Transcription
Whatever you will develop over the years of time, you would need to apply those things in the paper itself. Then you have to see whether you are getting net positive or net negative. So that analysis should be done that will help you to see up till when how many questions will you are you are going to attempt.
Handwritten material for me for revision also. So that was my approach, sir, having short notes and covering all the relevant NCERTs and the standard books.
So first of all, sleep routine. It plays a very important role because sleep is the best meditation. If your mind is tired, you won't be able to use your mind in the examination hall.
So if you are writing a more number of examples, you will bring some relevancy to your argument. So you have to prepare a lot of examples in section A. That was my approach for Paper 1, 2, 3, and 4. Consistent perseverance, the chances, the probability of getting selection will increase.
[Music]
[Applause]
Good morning, everyone. So today we have Abhishek, AIR 14 this year. So he has a very good journey of UPSC. This is his third time in the list. Last to last year, he got IRS, last year IPS, and this year IAS. So, a very big round of applause for him. I will request Git ma'am to please do the facilitation of Abhishek. We will do it in a structured manner. Okay. He will share his journey and how he prepared related to various aspects of the exam, and in between, we will take questions also. So if you have questions related to Prelims or Mains, segment by segment, we will do that. Okay.
So Abhishek, I will start by asking a very basic question. How this year, when you saw your name in the PDF, was different from the last years?
Sir, this time the experience was very different because I am undergoing training at NPA. Right now, I am on leave, but on the day of the result, we have the rock climbing module. So I was in Mussoorie and I was climbing a rock, a natural rock, and I was in between when my friend shouted from below that the result has come, you got 14. The first reaction was, I came down immediately to check the result. So it was a little bit different in that sense. And secondly, when I got my rank, when I got rank 14, so finally the journey has come to an end. So that feeling of completion with a good rank, with satisfaction, was there. Earlier, when I got IPS and IRS, though there was one feeling in my head that I have to give the exam again for IAS, but now the sense of completion, the sense of satisfaction was there.
That is so nice. So, like, trail us through your journey. Like, when did you seriously think, okay, now I will go for civil services, and what inspired you?
So, it's a long journey. It started in the first year itself. Because if you look at the Indian society, if you are good at studies, or if you are good, coming from a science background, you will take admission in an engineering college. Same happened with me also. So I took admission in engineering, but in the very first year, I was sure that what I don't want to do, and that was engineering. So, fortunately, one of my professors in the second semester, he was preparing for UPSC, and he was about to write Mains that year, I think the year was 2014 or 15. So he introduced the class with UPSC, what options will you get if you clear the civil services examination, and that was the first time when I realized, okay, this is something where my personality aligns. And after that, I searched about the examination, and I got to know that this is an exam where you will get an opportunity to work at the grassroots level, you can bring change in the society, and that was the motivation for me. In the second year and third year, I had decided, okay, I will prepare for this examination. And when I passed out from my college, I started to prepare, sir.
Okay. So when you passed out from your college, from there you seriously began your preparation, right?
Yes, sir.
So, what was the first or two years after the graduation like? What did you do in the beginning of this preparation?
Sir, first thing that I used to do, I used to listen to a lot of topper talks because I wanted to get to know about the exam, what I need to study. Because there was no one in my family who had given the exam. So I searched a lot. The initial one month went into research. I listened to many topper talks. I finalized my book list. Then I started with the NCERTs. For example, for geography, I read from 6th to 12th. But for history, I read only 11th and 12th NCERT. I also started to read the newspaper, The Hindu. And because earlier my primary education was in the Hindi medium, so comprehending The Hindu was a challenge for me. So I used to watch several videos on YouTube that used to do the analysis of The Hindu. So, in a summary, I started with the NCERTs and The Hindu newspaper, and gradually I shifted to the standard books and the answer writing and the solving PYQs.
And like, a lot of students actually struggle with content in the beginning of their preparation. So, what was your approach towards content related to various aspects, especially for GS?
The first thing that I took very seriously from the topper talks is that you have to limit your resources. So, first thing that was clear in my mind is that I have to limit my resources, and I stuck to the basic book list. For example, Laxmikanth, 95% people will recommend you that you have to read Laxmikanth. So I stuck to Laxmikanth. When I was reading modern history, I stuck to the Spectrum book. I did not read Bipin Chandra. People suggested me that you should read Bipin Chandra. So that was very clear in my mind that I have to limit my sources. And when it comes to GS, I segregated the syllabus into two parts. First is the basic part, for example, polity, economics, geography, and that is common for both Prelims and Mains. So I read all the relevant NCERTs and the standard books. And when it comes to the GS part of Mains, one thing that I did, and that helped me a lot throughout my five Mains, is that the topics that are written in the syllabus, for example, e-governance, self-help groups, I made one-pager notes. And that one-pager notes will have the definition, some value addition points like data, some diagrams, some flowcharts, some committee suggestions. That actually acts like a handwritten material for me for revision also. So that was my approach, sir, having short notes and covering all the relevant NCERTs and the standard books.
And like, you have a decent duration of journey, and motivation is a factor that is very crucial also.
Yes, sir.
So, how did you keep your motivation level at the required pace as well as level?
Yes, sir. When it comes to motivation, sir, my fun is very clear that this exam is very long. Even if you clear this exam in the very first attempt, it will take at least one and a half to two years. So generally, in my opinion, that motivation should be internal. Many times, I saw friends who get motivated by external resources, for example, they will watch some movie, or somewhere in their friend circle will motivate them, or there may be some pressure from their parents, but that is not sustainable. So sustainable motivation is internal only. And for me, I have my own reason why I want to prepare for this examination, why I want to be a civil servant. The answer to that "why" helped me a lot, sir, during the phase of self-doubt, anxiety, fear. That answer to that "why" helped me. It acted like a motivation factor for me. That is the answer, sir.
And like, as you said, motivation is internal, but there are a lot of distractions also, especially social media.
Yeah.
So, were you active on social media while you were preparing actively for this exam?
Sir, I have a very on-and-off relation with social media during preparation. I was not totally inactive also, but there are phases when I deactivate my accounts also. Before Prelims, before Mains, I used to deactivate my account. But when the exam is two or three months away, I used to be a little bit active on social media, sir. Because what I feel is that if you are, if you totally cut yourself off from the rest of the world, the journey for me, at least, becomes a bit more depressing. So, to get into my senses, to remain calm and composed, I used to engage with the rest of the world, and for that, social media helped me.
So, what would you suggest to somebody who is starting their preparation? How should they manage their social media and these kinds of distractions?
Sir, not just with social media, but with everything in your life. It may be social media, it may be any other thing. You should be very clear that you should be in control. You should have control over that aspect. That thing should not control you. So that was in my mind. The day I feel that, okay, this social media is controlling me during my preparation, it is hampering my preparation, I used to deactivate my account. There was a time when I deleted the WhatsApp account also. So, you have to take the control. But there is no standard answer. You have to do this, you have to do that. You need to be a constant, you have to see the, you have to constantly see whether this thing is hampering you or not. And I used to do the same. The moment I feel, okay, this is hampering my preparation, I am feeling distracted, I used to deactivate that account immediately.
So, when did you start, like, thought about taking your optional as PSIR, because you did not have that background? So, what inspired you or motivated you to go for PSIR?
When I was deciding about my optional, PSIR was not in my mind. Initially, I thought of taking Philosophy as my optional. So I took admission in one of the coaching centers also. They provided three free classes. In the second class itself, I decided, okay, this is not going to be my option because it is very abstract. So then I thought, okay, I will take Anthropology. I read Anthro for two or three days. Then I was like, this is something I will not be able to sustain my preparation with. So at that point of time, one of my juniors, she was preparing for UPSC with Political Science optional. I talked to her. She was like, okay, the syllabus is vast, but it has a lot of coverage with GS, and the guidance is also there. And generally, the things are static, especially in Paper 1A and 2A. So with her reference, I looked at the syllabus of PSIR. Then I found, okay, I have interest in IR also, and the paper is having good coverage with GS. So then I decided, okay, this is something which I can take as my optional.
Interest is crucial. Like, you need to be confident you can, you will do that. Like with Philosophy, you did not get that confidence. For optional, interest should be the prime factor when you are going to select your optional because in GS, you need the length of your knowledge, but when it comes to optional, you need both length and breadth. You need to read the subject in detail, in depth also. And until and unless you have interest in your subject, you won't be able to do justice with it. So for me, interest was the prime factor behind taking Political Science as my optional.
Now coming to current affairs. Right now, there's a lot of confusion about current affairs. Somebody goes for newspaper, somebody says don't go for newspaper. There are magazines also, YouTube channels also. Everybody is giving something related to current affairs. So, what was your approach to current affairs?
For the first attempt and for the second attempt, I used to watch videos over YouTube of The Hindu analysis. Then I realized that newspaper has a utility, but that utility can also be fulfilled by the current affairs magazine because most of the current affairs magazines, they derive themselves from the newspaper and from magazines like Yojana, Kurukshetra also. And I always feel that if someone is taking pain for you, why should you take the pain again? If someone is reading the newspaper, if someone is reducing that newspaper into a current affairs magazine, then you should follow it. So after the first or second attempt, I stopped the newspaper to an extent. I relied upon the current affairs magazine only. But at the same time, I used to keep tap on the news also. For example, there are some websites, their application, Google News in Shorts, I used to have those applications on my phone so that at least I should be aware what is going on in and around the world. So that was just to keep an eye on the news. And for UPSC-specific preparation, I relied upon the current affairs magazine, sir.
Okay. Then we will move to Prelims now. So, what was your, see, Prelims, especially from the last three-four years, like it is an objective exam, but now it has appeared a lot of subjective, coming with a lot of subjectivity, right? So, somebody who has consistently gone through it, what do you think is the key for the Prelims stage, and how did you approach Prelims?
And sir, when it comes to Prelims, one thing that I used to focus a lot is the static subjects. Initially, I thought that Prelims is more about current affairs. I used to focus a lot on the current affairs, especially in my first attempt. Then I realized, key cut-off is around 90 to 100 marks, that is only 50% of the total marks. So I need to focus upon the other 50% of the marks. And if you do the analysis of the previous year papers, then I realized, okay, Prelims is more about static. Current affairs aspect is there, but that is not in your hand, but static is something where you can increase your accuracy, where you can increase your performance. So I used to focus a lot. I used to give a lot of focus upon the static subjects, sir. And when it comes to static also, I have my own priority list. Again, my strategy was based upon the previous year papers. I saw that every year around 18 to 20 questions are coming from Polity. And fortunately, we have one book for Polity also, that is Laxmikanth. For me, Laxmikanth or the Polity was the first priority. My focus was to have 90 to 95% accuracy in Polity. Similarly, if you look at Economics, especially the conceptual part of it, like GDP, GVA, monetary policy, current reserves, international reserves, every year around 8-9 questions are coming from this segment of Economics, and they are conceptual. If you have the conceptuality, there is a high chance that you will mark the answer right. The second priority I used to give upon the Economics conceptual part. The answer, again, Environment, because the Prelims of Forest Services and the Civil Services are the same. The UPSC will never undermine the importance of Environment in the Prelims. And again, 15 questions are coming from Environment, and out of 15 questions, I feel that 8 and 9 are manageable if you read the standard books, if you read the current affairs. So I used to focus upon the Environment. While apart from that, then Modern History, and then there are subjects like Ancient, Medieval, Art and Culture, where I felt that input-output ratio is not that good. I used to keep these subjects for the end. And my prime focus was on Polity, Economics, Environment, Modern History, and Geography. For Geography, one thing I also saw that most of the questions are coming from the NCERTs. So that was my focus area, sir. Apart from it, there are some map questions also that are low-hanging fruits. Every year around three or four questions are coming from the mapping part. And there are favorite areas of UPSC like the areas around the Mediterranean Sea, and if there is some conflict going on, UPSC has a habit of asking questions from the geography of that particular region. So that was my focus area. So with that, having a priority list, you know, giving focus on those subjects first, then reading Ancient, and then reading the current affairs from the magazine, and lastly, sir, the most important aspect is to do practice. Because Prelims is also now applied. They are not asking very direct questions. You have to apply your mind. And solving MCQs is a skill that can be developed only by practice. So I used to do a lot of practice. Initially, I used to solve around 60-70 model mock tests also. And more important aspect is also the previous year papers. Because UPSC may, if you develop a skill of reading the UPSC language, because UPSC sometimes frames a question in a particular language, and with that, you can eliminate the options, just elimination technique, common sense, that will develop only when you do a lot of PYQ practice. So that was my approach, sir, priority, PYQs, and more tests.
And like, a lot of students get confused viz-a-viz note-making and revision. So, like, were you very particular about having this such kind of notes, short notes, that notes, and how many times did you revise it? Like, what was your approach towards note-making and revision?
Yes, sir. For me, I am a very old-school kind of person. I made my notes handwritten. I have notes for almost all the subjects because I know that if I am reading Spectrum, that is a very bulky book, I won't be able to revise from that Spectrum. So after the second or third reading, I made notes. In my second attempt only, I made notes of the Spectrum. And in my third attempt, in my fourth attempt, in my fifth attempt, and in my sixth attempt, I never opened Spectrum. I only revised my notes. And those notes are very detailed. Then I know that I have written all the important aspects of Spectrum in my notes. And when you have handwritten notes, you can revise with speed also. Your speed of revision will also increase. So I made notes for 90% of the subjects. That was the handwritten notes. And when it comes to Mains, the importance of note-making increases manifold because between GS2 and GS3, you will get very less time to revise. And if you have short notes, you can revise very effectively. So in my opinion, notes played a very important role in my journey. And sir, I did the effort in the first or second attempt only about I have to only revise my notes. I have to only update my notes with the current affairs. The amount of effort will come down directly. I feel that note-making played a very important role.
And did you go for note-making for current affairs also?
No, sir. For current affairs, I did not make any notes. I have my static notes. For example, I have a notes on the topic e-governance. Then when I was reading the current affairs magazine for say, for example, of GS2, and if there is some news with respect to e-governance, and I used to extract the important data, important fact, important policy of that particular topic, and I used to write that thing in my static notes itself, so that they become comprehensive for current affairs also, for static also. I have one notes. I used to keep them updating.
Okay. So, like, did you find these magazines and compilations like PT365 is there? So, did you refer that for your Prelims examination?
Yes, sir. PT365, I used to read. Similarly, Mains365, I also referred for my Mains. But I did my own part also. For example, what I feel that Mains365 say, have for example, 100 pages. But I know only 30 or 40% content is the most important. About the Mains, I used to extract that 30 or 40% of the element from that magazine. And I used to write that, as I said earlier also, I used to write that in my static notes.
So, take us through the day before Prelims. Like, what do you do a day before Prelims? On the Prelims day, there are generally like there are rituals and something like that. Everybody has a notion, I will do this and do that. So, something like that, if you had?
Sir, what I used to do, just one week before Prelims, I have my own schedule. I have to revise this particular thing on Monday, Tuesday. So from Monday to Saturday, I have my revision schedule. Before Sunday is a Prelims day. So for Saturday, I have one thing in my mind that I will revise till very end, 7, 8 to 9. Because what I feel that if you are sitting alone, if you are not doing, everyone has their different perspective. Some people will say you have to be free, you have to keep your mind free just before Prelims. But my approach was different. That I know my personality, that I am, if I am sitting alone, multiple things will come into my mind. It may increase my anxiety, it may increase my fear. So I keep myself engaged. I just, you know, turn my paper so that I will be engaged till 9:00 or 10:00 in the night. And at around 10, 10:30, I used to sleep. And on the day of Prelims, I generally wake up early in the morning, 5 or 6. I take, if there is a temple nearby, I used to go to the temple just before my Prelims. I take the blessings of my parents. And just before Prelims, one thing that I used to say myself is that you have to take a risk so that you can take the risk. Because if you are going with your heart, then you will, before taking risk, you will be like in the examination center. I used to take a risk. I used to attempt 99 questions out of 100. And because I can attempt 100 also, but there is some thing in my mind. I never attempted 100 questions in the mock test. So I will restrict myself to 99.
Yeah, how do you decide to leave that one question? On what criteria would you leave that?
So generally, there are 8-9 questions in which you don't have any idea. The question which comes last in that 8 or 9 questions, I used to leave that question. And I used to mark the rest of the questions.
And you like, you talked about something very important here that this exam, especially Prelims day, there's a lot of uncertainty, and you have to take risk, and there are also anxieties also, right? So, how did you manage those anxieties throughout the preparation, and also as you mentioned about the sleep routine, so what is the importance of having a decent sleep routine in this preparation as well as how to manage the anxieties related to uncertainties of this exam?
Sir, first of all, sleep routine. It plays a very important role because sleep is the best meditation. If your mind is tired, you won't be able to use your mind in the examination hall. The first of all, sleep cycle should be very, should be very important. You have to take a sleep of around 7 to 8 hours. I know it is very difficult. At times, you will have a sleepless night, just for Prelims also. I remember before my fourth Prelims, I was like, so that is there. Sleep should be there. You have to have a very good sleep before the exam. And sir, when it comes to anxiety, how to manage anxiety in the examination hall, sir, what I feel is that if you are a serious aspirant, you should be confident in the examination hall. For example, then you easily, you can become anxious. You will not be able to kill your Prelims. Out of 10, you don't know 8. But at that time, you should be confident enough that if I don't know these 8 questions, most of the candidates will not know these answers. Because I have prepared seriously, I have revised it multiple times. And the reason I don't know this question is because the exam is tough, cut-off will come down. You have to give yourself that confidence. It may be a fake confidence, but even if you are giving yourself fake confidence, that is good. It will help you to calm. So that was my strategy. I used to tell myself, okay, the exam is tough. Everyone, most of the candidates in this room will not be able to solve it. If I am not able to solve it, that confidence was there because I know I have revised Laxmikanth eight times. Even if not, even after revising that book eight times, I'm not able to make this question of quality, that means most of the people will not be able to solve that question. That confidence should be there, sir.
And like, since you are the one who are attempting 99 questions, I really want to know what is your approach to attempting the Prelims paper.
So, sir, when it comes to the Prelims paper, I used to attempt my paper in three iterations. In the very first iteration, I used to solve the questions in which I am 100% confident, okay, this is the answer. At the same time, I used to mark the questions. For example, there will be some questions in which you will eliminate two options. So I used to mark those questions with a, okay, 50/50, while questions. Then in some questions, you will eliminate only one option and you have to decide out of three. I used to mark those with B, and then in which you don't have any idea, I used to mark those questions with C. So after the first iteration, I will, I used to solve around 25 to 30 questions in which I was confident. Then I have the categorization ready with me, A, B, and C. Then I used to go with the A round, A category first, in which I have to decide between the two options. I used to attempt them all in the very first go because ultimately the probability of getting them right is very high. And while I was practicing in the mock tests, I calculated my max marks multiple times in both the, in all the three categories, A, B, and C. And I saw that in the category A, the score will always be positive. Even if you are marking most of them as wrong, because if you are getting one question right, you will get two marks, and 0.67 will go for one wrong answer. So in the second iteration, I used to attempt all the questions with the A category. So in the last iteration, I left with the B and C group. And in B and C group, then I used to start my risk game, sir, in category B and C. And there are some elimination techniques that I have developed over the attempts. There are some, you know, common sense also that you can apply. There are some repeated themes in the Prelims. For example, I am not suggesting anyone to implement it, but I used to implement that because I know that Akbar is a favorite area of UPSC, Vijayanagar Empire is a favorite area of UPSC. And if I don't know anything about the question, but Akbar is there, to my mind is like, okay, Akbar can be the answer because UPSC question maybe. Then I used to mark Akbar. I used to mark Vijayanagar Empire. Land revenue system, land management system is often a repeated theme in Prelims. I used to go with that.
So like that, I used to take risk. It is a very risky affair. Again, I will not recommend anyone to follow it, but I used to follow it.
Sir, now any doubt related to Prelims? You want to ask something.
So first of all, congratulations for this achievement.
Thank you.
Sir, how to analyze PYQs, sir?
When it comes to PYQs, first analysis that you should do is to see how many questions are coming from one particular subject because that will help you to make your priority. As I said earlier, Polity is the most important area. So that is the first level of analysis is to see the topic, subject-wise breakup. Then I used to see the topic-wise breakup. For example, even if I am reading Laxmikanth, every chapter will not be equally important. There will be few chapters that are most important. For example, the chapter of Parliament. Then you have to see, okay, Parliament, you have to give more focus. And in Parliament also, then you will realize, money bill, topic like money bill. These topics are often repeated. So like, this is the first layer of analysis where you will segregate the important areas, important segments, important themes. And then the second layer of analysis for me is to read about the options also. For example, if you are solving the question of Environment, there will be a statement written, key, this is the specification of the particular species, and what is a species? There will be A, B, C, and D. Out of four options, one is the answer. But I used to read about all the three species also. For example, again, UPSC has a habit of repeating the, you know, species, national park, wildlife sanctuary. So you have to read about the options also. And if that option is coming again and again in the previous year paper, that becomes very important. That is the second area of analysis. And third is the elimination technique. Whatever the elimination technique, or you can say the common sense, whatever you will develop over the years of time, you would need to apply those things in the paper itself. And you have to see whether you are getting net positive or net negative. So that analysis should be done. That will help you to see up till when, how many questions will you are you are going to attempt. For example, as I said, sir, I know that even if I am attempting B and C, my net is almost positive, especially in category A and B, every time it was positive. So I know that I have to go with A and B. I was able to take that risk because I did the analysis that I am getting the net positive. That three-level analysis I used to do when it comes to the previous year.
Thank you, sir.
So now let's move on to Mains. So like, please tell us what was your approach for GS 1, 2, 3. Like, we will tackle 1, 2, 3 and then Essay and Ethics differently. So what was your approach for GS 1, 2, 3, sir?
In GS also, largely I attempt, I have the same approach of making priority clear. When it comes to GS1, we have, as we know, we have three segments: History, Geography, and Society. When I wrote my first Mains, I focused a lot upon History and Geography. I was not able to prepare Society in very much detail. But after writing the exam, I felt one thing that most of the questions in the Society segment are static in nature, and the themes are often repeated. For example, they are asking questions on women empowerment, globalization, localization, caste system. These are static themes. So then from my second Mains onwards, I developed a strategy that I have to focus upon the static area first. I again did the PYQ analysis, and I found that out of 20 questions, 16 and 17 questions are mostly static in nature. Only two or three questions are directly related to current affairs. So in my second Mains onwards, I started with the static topics first. I always consider them as a low-hanging fruit because if you have prepared caste system, you will prepare it, and you will write a very good answer because the question will be static in nature. You can add few data points, you can add some policies that are in the current affairs, that is a very minute update only. So I started with the static part, Society. For example, I used to focus upon Society first. Again, I have my own themes. For example, caste system, globalization. UPSC to, I prepared those themes in the question and answer format itself. Okay, if the question is on the caste system, what I will write in the introduction to that? I have the definition of caste, which is a technical definition, ready with me. If there is a question in the caste system, I will write that definition. Okay, I, for, I used to think about my conclusion also. If the question is on the caste system, I will write this thing. For example, DPSP of equality in the conclusion, or the tagline of government like Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas in the conclusion. If there is some committee in the current affairs, I will, you know, constantly keep telling myself that in the question of caste, I have to write this committee, and I will only prepare one committee for it. Okay. I will write the NCD data of the atrocities on the people of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, only five, six, seven points. I will prepare for that static theme. And the static notes I will have with myself. First thing that focus on the static themes, have some value-added material with it. Then when it comes to History, and the History part, History may, the first priority I used to give to the Spectrum Modern History because again, the question will be very static in nature, and the Spectrum summary, you can revise your modern history with that summary only because you will read that Spectrum for your Prelims. Again, when it comes to World History and Ancient History, I used to give minimal effort for Ancient and World History because either the question will be very easy, like French Revolution, American Revolution, or it will be very tough. I won't be able to write a very good answer. Though I will take that calculated risk. Yeah, I will not waste my two or three days on World History. Rather, I will, you know, give more importance to Society because the input and output ratio will be more. And when it comes to Geography, again, the basic NCERT will suffice. But again, you have to draw maps. In Geography, my strategy was to draw as many maps as many diagrams as I can. For example, if the question is from resource distribution, rather than writing the individual mines or individual areas, I will draw a small map and I will plot that area on that map. Similarly, on the world, I also draw the world maps if the question is from the world distribution of the resources. So for GS1, what I feel that focus, my focus was on much more on the Society part, it's a static part. And then for the rest of the part, you have to draw the diagrams in Geography.
And sir, in GS2 also, the approach was the same. First, I will pick up the static themes, for example, Governance, Social Justice. And I know that the question will be direct. Governance, UPSC Governance, positive, negative. I have already made positive, five, six positive that are multi-dimensional, five, six dimensions of challenges, and five, say, six, six points in the way ahead, in which I will write the recommendation of the ARC. That will be in only one page, okay, so that I can revise effectively also. And then IR is also very important in GS2 because it is completely dynamic. You have your current affairs magazine. If you prepare that magazine well, you will mostly, out of four questions, you will be able to write three questions very easily. And the last focus I used to give on Polity. Generally, people read Polity first. I used to read Polity at last because anyway, most of the concepts I have already prepared for my Prelims. There are again some specific topics that are written for Mains apart. For example, the comparison of Indian Constitution with the rest of the world. Again, if you look at the previous year papers, UPSC will only ask questions will ask from USA and UK constitution. So I only prepared only two comparisons, one with the USA, one with the UK. And then the separation of power is again very important, directly written topic. I remember I, you know, ratified all the articles where you can, constitution articles which talks about separation, or the constitution articles which talk about check and balance. Again, these things you have to prepare. You have to prepare in a very systematic manner. Okay. If a question is coming, you have to write like this. All this hard work should be done before because you will not get time in the examination hall to think what you will going to write in the introduction and what you will write in the conclusion part. So I prepared GS2 like that only, starting with Society, Social Justice, then Governance, then IR, and lastly, Polity. In Polity also, more focused I gave upon the Mains-specific topics, like, as I said, selling features, comparison of constitutions.
In GS3, again, sir, I identified the static themes. I found, okay, security is something which is very static. Every year, questions are coming from Naxalism, on cybercrime. I prepared National Cyber Crime Policy 2013, once five points. And in all four attempts, I wrote the same five points. Because every year, questions are coming from cybercrime, and we have only one policy, National Cyber Crime Policy. We have only one act. It is an act of 2002 or 3, 4, 5 sections. You can remember 66F, things for cyber terrorism. What are the sections for impersonation? Only five, six things you will remember, and you will keep writing the same points. Okay. And, uh, likewise, I started with security. 50 marks, they are completely static. Once you prepare your static topics, your most work will be done. Then I used to read about Agriculture part, in which we have to read about MSP, PDS, buffer stocks. Because again, every year, if you look at the topics that are written in the syllabus, they are as it is picked by the UPSC. What is the potential of the food processing sector in India? That is written in the syllabus. Food processing sector, hyphen, scope, upstream challenges, downstream challenges, and the question is coming directly. So I prepared this topic directly because these are the static themes. Shanta Kumar Committee is there. Remember four points, write in the FCI. While question, every year you can write. Similarly, food processing scheme, there is Mega Food Park Scheme. Write that scheme. Every year, question is coming. Similarly, irrigation, drip irrigation, there is an irrigation policy. Write that policy. So I identified these areas in GS1, 2, 3. I prepared these things in one page, and I keep reproducing that in the examination hall with the slight updation with the current affairs. That was my approach, sir, for GS 1, 2, and 3.
Ethics, my approach was a little bit different. Again, in Ethics, you can divide your syllabus into three parts. One is of Public Administration, while topics, last seventh or eighth topic. There are few topics of Philosophy, and there are few topics of Psychology. Again, when I did the analysis of the previous year papers, I found that the topics of Public Administration, in which we read about Citizen Charter, Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics, they are generally static. Questions are coming directly out of these topics. So I only prepared these two topics directly. I prepared them, everything that was written in the syllabus. And then the topics of Philosophy, in which they will give you three quotes and they will ask what do you understand by that thing. And then I focused upon the word. UPSC is asking, what do you understand by? They are not asking what Plato was meant with this quote. When I have to write my own understanding, I skipped that whole part completely. Because anyway, I was reading some philosopher in my Political Science. And when UPSC itself is asking that, what do you understand? I will write my understanding. And for that, I developed my own framework. Okay. I will write, what is the social significance of this quote? What this quote, how this quote is applicable in the political domain? Or you can write in a temporal manner also. What did the quote, how does this quote can be applied in the past? How you can apply this quote in the present time? How this quote will help you to solve their future problems like of climate change and terrorism? So I have two or three frameworks ready with me. I just put my framework, I fit that quote in that framework, and I used to write my answer. And when it comes to the topics of Psychology, for example, aptitude, attitude, these are slightly, if you look at the paper, these are slightly applied in nature. UPSC is not asking very direct questions out of it. So what I did, I solved, there is a series on the Vision IAS YouTube channel in which Smriti ma'am discussed all the, I think, five or six year question papers. So I only listened to the Psychology part, key, how you have to write the answer in the aptitude, how you have to write the answer of the attitude question, aptitude question. And like that, I developed a, you know, framework also. If a question is coming from that section, how I should write the answer. Then those videos helped me a lot from the YouTube channel. And case study, me, I used to write generally three approaches. One is very idealistic. One is the approach that you won't take an ethical approach, we say. And one is a pragmatic approach, the practical solution. So my focus is to go with the pragmatic and the practical answer. Because that is something which I feel that UPSC wants to see, how to solve the problem practically. Because ideal solution, everyone can give. We have to write a practical, very practical solution of the case study. So my endeavor was to write the very practical answer. The approach which I used to select is a pragmatic one. And I think that the justification is very important of your approach. So when I was writing the justification, I used to write the philosophers of Political Science. Okay. If, how you can, you know, link your approach with the golden mean approach of Aristotle, or how you can link the Gita, how you can bring the Gita or the Mahabharata to the Ramayana in your justification, or how you can bring the examples of the great personalities or the great civil servants in your approach. So that your approach, your justification should have some substance. That is about the case study development. And one thing that I forget in the Ethics section A is the examples. You have to prepare a lot of examples because that will, because anyway, you are writing a very abstract thing in section A. So if you are writing more number of examples, you will bring some relevancy to your argument. So you have to prepare a lot of examples in section A.
So that was my approach for Paper 1, 2, 3, and 4.
And what about Essays?
Sir, Essay again, I saw generally UPSC is asking a philosophical approach. To my approach was the same for both the essays. I used to start with an anecdote. I write the actual anecdote, not the fictional one. For example, you can write something about how you can link the topic with some great personality. Just to give you one example, in 2021 or 22, UPSC asked an essay that a ship is not meant for harbor but for an open sea. So I linked it with the Mahendra Singh Dhoni story. Okay. He was from a middle-class family. He got a job of ticket collector in the railway, and for a middle-class family, it is like his harbor where
He is safe. His uh parents were very happy, but he is not meant for that harbor. He is meant for the open sea of cricket, where and that is how we get one of the most successful captains of Indian cricket uh history.
So likewise, I used to write the anecdote, and that anecdote should be very effective. It should have a direct relation uh with the uh statement that is given to you. The introduction, I always uh write the anecdote, and then in the body, I used to write in a temporal manner. Ancient time essay uh statement validity. You can give the example from the life of Buddha. You can uh give the example of Ashoka. Then you can come to the medieval history. Then you come to the modern history. You can, you know, apply these uh that statement, you can relate that statement with Mahatma Gandhi or Subhas Chandra Bose. Then you can come to the contemporary time.
And when I, when I was writing the contemporary dimension, I used to open it. Uh how you can link the statement with economics, how you can link that statement with the polity, how you can link that statement with the environment, and then you will write the solutions or the flip side because that statement, any statement cannot be absolute. There will always be opposite arguments. So I used to write the some opposite arguments also with respect to that statement. For example, sometime it is very important to remain in harbor also. Okay, it should be the decision should be rational. Then you have to write the solutions also. If you are discussing some negative side, you have to write the positive. You have to write the solution of something also.
And then the conclusion. In conclusion, I used to link the statement with the problem of the present, and how if we adopt the philosophy of that statement, how we can uh solve the problem for example of climate change, terrorism, so that we have a better future. Likewise, I used to write a very futuristic uh conclusion. So that was my approach for SSR. And like you got very good marks in interview this time also, right? So how did you approach interview part of this preparation?
So interview me again, I have a very love and hate kind of a relationship. I have experience of scoring very low marks and uh interview also. This time what I did different was to remain natural. Because many times you will get a lot of suggestions uh from your peers, from mock mock interview that you give to give, you have to give a very balanced answer, you have to speak in that manner, you have to speak in this particular manner. But uh what I felt over the uh journey of four interviews that when you prepare yourself too much uh for your interview, you will fabricate your personality, and that fabrication in your personality will hamper the natural flow. You will give the fabricated answer, and generally UPSC interview is more like a conversation. When you are giving a very fabricated answer, if they ask some counter, then you won't be able to give a very good counter argument because your answer was fabricated.
So this time I tried to remain natural, but I felt I did not care that whether I am giving a very balanced answer or not. Though the answer was very balanced, but that was natural. I was not thinking, okay, I should not speak this word or I should speak that word. That was a natural flow, and because of that, I was able to, you know, give the counter argument also to their questions, and that was my approach, sir. And second, we should always remember that this is a test of your personality. This is not the test of your knowledge. So you, there are few aspects of your personality that is written in the notification itself. You, calm, composed, confidence, this thing should be there with you. Be truthful, have some confidence, give the right constitutionally right answer, that is enough uh for the personality test.
So what is the one advice that you, you have very good experience, very rich and in-depth experience of this preparation, and you have seen the let's the zenith of it also, right? So what is the one advice you will give to somebody who is just starting this preparation right now? Uh sir, if I have to reduce my six attempts into one word, and that will be the perseverance and resilience. Uh there will be a phase uh when you will feel that you won't be able to make it. Uh there will be a phase of demotivation, there will be a phase of anxiety, fear. But trust me, every year thousand people got selected, and everyone has saw the same phase of demotivation, aniousness, and uh feeling of self-doubt. But perseverance should be there. Resilience should be there. No matter what is going in your life, no matter how much stress you are feeling right now, you have to be resilient. You have to prepare. Okay? It may be a case that on a particular day you will only read 4 hours or 3 hours, but that is important, consistent. And if you remain, and this exam is very basic, if you follow the process, right, if you follow the process, don't be oriented, follow the process, right, follow the basics things, consistent perseverance, the chances, the probability of getting selection will increase, sir. Thank you so much, Abhishek. This was really a very interesting and in-depth experience and, you know, insights that you have shared. A big round of applause for. Thank you, sir. Thank you, everyone. [Music]