is a very important question. In fact, when I graduated from my engineering in 2014, I did not immediately decide to start preparation for this exam because of the huge uncertainty involved. So, yes, this exam is very unpredictable in the sense that you never know what will happen at the end of the examination cycle. Keeping this in mind, one must work very meticulously. Target based studies, making small-small plans but keeping up with your targets, and intense hard work is what works at the end of the day!

4. How you look at General Studies and approach towards each paper? Every GS paper has a well-defined syllabus which is available on the UPSC website. One must stick to the syllabus and make sure that one has prepared each and every topic in it. Current Affairs make a big part of the preparation and these must be prepared keeping in mind to which topic in the syllabus can you map any happening in the world. Making notes is crucial for multiple revisions which are necessary to keep the content in mind. For information on the detailed booklist and resources I followed, please go through this blog section-wise.

5. What role Essay & Interview marks played in your success. Was your final score near your expectations? I got 142 in Essay paper which, to my belief, is one of the highest scores. My marks in Essay played a great role in bringing me to the top 50 since this is one paper where there can be very large variance in marks distribution (I have seen marks as low as 84 in essay!). About the Interview marks, I got 176, which is above average but below my expectations. Here again, the variance can be huge – some of the people I know have been given as high as 206 while some have been given as low as 134 in interview. This has a huge sway in the making of the final list. I think interview is the most subjective evaluation and it heavily depends on the mood of the panel.

6. Brief about family & their contribution. My family has my parents, my sister, and my grandmother. My father is a businessman, and my mother is a homemaker. My father showed me the dream of joining Civil Services since childhood but he never foisted his wishes on me. My parents have been a huge support in all the decisions of my life and it was the biggest relief. My sister and brother-in-law have been an immense support throughout my preparation since I stayed with them while I was studying. The success couldn’t have been possible without all the sacrifices my family made for me.

7. From where did you get the right advice on preparation plan? I followed many people and picked up what I felt was suitable for me. Since I started preparing in Singapore, I was greatly helped by blogs of previous years’ toppers, many online videos on YouTube, and a lot of material available online for free. I must mention that I got substantial amount of right advice from my friend, Vishwanjali Gaikwad, who is into the Foreign Service. Also my friends, Pranav Manghat, Sarang Junghare, and Sumit Kumthe have been a great source of information since this was my first attempt and I was as clueless as a new-born child. Dr Vivek Kulkarni, Jnana Prabodhini, Pune, has been the ultimate adviser.

8. What contributed the most in getting top ranks in the first attempt?It was channelised approach to studies, doing a little extra from what was planned every single day, having patience with the exam process, and keeping away from social media helped me a lot. In terms of strategy, notes making and revising them at least 2-3 times before the exam contributed the most. 

9. Anything specific that can motivate future aspirants: Success belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Always keep the beauty of getting into the Civil Services into mind and this will give you a big shot in the arm! Also, staying abroad, I have realised that Indian Civil Service is one of the best careers in the world. Nothing can be a bigger motivation than the thought of getting into one of the world’s best careers.

10. Secret of Success: There is no shortcut to success and the path to success passes through the corridors of fun and adventure. Belief in this is the biggest secret. 

11. Is crossing Preliminary Examination really a challenge as some candidates say it is pure luck? Passing preliminary exam is a major challenge for two reasons. One, over half a million people are running after it. So the competition is, what I always call, a ‘Brobdingnagian Monster’. Two, syllabus for preliminary exam is very vaguely slated. Hence, there seems to be no limit to what to expect in this exam. This makes the preliminary exam a real challenge. But I beg to differ from the prevailing view that it is pure luck. No amount of misfortune can shut out hard work and practice. Only mantra for succeeding in preliminary exam is – PRACTICE, PRACTICE, and PRACTICE.

12. How important selection of optional subject is and role it can play in final result?Very crucial. Optional has a huge sway in deciding your rank as well as whether or not you will be in the final list. In fact, this year, almost everyone in the top 100 have 300+ in their optional subjects. Those who couldn’t make it to the final list, whom I know, fell a little short on their optionals.

13. Give the basis of selecting the optional subject? My advice to all future aspirants would be to choose a subject that they can study at graduate level; it is like preparing the three- or four- year degree course in one go. Hence, one must pick up the subject that one can easily understand, follow for at least two years, and also, for which guidance and test series are available. Also, for those who love math and technical stuff, subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Economics, and even engineering subjects can be good choices.

14. While making final choice for optional subject, what’s important and what’s not? I think the most important thing is, as I have mentioned, to figure out whether one can study the subject at the graduate level. If one loves one’s graduation subject, it should be an ideal choice. The questions asked in optional subjects require a deep understanding of the topics in the subject. Hence, it is important to figure out whether one will be able to do and understand deep analysis of a subject. What’s not important is the fact that whether a subject is more rewarding than others or whether the competition in any particular subject is high or low.

15. Today, IAS Toppers are icons and lots of media coverage makes them popular. The top rankers are admired by all for their accomplishment and are source of inspiration and motivation for future aspirants. Before your success, what was your opinion about these toppers? Yes, I agree that previous years’ toppers inspire many future aspirants a big way. I too was inspired by many of them. Gaurav Agrawal, Artika Shukla, Vishwanjali Gaikwad, and Saumya Pande, to name a few. Toppers give a peek into the minds of the people who have cleared in this exam. We can learn from not just success but also their bitter experiences of the failures. Also for those who prepare from a remote location, toppers talks and strategies help a long way in demystifying the confusion about resources and booklist.

16. Did you keep in mind some time-frame for the examination preparation and number of attempts? For me the opportunity cost of leaving a good-paying job in Singapore for attempting civil service exam was huge. So I had given myself maximum of two attempts but clearing in one attempt has always been on top of my mind. Hence I decided to leave no stone unturned in the first attempt. I really think the first attempt is the best attempt since there is an excitement about something unknown in the first attempt. Hence, one must really prepare a good timetable for preparation and make sure that one honours the daily, weekly, and monthly targets.

17. ‘Time Management’ – is a key factor while making preparations as well as in writing examination papers, be it Prelims or Main Examination. How did you manage things? Yes, most important! Since this exam has Himalayan syllabus, one must first of all decide what all resources one is going to follow. After this is done, make a calendar and set daily, weekly, and monthly targets. To save time, one can show some abstention from social media and keep away from social gatherings. I did the same. As I said, I was working in Singapore for the first six month of my preparation, I made use of each and every minute I got to study. For example, on the bus to my office, I would read news and articles from the newspaper. Similarly, I would utilise my lunch time to cover anything I can in that time. Also, I had cut on all my outings with friends, especially over weekends. This is how time must be utilised very judiciously since this is the most valuable resource in the preparation.

18. The first step is the most difficult; how to prepare? Which optional subjects to pick? What to read? How much to read? Many such questions come to your mind when you really get serious about Civil Services Examination? From where, you did get the right advice? As I said, one must first see the syllabus and what all books and resources the toppers suggest. Take some time to understand the demand of the exam and let it sink in your mind completely. Then prepare your own reading list and make a timetable. About optional, one must pick up the subject that one can study for at least one year at graduate level. If one is good at math, one can choose mathematics, physics, economics, or engineering subjects. But if one has a flair of writing, one can choose humanities. There is no thumb rule about optional, it has to be a personal and intelligent choice. I got the right advice from many toppers of previous years and also my friends who have been preparing for this exam for last 3-4 years.

19. What was your approach towards Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Aptitude Test) during Preliminary Examination preparation? How much time and effort you divided for each?
For GS PAPER I (General Studies), the syllabus seems boundless but this is not to get scared of. The best way to prepare for this is to first be clear with all the necessary concepts that are there in NCERT books and other basic books like Laxmikant, etc. Then, one must start solving tests. Pick up any good test series from the market and start practicing at home. One must not miss out on previous years UPSC papers. They are very important.
For GS PAPER II (Aptitude Test), I didn’t do any special preparation for this. I just solved UPSC papers for this for 2015, 2016, and 2017. But if one is uncomfortable with Math and English, one can do 5-7 tests that are available in market. I am not aware of any good book to prepare for CSAT paper.

20. How did you manage to tackle the ‘Negative Marking’ in Prelims?One must first attempt questions that one is confident about. One can take intelligent guesses on questions where one has high probability of getting it right. No wild guesses should be taken. One should develop a habit of eliminating options to arrive at the correct answer.

21. What shift did you adopt in your strategy for MAIN EXAMINATION (Written)? For the Main (Written) examination, one needs to have an analytical bent of mind and this has to be cultivated while preparing. Conceptual understanding and analysis of current happenings is utmost necessary. At the same time, one needs to have good writing speed since in this stage we have to write nearly 4000 words in 3 hours. Also here, optional subject comes in and one must give very high attention to the optional subject since this has a huge sway in your final ranks. For every topic in current affairs, one must have own notes which will contain some historical background of the issue, then analysis of the issue which should include different points of view (these can be obtained from various newspaper editorials, Rajya Sabha TV debates, speeches of ministers, bureaucrats, etc). For Main (written) examination, what is most required is the fact that you provide a comprehensive answer, covering as many dimensions as possible, and at the same time, giving a balanced way forward to any problem that may be asked in the question.

22. Was there any special effort for effective preparation for ESSAY Paper? Only special effort I took was to actually pick up a pen and start writing essays on certain topics. One must develop a habit of brainstorming before starting to write the essay. Use quotes, beautiful poetic lines and phrases, try to use a bit of flowery language if you can, and most important, keep it neat and clean. Paragraphs should be small and well-connected to each other.

21. Essay Preparation & Topics you picked. Essay is the reflection of your personality on paper. For beginners, I would recommend to start reading good books because books mould one’s mind and perspective, which is very essential for getting good scores in Essay. For people who plan to take the exam in the coming year or so, they can pick up the pen and start writing essays on topics previously asked by the UPSC, and get them evaluated by friends or teachers. One can also read essays written by toppers which are available online. I would strongly recommend reading essays by Gaurav Agrawal, Tina Dabi, and Saumya Sharma. I have put some good essays that can be useful on this blog in the Essay section.

22. How did you prepare yourself for Interview (Personality Test)? When and which Board did you face? How did your interview go on, how much time it lasted and what were the questions asked during the Interview? Interview preparation must be a two-pronged strategy: Firstly, one must prepare one’s DAF (Detailed Application Form) very well. DAF is like one’s resume and puts information about everything one has done till this point of time before the panel. So most questions can be expected from it. Secondly, one must really brush up one’s optional subject. Current Affairs related to one’s optional are amongst most frequently asked questions in UPSC interview. So, newspaper reading becomes very essential. Also, to learn how to communicate, watch speeches and interviews of some of the well-known personalities. I would recommend to watch RSTV debates, interviews. One can see speeches and interviews of Dr Raghuram Rajan, Dr Shashi Tharoor, Mr Arun Jaitley, the President of India, etc. To read my detail interview transcript, go to Interview section.

23. In your opinion at which Educational Level should one start preparing for Civil Services and what should be the minimum period of time required to prepare for Civil Services Examinations? There is no rule of thumb. But if one is decided about it as a career choice, the earlier the better. I believe, not more than 10-12 months (around 1 year) of devotion to study is necessary for this exam. One can start full-fledged preparations in the last year of one’s degree course. However, reading habit can be and should be cultivated at an earlier stage. This helps a long way.

24. What is your opinion regarding the general view that Science subjects have better chance to score than Humanities? That is the prevailing view. But this year, if we see, humanities have also done very well. So it should really not be a consideration. But it is my personal advice to aspirants that if they are comfortable with the technical stuff and if they like a bit of mathematics, they may want to take Mathematics or Physics as their optional. This is not because these are more “scoring” subjects, but instead are relatively easier to study and score than humanities subjects. For scoring in humanities, one must really have a flair for writing.

25. What is the importance of medium of examination for exams like CSE? It doesn’t really matter. But most people usually take the examination in English language as it is relatively easy to write answers in English since most terminologies we know are in English even though we may have studied in schools in regional languages. Not to deny, a good command over English language really helps. But for UPSC, one doesn’t really need to have a very high level of proficiency in English.

26. Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation? Yes, they do, only if these things continuously haunt an aspirant’s mind. Once you get rid of these thoughts, they will stop bothering you. Believe me, in this exam, never harp on the past – where are you from, whether you studied in English medium school or not, can you afford coaching or not, whether your parents have to be civil servants for you to also become one, etc. These thoughts will kill you and will never let you succeed. The earlier you become forward looking and live only in the present, the better it will be for your preparation. Only regimented hard work and dedication matter in this exam and nothing else.

27. What is the secret of your success? Secret of success lies in two things – doing little extra every day from what was planned (this small-small amounts add up to a bigger thing in the end!), and always staying focused on the goal of cracking the exam – I had made it a sort of ‘life-and-death’ matter for myself. But, this is not to say that one must feel devastated if, God forbid, anything bad happens. It only means that one must leave no stone unturned to get to the goal.

28. Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants? Make small targets to achieve bigger ambitions. Honour your own targets and deadlines. Do little extra every day from what you have planned. Figure out a golden mean between quest for knowledge and competition in this exam. Don’t run after too much knowledge and do not try to cover too many things thinking that it will help you stand in the crowd. Knowledge is a good thing but this is a competitive exam. So, “optimise things”. Also, keep an arms-length distance from social media.

Thank you very much for reading!