Topper’s Talk with Ishita Kishore AIR-1 | Vajiram & Ravi

[Music] [Applause] Thank you. On behalf of the Institute, we are presenting two volumes of the book on discarded notes. This is about the minority judgments delivered by various benches of the Supreme Court on certain famous cases. I hope that you will enjoy reading this. [Applause] Thank you.

So, I am extremely happy and proud to introduce Miss Ishita Kishore, who has got the All India first rank this year's civil services examination. She was a student of a 10-month long General Studies course in Vajiram in the year 2019-20. She is a graduate of Political Science from Delhi University. She has made a significant difference in terms of marks with the other top-ranking candidates. That speaks volumes about her hard work, consistency, practice, and her answer writing skills.

So, I have requested her to come and share her experience of having prepared for this exam with you all, so that you can also benefit, apart from getting inspired by seeing her physically, in flesh and blood, before you. And I am extremely thankful to her for having readily acceded to the request of the Institute in this regard. I don't want to stand between you and the candidate for long. Anyway, I am going to meet you subsequently. She will deliver a talk for about 45 minutes, telling you how to prepare for this exam. And at the end of the talk, she will take a question and answer session with you. You can raise your questions, and she will answer your questions. Thank you, sir.

Good morning, everyone. Very happy to be here after three years. I started here as a foundation course student, and I don't think it would suffice to say that I'm very happy to be on the other side. So, I'll try to keep the session as interactive as possible because I understand that you all have a lot of questions. And my only request would be, please try to keep your questions a bit specific, so that it helps everyone. And please be carefully listening to the questions other people are asking, so that I can cover as many areas as possible in 45 minutes.

A quick introduction about myself. I'm sure you know a little bit of basic details, but so much is floating in the media that even I can't tell what is right and not. So, I'm Ishita Kishore. I've done my graduation in Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University. After that, I started working in Ernst & Young for two years in the profile of risk advisory. And that's when I decided that I will leave my job and I will prepare full-time. So, I hope I'm clear in my communication, but if you do have some doubts, please feel free to raise them. I would be very happy to clarify, because I have also benefited by interacting with the toppers of the previous years.

So, starting from the start, when we begin this journey, we come to these classes. It's very important to understand how to make notes. So, please be very focused on your classes and understand how do we write when someone is delivering a lecture, because that will help you understand what is important, what is to be underlined, and what is to be revised again. So, once you go back home after these classes, please do revisit your notes. Please keep the daily revision on, because without that, it can be difficult. And it will also help you reduce the size of your notes, because at the end of 10 months, the pile can become this big. So, I used to write on A4 sheets, so the pile was very big. So, please keep, as in, sieving out the good materials.

And standard books, I have followed all the standard books that are available, and I will also come out with a detailed book list. But mostly, NCERTs for Geography, History, and for Polity, we all know the main book. Coming to other subjects like Science and Technology, I think is my words are the contemporary issues. So, basics, if you feel you are from a science background, then it's fine. I don't think there is a need to read the NCERTs from 6 to 10. But since I was not from a science background and I did not remember much from school, I did revisit all the NCERTs for the basic sciences. I should know the minimum level of science that we see around us. So, please ensure that in every subject, you have your minimum ready.

Science and Technology is done. So, again, supplement that with the current affairs, what is going on. And follow any one magazine from any coaching institute. I think is regularly, consistently. If you don't want to follow a magazine, in my first attempt, I followed a magazine. In my second attempt, I did not follow any magazines at all. I did my newspaper reading very carefully and I made my own newspaper notes. Initially, I made handwritten notes, but that is not very efficient in the long run, because it was also my third attempt, so the notebooks were increasing. So, try to keep your notes digital, because we have so many apps now, both efficient and you can really delete the stuff that is not relevant anymore. Sometimes, when we make notes, we make too many notes, things that might not even be important. So, in a digital sense, it's very helpful because you can keep revising and adding over there. So, that is one thing.

And if you are not following a magazine, current affairs magazine, then please be very disciplined about daily current affairs. So, again, any one website. There are so many websites, but please pick one website. And apart from your newspaper reading, which takes one hour, take 15 minutes to make notes from that newspaper. And then take another 15 minutes to go through that website and see if there is something that you have not covered. So, this helps you create a pool of knowledge in current affairs that will last you the entire year. If you still feel insecure at the end of the year that I have not done any magazine and I am feeling left behind, then just index them. Okay, that's how I did it. I felt it was efficient at the end of the day. So, this is the massive 50-60 chunk of prelims, that is current affairs. So, I hope we can move on to the next topic.

Apart from basic books, current affairs knowledge is very important. I understood that in my first attempt. But more important is how you apply that knowledge in the examination. So, after I did not clear prelims the first time, I started working on my MCQ solving aptitude, which is also extremely important. Because you might know a lot of things, but in those two hours, it's not always that books give direct questions. But that is when we are lucky that we got a basic easy question and we're very happy to solve it. But a lot of times, most of the questions, these questions are not directly from any book. So, do not run behind any book. Use every book in the market to just set that minimum, that yes, if it is environment, I know a minimum level, and I can use this knowledge to solve the questions over there. So, that's why I keep saying that there is no golden list of books that can help you. But yes, one subject, one book, that is the rule. Don't run after too much material, because at least we cannot guess that. And if we get into that race, then it is never-ending.

So, coming to back to MCQ solving skills, MCQ solving, the first and only place that you should go to is the previous year questions. I was also told this by toppers. I also solved the questions, but I don't think I did it enough in my first two attempts. It's not just that you have to solve the questions, because after a point, how my answer is, you don't just have to solve it, you have to understand the areas in which they are diverging. So, in the last 10 to 12 years, which are the areas of focus, and which are the areas of priority. Even the options that are wrong, where are these options coming from? If there is an option that is wrong, but it is worthy of mention in a UPSC paper, so please read about those options also. Many times, the wrong options, there are topics that are covered in the next year. So, PYQ is a huge, huge chunk in itself. And then, not just the knowledge part of the PYQs, also the language. What kind of a language is UPSC using in its answer, in its questions, and how I can understand and inculcate this language, because tomorrow, the same questions in a similar language will come, so I will be better equipped to understand the English of it.

Nowadays, we see that the options are very lengthy options, for example, reports. So, you have to understand what kind of organizations and their reports you have to be aware about. So, it will help you limit your syllabus to a large extent. So, PYQs again, I have done it over 10 times in my last attempt, in my third attempt, and I think that really made a difference for me. I hope it can make a difference for you all also. But don't take it casually. Spend some time with it. Keep going through it, especially the last two attempts that I did not clear. I always had the question paper on my study table. That, okay, I am getting bored, better, but hey, I just go through that question paper once more. That I made one mistake? No, I made five different types of mistakes in one question. I could have eliminated this. I could have thought of this. Of course, in hindsight, we are all geniuses. So, in hindsight, we are all geniuses. But in hindsight, we also learn that I should have thought of this, and why did I not eliminate this when I knew this? Sometimes questions, we have no idea about what they are asking. But when we see the options, we see that yes, I have read about this. For example, if they have written three words, and what do these words signify? We might know, we might not know what exactly signifies, but we can tell from the options that definitely these are not Harappan sites, definitely this is not related to Buddhism. So, that helps you eliminate and generate the answer. Of course, I do understand elimination is becoming very difficult now. I just saw yesterday's paper. So, yes, elimination is becoming difficult, but it will still help you. It will take you some distance. So, please work on that as well.

This was my prelims journey, and I've covered current affairs, I have covered previous year questions, and I have covered how you must cover a basic level of books. Apart from this, coming to test series for prelims, it's very important. And there is a lot of material in the market. Even I don't know which would be the best material, because till five days back, I was also trying out the material. So, again, how you compare if a test series is good for you or not, you compare it with the previous year questions. You can see that essay questions, you please see, you keep comparing it with the previous year questions, that yes, such questions are being asked, such type of analysis is important. And more importantly, test series are also important for that level of simulation. That you go to a test center, you see many psychologically being ready for the exam is also very important. So, I took that practice very seriously, irrespective of how much I scored. I just felt that I should not feel nervous when I'm sitting in a room with so many candidates, and I'm, you know, filling the OMR.

Which brings me to my next point, how to fill the OMR. So, in my first attempt, I did not prepare a very specific strategy of when I am going to fill the OMR sheet, and I think I wasted time in that. Because first time I was writing a competitive exam, I'm coming from a non-science background, so I felt scared filling in that, okay, is this my final answer, really? Because it's going to be fixed. So, make that strategy. I was very clear that once I'm done with 33 questions, irrespective of how much is done, I will fill the OMR. Next 33 questions, the moment I'm done, I'm quickly going to fill the OMR. Because don't waste time. You have taken a decision, trust that decision, and don't waste time after that, because you have very less time per question. If you're putting in more time, then you will miss out on some other easy questions.

Coming to easy questions now, do not get them wrong. There is no alternative to getting the easy questions right. If you get an easy question wrong, you have to compensate it by getting a difficult question right. So, those 30 to 35 questions which are manageable, they are non-negotiable. You have to get them right. And if you are making silly mistakes over there, then you are asking UPSC, "Please, so those 30 questions, 30 to 35 questions which are directly there, be very serious about it." Solve the easy questions with more focus. Easy questions, and that's what I learned from my two attempts, that how can I make a silly mistake over here? That I felt it should be this, I know. So, for example, there was a question on H2, and I said, "Oh my God, this has been so much in the news." I read the first option, and I should have read all the options. So, we get more excited with the easy questions. Be very calm over there.

Coming to difficult questions, they are difficult for everyone. Okay? So, please put up that fight. Like I said, that three words are given, we have no idea, but keep fighting till the last word of the last option. I have no idea. You have to be in that spirit over there, that yes, I have come here to solve this question. Last part about prelims, I would say that I wrote on my question paper in my third attempt that this Paper One is also a CSAT paper. It requires your logical reasoning, it requires your mind to be in an analytical mode, and it requires you to derive information. Something, those calculations have to be there. So, the way we are attentive in a CSAT paper, you have to be extremely attentive in the first paper. You might not know certain things, but you have to be in that problem-solving mode, that however much I know, I am going to try to attempt.

I know there are some basic questions about how much I attempt and in how much time I finish the paper. So, I attempted approximately 90 questions in all three attempts. Sometimes in my third attempt, it was 94, in my second attempt, it was 86, but roughly around this range. I know the strategy can be very different for different people. Some people have a very high level of accuracy. I have some friends who have cleared the exam with much less number of attempts. But I am just sharing my own experience, and I was sort of in that fighting mode. At least I put up a fight. So, I had that attitude. Please find what kind of a strategy will be beneficial for you. So, I felt in my third attempt that yes, three years I have studied, I have sufficient second-level knowledge to solve the first-level questions. I might not know directly where this is coming from, but I'm going to trust myself and my intuition about because I might have read it somewhere, because this journey has been so, so long, I might have read it somewhere, and I decided that I'm going to trust myself, and that worked for me. So, with experience comes maturity. Don't play with the strategy in your very first attempt. Be very careful. If you feel you have read enough, then trust yourself. If you feel your knowledge is not enough, then take a step back and then analyze if you really want to attempt. So, my strategy was this, roughly 90 questions I'm going to attempt, and above 60 I have to get right if I want to clear. So, what 30 questions, it is okay to get some questions wrong. Don't run after those questions too much. I have room for 25 questions that I can get wrong, and it's fine. So, that helped me calm myself and it helped me limit my nervousness.

So, I'll quickly take a few questions about prelims, and if we are done with that, I will move to Mains. Any questions at all? How is it possible? Okay, I'll move to Mains then. Yes, I also saw the paper, and yes, it was difficult, and comparatively to last year also, it was more difficult for me. I have in my college studied for CAT, so I still had that material with me, and I have learned those things early on in my graduation, so that helped me somewhere. So, but still, I would suggest that please take CSAT very seriously. Like recently, I have been interacting with the other toppers, and I have found out that they have cleared GS, but they are not clearing CSAT. And this is a real issue. Do not be casual in your CSAT examination. Please stay awake, attentive, and fight till the last minute in those two hours. And apart from that, throughout the year for comprehension, one practice that was very helpful for me in solving comprehension is, long back in college, a senior had suggested that whenever you read a newspaper article, a paragraph, summarize. Just I've read this, okay, what does it mean? It means these two, three things. I've read another paragraph, I've read a whole article, and then I keep that aside and I think to myself, okay, they talked about this, they talked about this. So, you should have that habit of summarizing articles in your mind, because that shows your comprehension, that you read a long paragraph and you could then summarize it in your mind. I think they are testing a similar thing over there. So, options can be closed, but once you have this practice for over a year, I think it really worked for me for over a year. You will be able to handle the comprehension part.

Coming to quantitative analysis, that is your practice. Please find a material, and I think there's a lot of material in the market. I think something that I've always done is that if I have a very big challenge, I try to break it down. I just decide I'm going to do this five minutes every day. Don't make it a very big task. So, you can imagine the power that over a year, just two, two questions I have done, and I have covered so many topics. So, try to make it easy for yourself if you don't like it. But yes, please, please take CSAT very seriously. Or someone had a question, something which will remain constant in while preparing for prelims, some strategy which will which will never fail, even if the paper is going to be a bummer. For example, you said PYQs, we should always analyze them and keep them handy. Yeah, but there are some strategic, how do we approach prelims when it is going to be so dynamic? See, I also followed a lot of tricks and all YouTube videos, too much information. I have also followed for those videos, but it works to an extent. And I think it used to work. That is an outdated strategy. It used to work. But in my third attempt, when I saw the pairs in the question, how am I going to eliminate anything at all? So, knowledge is non-negotiable. So, please take your knowledge and your hard work very seriously. Because if I am saying that you have to do the newspaper every day, you have to do it every day, and you have to make those notes, and you have to do current affairs, and then you have to revise them also. Often we make notes, both notebooks. Please take the knowledge part of it very seriously. Knowledge is also non-negotiable. After you set that minimum, keep on increasing that. Okay, science and technique, environment, I know all these things. I have seen the map of all Ramsar sites. I have seen all national parks, which state it is in. With my friends, we used to keep on practicing that. I would say the name, they would say the state. So, keep having those friendly interactions with your friends also, where you keep on practicing it. So, knowledge is also non-negotiable. And these tricks are there, they will take you only so far. That's what I feel. Maybe it has worked differently for the people, but I feel that MCQ solving ability over there, it will come from previous year questions, at least the last three years, from 2019, 20, 21, 22, and now 23. You have five papers that have been on the analytical side and less on the factual side. So, these five papers are really going to help you. Spend a lot of time. Spend every day sometime with just two, three questions. Those three questions, those four questions, just these. This was also one way to solve it. So, that really helps. Keep, please keep those interactions on.

One last question quickly. Ma'am, as you said, for like, newspaper, you have to read it religiously daily and make some notes along with that news reading, and you have to follow one website also for that. Like, we are covering all the things or not? So, for that website, you are talking about PIB websites or any coaching websites? I think go, I followed different websites from different attempts, and at the end of it, it is safe to say that everyone is providing a lot of material. So, there is now the problem of excess material. So, follow one coaching website, because they are collating material from PIB, from four or five newspapers. If you think that this is important, again, previous year questions will help you understand what is important. That is very important, because today there is excess material. We try to note down everything. So, previous year questions, and there are many websites today that are covering this comprehensively. So, do a quick Google search and find the website that suits you best. Very different from different. Next month, I'm sure nobody wants a that helps you set the base. That, okay, this is how I can go and solve over there. Okay, thank you. Quickly, yeah. Thank you. Is there a way to increase calculate? Yes, people often feel that aptitude cannot be changed. Aptitude can be increased, and I have seen this personally in my life also. Because in college, somehow, I'm deviating. I don't want to talk a lot about that, because that was just something I was doing on the side. But I started with a very low percentile in the mocks for CAT, and in two years, by the time I was in my final year, my percentile had really increased. So, that's when I realized that aptitude is not something that is cast in stone. You have one whole year for an attempt. Your aptitude will surely increase if you invest that time in yourself, and if you keep practicing on a daily basis. So, find the different topics, again, previous year questions, last part, limited topics, limited syllabus questions, like that. So, I think it's doable. I think you can increase your aptitude. Okay, by studying. Please study. You cover all the topics. [Music] If you manage your time efficiently, important topics are listed. Yogi, cheese, finite list, previously questions. So, please manage your syllabus very carefully. Okay, I'll quickly move on to Mains. I'll take the remaining questions at the end. So, because you guys are very new, or has anyone given this year's attempt? Okay. Uh, so, but I'll just still give you a brief about Mains. I'm sure you're very new. Uh, so, answer writing is very important. And once you're done with the basic level of syllabus, prelims basic syllabus, we know a little bit about different topics everywhere. So, once you have done that, I think GS1 syllabus, subscribe, apart from social issues and world history. So, GS1 is something you can start with. So, five, just keep going through the questions. Exam patterns are 20 questions. Because what helped me the most was that even though I did not clear two prelims, I was working very hard on my Mains for two years. And that is why when I was just waiting for that chance, that I should get that opportunity to write Mains, and when I get that opportunity, I will not make a mistake, because I am coming with two years of practice. Practice. So, please is also non-negotiable. Keep practicing, keep writing one answer. I think a previous year topper, Anudeep Durishetty sir, has also said that, "Write garbage, write poetry, but write." So, that was written very big on my study table. That, "Write garbage, write poetry, but because often what happens, we keep waiting that they will come one day when I will know everything and I will write everything." And essay answers work towards that day. First, write a bad answer. It's okay. I have written very bad answers, and that's how I improved. That's how I compared that answer to rank one's answer, and I felt, "Okay, this is the difference." So, please find your mistakes, and you will only find your mistakes by writing. So, start. If you feel that, classmates, see if you can, how much time it is taking you. There, we have very limited time. Okay. Okay, it took me half an hour to write one answer. Today, it can take one hour also, just to fill those two pages efficiently, because you're just at the beginning of your journey. So, don't get scared. But you have one year. Reduce. So, please, please invest that time. Write one answer daily. In my Vajiram class, in one of the first few classes, the first answer I was asked to write was, "Why do I want to be a civil servant?" And I took that activity very seriously, and I still have that answer with me, because it's very important to start for the right reasons and to sustain for the right reasons. So, anytime I had self-doubt, I always went back to that first page of my first notebook, that why do I want to be a civil servant? Can I sum that up in one page? Can I sum up all my dreams and all my aspirations and everything that my life has been about and everything that has led me up to this moment in one page? So, if you can do that, that shows your ability to express in a very short space with maximum vocabulary. And that's how you start. So, please start again sufficiently.

Coming to GS1, 2, 3, 4, how to manage the syllabus. I know it's a lot, and I know you guys are new. So, hello. So, the syllabus is lot, but it's good questions. So, you need to be able to quickly change your mindset from one subject to another. So, use this instead of. I've heard a lot of people complaining about it. Yeah, there is no organized system. That is the system. They require you to quickly adapt from one subject to another. Questions. So, find your advantages in all your disadvantages. They are not able to come to coaching institutes. You are getting that environment. Make maximum use of it and be very, very sincere about it. That I have this opportunity, and I'm going to take the best of it, no matter what it offers to me. So, any questions about Mains? Good afternoon, ma'am. Yes, first of all, congratulations to you for this outstanding achievement. Okay, you are really an inspiration. Yeah, yeah. Okay, you are truly an inspiration for all of us. My question is that, how you prioritize the study topics while covering the vast syllabus of UPSC study topics? Yeah. So, one easy way is to have that vision board in front of you. So, I always pasted the syllabus in front of me. So, I had an idea, key option, let's start with this, then we will expand into new directions. So, again, basic minimum syllabus, and first, you divide your year. That these three months, and three months, and three months, how I'm going to divide my time. Then you divide your months in those three months, and then you divide your weeks, and then you divide your days. So, I had that chart in front of me in my room, and I had divided my year like that. So, even if I was missing targets, I was never like, me, but keep moving forward. It's okay to miss your targets. We all think that, hamnik target when I are following. I think it's very few, very special people in this world who said that syllabus target and they meet it. I was not one of them. And but if I said that by Sunday, I'm supposed to complete these things, I did. And if I did not, I did not stop it. That I completed it by Wednesday, by Thursday, till the next. But don't let that stop. So, you will have these challenges, and you will have a lot of topics that you are unable to efficiently increase. But stay at it. So, have that faith if you are consistent. So, please paste that syllabus in front of you. You will have a lot of topics, and I used a highlighter. So, topic, they say, for example, world history, options in round two, I will worry about expanding more, but I have done my minimum. So, keep doing your minimum and keep increasing your tick marks. I think those tick marks were a big motivator for me.

I connect more with Indian Express. The language was easier for me, so I read that. And for my interview, I was reading two newspapers religiously, Mint and Indian Express. But apart from this, I was following top headlines of all national newspapers, all newspapers, non-negotiably. I was spending three to four hours because interview is a conversation point. I don't know where they are coming from. So, for that, I followed all national newspapers and just the headlines, not reading in detail. Indian Express and my second and third attempt. In my first attempt, Hindu. Yeah. How to choose an optional and what role optional can help, where are you? Okay, what role optional can help in prelims and in GS? Yes, very good question, actually, because I changed my optional. So, I think that can help you guys. I was also considering a lot of options and what I should choose. Since I was coming from an economics background, economics is somewhere I will have an advantage because that's my graduation and I have basic idea. But then again, I wanted to find out where do my strengths lie. And makes what analysis always talk about it that please have your SWOT analysis at all times. You should know your strength, your weakness, your opportunities, and your threat areas. So, my strength was my writing skills, and I felt that I can express well about contemporary issues or that are going on, international relations, something that is very everyday, because I am doing the newspaper well. So, that was my biggest strength, and that kind of a room for expression was better available in social sciences. And I felt Political Science is a subject where I can effectively express about things that are ongoing, especially in paper 1B where we talk about religion, issues, women issues, social issues, and also to be where we talk about international relations. So, please analyze the syllabus of these papers very well and find out that this is a subject where I have a keen interest in, and naturally, I will have some edge over here. So, that's how I chose Political Science. Not to endorse the optional, because everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses. But I felt after writing Mains that PSIR had a lot of overlap with GS1, 2, 3, 4. All four subjects, I have used my PSIR knowledge, and that really helped me because for GS2, I did not have to work too hard on IR, and I did not have to work too hard on Polity in GS2 again. So, GS2 paper was well managed, and I think I have scored well in my GS2 paper. Apart from that, in GS1, world history, social issues, it really helped me, and ethics also, because I had already learned and studied about the thinkers. So, please find that overlap. But it's not very necessary also. If you think that you have an optional where you can really express yourself and you have that advantage over there, because optional is something where you get to display how you think, apart from that, GS approach, stand out there. So, work on your strengths, find that strength, and then choose your optional. That's it. So, a lot of these questions are there, and even I used to wonder. So, there are a lot of questions about these things, but I feel that the question, if you feel you can express better with points, but if you feel that you need to rather express your ideas, which will be better expressed in a paragraph format, you can find my answer copies online. I have used both formats interchangeably whenever I felt that this is the demand of the question. So, that's how I did it. That decision-making flexibility, if you feel that adds to your expression, then please do it. But do not force-fit any one strategy. One, that's what I'm saying. Once you start writing up rose, rose, you will find that I can write better in paragraph format. So, many topic copies, I saw paragraphs, they have scored very well. So, that is the demand of the question. Understand it. If it's a very brief question, which requires your ideas and which requires you to connect many things, so paragraph format is also fine. But yes, please try to increase representation and presentation. For example, if it's about art and culture in India, so it's a map. This is Southern India, this is Northern India culture, and how it is differing. You can find that in my answer copies. I have tried to do that in my mocks also. So, and one very important thing about your mocks, be very disciplined. If it is three hours, I used to put my pen down. I did not take even one minute extra time. Questions shooter, you can find my copies, they will have empty pages also. So, be very, very disciplined. Three hours, Matlab, three hours. Go. Two hours, spend down. After that, not a minute extra, and not a minute less also. Complete. We are more comfortable. I can finish the paper in one and a half hours. That is also not right. You should have the stamina to fight for two hours sitting over there, because on the final day, you will be fighting for two hours over there. So, be very disciplined about the time. Eight minutes or always have a clock. One interesting strategy that I had was hamesha possibility. So, I used an analog watch. All my time, I should be done with the paper. I just have 15 minutes. So, that time stamp should be internal. Where an analog watch, just change the time. So, no need to always be like, because many people study at night, and many people have different routines. To find solutions, always find solutions. No problem is there that cannot be solved. To a certain extent, you can make things easy for yourself. So, find out ways and these tricks that can help you. I found out this trick. I'm very, I'll be very happy if you can find new things and guide other students next year. So, any questions? Yes, development was subjected. I will agree, unpredictable. Environment, difficult. It's fine. Questions. I also try to limit it to that one subject, one book, then previous year questions, then current affairs. Current affairs, me, I think Science and Tech and Environment, it's a very vast area, both of these subjects. So, I also found it a bit challenging. So, try to supplement it a lot with current affairs and be consistent with it. Difficult area.

Yes, I think languages are qualifying, so that can be put on some lower level. Of course, it's very important. People have not qualified it so much. But I did that in those three months after prelims. Coming to essay and ethics, I think both go together. And essay, I would say that what is most important is to read good material. If you read, if you are an avid reader, material, those people naturally do well in essay papers. But again, finding that good material. So, I started following some newspapers that were abroad, and I started finding authors, and I took a lot of recommendations from my cousins and from friends, because I was not a novel reader or a writer as such. So, find those friends and people who are reading a good material. I think any British newspaper, one newspaper you can try. Whenever you are studying for essay, not in general, but you go through that newspaper and you see the language and you see how they are expressing their ideas. Whenever you read an editorial in your own newspaper, you think that this person has also made a strategy that I want to convey five things with an introduction and a conclusion. So, that will help you get into the minds of good authors. So, find those authors that you relate with the most. So, I tried to find authors, but somewhere I am in this direction, I like this style of writing. So, I found and researched on those authors and I started following them and I started following the articles every day. Again, I make these things very easy. So, throughout those three months, every day I used to read one article and I used to try to get into the mind of the writer. Okay, okay, they wanted to explain this, but they started on a completely different note. So, just try to get into their minds. Find out those that you really like and resonate with. I'm sure it will be different for other people because there is no standard way to get good marks in an essay. So, find authors, writers whose writings, for example, I really like the writings of Sudha Murty. It was very relatable, it was very contemporary, and it dealt with issues that mattered. So, following her writings, following her ideas, her interviews, I felt that, okay, this is somewhere, of course, I'm not at that level, but somewhere I like this, it resonates with me. I'm going to follow her, and some of her ideas I'm going to include. So, similarly, there was a list of many authors that I was following, and I somewhere I try to include their ideas and make my own ideas through their writing. Because once you read good material, it starts to get you thinking. Maybe, you know, you start thinking in your own direction, and that's where unique ideas start coming in. So, find your uniqueness in essay. Do not follow anyone. I tried reading a lot of copies of toppers, but I always felt that they are writing very well. Like, I think Vikram Garib also had scored phenomenally in essay, but when I read his material, I was like, yeah, the style of writing is very different. So, I should find my own uniqueness, and I should find my own style of writing. So, please find your own voice in this journey. Doing hard work when your prelims not cleared in your last two attempts, so how to handle those difficulty failures? It was very difficult. I will not say, and this is a very big step that you have taken in life that you are even decided to prepare for it. That in itself deserves an applause. I have studied, and I was not clearing the first stage, and to do it twice in a row, I think that was very disheartening. A lot of self-doubt, a lot of fear, and because I had left my job also, full-time I was preparing, so yes, there was external pressure, internal pressure. We start to judge ourselves, okay, maybe this is not meant for me, or something like that. Let those thoughts come. It is natural to feel that way, but don't let it stop you. It is natural to feel bad, and it is natural to feel stressed out, and it is natural to be concerned because we are investing our time. You will feel concerned. It is very natural. So, first, accept that feeling, but don't stop at that. You keep moving forward. Please find those people, and I would just say that find the right friends. Please find the right friends. This is a tough journey, and finding the right people along with you is very important. To be very careful about the kind of influence you have in your life. You can do so well. You were in corporate sector. You can do this, you can do that. They are also meaning well. They also want the best for you. But that is still positive. Any kind of negativity, please. Mental health. This journey is going to be very challenging at an emotional level, and please prioritize your mental health, because there is isolation and there is seclusion. So, we feel fearful that how do we go back, how do we still interact? And I still remember that some teachers in Vajiram had always encouraged that, please interact with your regular friends also. You should not be so cut off in a cocoon that you don't know anything outside this world, and we start reading so much. So, please keep interacting with your friends who are non-UPSC, and I think they will help you keep grounded, and they will keep telling you three opportunities. So, that is a very delusional and deceptive thing. So, don't let that get to you. It's okay to feel higher. I'm stuck up. Say, but don't let that stop you. It's okay. Fine. Let other people excel in their fields. Your time will come up. Everything will come to you in due time, and when you are ready for it. So, stay true to your own journey. Don't compare with others, and don't try to be like they are over here. Some other friends will clear prelims, you will not clear prelims. Some people will become, so many of my friends over already IAS officers. So, don't let that get to you. Be very happy for them. Be very supportive for them, and stay true to your own journey. Quickly, one more question. Yeah.

And eight hours again. Studying is also good because that kind of consistency, it seems less, but it is difficult to maintain throughout the year. Eight hours every day, and with your breaks. So, I tried to do that. And yes, definitely some personal time for connecting with your friends, staying connected, because life, you will still have obligations towards your family. You will still have obligations towards your friends, and do not take that for granted. Your family and your friends are the ones who will sustain you. So, you are a part of the family, you are part of the friends, so be there for your family, and be there for your friends, and manage your time efficiently. Then you can take a step back. But don't be like, don't refrain from that responsibility that I have no obligation towards you. Your friends are going to be very important in this journey, especially in mine, that was so long, more than three years, so I could not have done it alone. Nobody becomes successful alone. They need the community, they need their own people. So, give them importance. Yes, my question is that, Mom, we're three years of experience in PSIR choosing as an optional. Like, the paper two is very dynamic. So, what are the challenges? How cautious should we be? And how to prepare for it for the dynamic part? And second is that, as you said, that we are starting with the journey, a timeline of, you know, one year, that how our course, like, briefly, Mota Mota blueprint of how to go forward. So, two questions over there. PSIR, firstly, dynamic part. Newspapers are a good starting point. It will tell you that these things are going on. For example, for example, Ocus is over there, or Quad is over there. So, you will know about the broad issues that are in the news. You can start over there. Then you must also always see who is the author writing this, and then you can read their other articles, because all reputed authors are writing in these good newspapers. So, then you can follow the article separately. I think ORF was a very good source. The Diplomat was a very good source for international relations. Answer writing, and a few more websites that I followed on a day-to-day basis. So, I will share that on my Telegram channel in detail, the 10, 7 to 10 websites that I was following, not daily, but what should be my opinion on Quad? So, I would quickly go and read how these people are expressing over there, and what is the national perspective. And of course, first, please follow. I think it's very inspiring to see how our External Affairs Minister is representing India at a global stage. So, that will set your context for you. Also, a great journalist was Palki Sharma. So, I have followed her short videos on, I think she's with First Post now, earlier she was with WION. So, that has also been helpful. Yeah. Hi, congratulations, ma'am. Thank you. How are you feeling now? That's my first day. I think I'm just feeling that I should responsibly convey the right things, so that people can benefit, because I have also benefited from the topper talks.

So I'm just trying to stay uh responsible right now, that's all.

Okay, great. So we have a question. Um, how much did the role of coaching help you? Uh, and at the time of your coaching, like what was your schedule? Because I know we have lots of time investing on our coaching, like 2.5 plus the optional. So how was your schedule at that time when you were taking your coaching?

I think that's a very valid question, uh, and I think that's going to be beneficial for a lot of people. So thank you for putting that up. Uh, yes, it can be very challenging because, uh, Daiganta GS, two and a half hours, optional five hours are gone. And so my eight hours, my three hours, I used to feel very scared about it. So in my calendar or in my diary, I would always write the number of hours I'm studying. So I started with three hours, I increased it to four hours, to five hours. And in a month or two, you will learn how to prioritize your classes. That there are certain subjects that you feel you can manage. So it's okay to leave those classes. You use that time for something else. So be very careful about where you are investing your two and a half hours. In subjects that I needed help, I was very regular. But in subjects, uh, like ethics, where I felt that I can express, I don't think honesty is something that can be taught to me. If I naturally write it, if I naturally write about integrity from my own life issues, I will express better. So there are certain classes, but there are many people who might need help with this. So you prioritize as per your advantages. It's okay to leave out some classes, some subjects. For example, many people are from a science background, they would know many things. So it doesn't make sense for them to sit for two and a half hours and be at par with people who have no idea about it. So you find your background, background, say, foreign, because you have to be honest in your own journey to UPSC, not in your journey of coaching.

Now, to your other question, how helpful was coaching for me? Uh, I was coming from a corporate background and for two years I was working completely different from an academic background. So I felt that I needed that external push of discipline and I needed to get back in touch. And, uh, initially, I felt that I did not have too many mentors that I can go to. Dheere dheere, I did find those people. So initially, it felt like the right decision to me to come and take coaching and, uh, to ensure that I don't leave any stone unturned. So that kind of security it gave me psychologically. So there was a psychological benefit. Coming to academic benefits, uh, there are some subjects where I benefited, like Ravindran's Source class, classes with polity. Uh, I still have the words in my mind, the way he teaches, because it is very, very, uh, good, I feel. So polity, I got help with, and, uh, many subjects that I got help with. So it did help me to an extent. But since I was also the COVID batch, so our classes were cut short in 2020. Suddenly, there was a lockdown. So somewhere, uh, it is good because at the end of every class, there should be some interaction about the questions, okay, previous year questions. If the teachers can inculcate that in their curriculum, I think it will give you a lot of direction and it will help you understand why it is important to attend that class. So I will humbly request it to sir and to teachers also that please keep that connect with prelims and Mains, sensitive note-making, interactive question-answer, MCQ-based discussion. So I hope that can be done for you guys.

Uh, yes, library. So many times we feel isolated in our room. And so to break that monotony, I have joined libraries and I've tried many libraries by now. It feels good that you are not alone and it feels good that so many people are putting in effort. So sometimes that external push is required apart from your internal discipline. Yeah.

Okay, my friend is so disciplined, I can also do this. And my friend is doing so much, so I should also do more. So somewhere that creates a very healthy competition. So that's why I was saying that don't be very petty in your competition. Competitors group and finding that right peer group is what will really help you in this journey because it will create that environment for you for positive discussion and topics. So fine, find those honest friends who you feel are on the same timeline as you. Say, I know it can be very difficult. I could find who was on a similar timeline as me, similar pace of revision. So but keep looking. If you don't look, you won't find. So find those friends.

So we have, uh, 10 to 12 minutes. Uh, I'll be happy to take questions or I could also talk about my interview experience. So interview experience, uh, I'll quickly do that because people have questions. Uh, a lot of scare is created. I'll start from the start. A lot of scare is created about the boards. Please do not fall for that because in my experience, everything I was told, it was completely opposite. It was completely opposite of it. And they, I was told that in such and such board, no questions related to your DAF are asked, but my interview went a lot on my DAF and a lot about me. I was also told that this interview does not give any marks. So do not fall for it. But somewhere that scare is always there in our minds. Averages, they might want to push, and I find these things to be, uh, unfair. Do not fall for these things. Do not let them guide you. It is going to be a very fair procedure and trust in your own process. If you do well, you will be rewarded. So please have that faith in the process. Do not question it and do not fall for rumors. There are a lot of rumors about a lot of things in the industry. There will be insecurity always. There will be insecurity and people will capitalize on your insecurity, whether it is for prelims, whether it is for mains, whether it is for interview. I have also been scared after reading about these things, but at the end of the day, trust the process, submit to the process, and please have faith in the process.

Uh, my interview experience, what benefited me the more most was having that peer group of five to six people wherein we conducted interviews for each other in rounds. And, uh, four people would create a panel for me, and my friends would ask me questions, and we were very professional about it. And then I would ask them questions. So we learned from their answers and we also learned how to think like an interviewer. That if I have to ask this girl a question, probably I would go in these directions. So that helps you give, give the interview and also understand to get into the minds of the person who is taking your interview. So both ways, it was extremely helpful. And this is the only sole activity that really helped me. Again, a very healthy peer group where we are contributing towards their success, they are contributing towards my success wholeheartedly, telling me about the updates that they have read in the newspaper wholeheartedly. I was sharing my notes that I had, clippings that I had, because at this stage, you have to help each other. Ticket, things might go in anyway, and these things will always stay with you. So I will always, always appreciate all the friends who have invested their time and, uh, the kind of healthy environment that was there. So peer group is number one. It's going to be 80% of the effort. And yes, mock interviews, since my interview was in the later stage, it was on 18th April, so COVID time for three, four months, so I took a lot of mock interviews because every 10 days, that was my strategy. Heart doesn't pay a interview so that I stay in the flow, I don't get a lot deviated. Having a conversation with senior bureaucrats who have retired and just to be in that, simulate that environment was very helpful for me. So that was my strategy with mock interviews. It does help to some extent. Don't take the feedback to your heart, uh, because there is only so much you can change. I felt my posture was not good in many of them. So I felt that I need to sit straight and my posture is not good. So that is one thing I learned. I also further, I speak very fast, so I need to slow down my pace because I need to appear a bit calm and composed. So that is another thing that I worked on. And, uh, another thing you can work on is your pauses. And okay, you know, don't, if they finish the question, exam, so don't jump at the answer. Be patient with them because there might be a longer question than that. Sometimes there is a monologue in the question. So these small things you can change. How I sit, how I use my hands, how I take my pauses, and how long my answers are. My answer should not be very long, though. Minute, 30 seconds, I would say that don't be rigid. Your question, be very conversational. You're trying to just have an interaction. It is not like it's going to be very daunting. Uh, in fact, the interview board was very cordial. The moment I entered, they really comforted me and they said that it's not possible to know everything. We understand that. So if you don't know something, please tell us honestly. And the kind of humility it takes for sir to be on the other end and say something like this, that it's not possible, so please be comfortable. That gave me a lot of assurance that, okay, it's okay that if I don't know because that's what we tried. So that really helped me. And I think that can set the stage for you, that it's okay to not know everything, but be very honest. Just to know what you don't know is a very big deal. Yes, I might not know it today, but I'm willing to read it and I'll learn about it. And thank you for pointing it out. Be very positive and conversational and respectful towards that.

Okay, we'll take questions until they come in. Uh, I'm done from my side. Yes.

That is, can you tell what he's asking? If I'm going back to my first attempt, what will be okay? Uh, so old NCERT, new NCERT, theme, um, and once you are done with this, then just flip through the book again. But don't be so fearful about it. Just read any one thoroughly. You should know well about the timeline in history, contemporary, then expand. Second, my advice to myself two, three years back would be that it's okay. It's okay to fail. And, uh, don't take it to your heart. Don't take failures to your heart and don't take success to your head. So these are the only two things I would always say that it's okay to fail and, uh, it's okay to make your own mistakes. And it's important to learn from other people's mistakes. And I have always learned. So, uh, keep, find the right mentors, but please listen to the right mentors whom you have faith in and whom you think can guide you correctly. And, uh, please, please just do not fall for a lot of things. We both in security creators. I was very careful about the people I was interacting with when I was here. So be careful about the content people.