Transcription
Good afternoon, afternoon everyone. I am Rayna Jilani and on behalf of Sankalp, The Civil Services Society of India, warmly welcomes you all to Samvad, the speaker session. We are truly excited for today's special session with IAS Pari Bishnoi Ma'am. Deputy Speaker, Resident Commissioner at Sikkim House, New Delhi. Her journey to the Indian Administrative Service is an inspiration for UPSC aspirants. The theme, "Cracking the Code: Strategies for UPSC Success," perfectly reflects what we all strive for. So, let's get ready for an insightful and motivating session ahead. I request everyone to turn on their cameras. Today, today we are honored to welcome the distinguished leader whose journey exemplifies that a rank is merely a number until it is given meaning through dedicated service. Please welcome Pari Bishnoi Ma'am, who secured the glorious All India Rank 30 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2020. The UPSC CSE is one of the toughest exams in the country, and yet Ma'am did not just clear it. She conquered it, standing as a testament to focused effort and unwavering self-belief. Talking about Ma'am's education and qualifications, Ma'am holds a Bachelor's degree from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, a Master's degree in Political Science, and has also qualified the UGC NET JRF. With these credentials, she currently serves in the Sikkim cadre as Deputy Resident Commissioner at Sikkim House. Her achievements inspire and thrill in equal measure. Her journey is a remarkable embodiment of perseverance, hard work, and grace. Deliver it with a charming smile and a grave heart. We welcome you, Ma'am, to share your valuable experience, to ignite the aspirations of those preparing for the exam, and to guide anyone contemplating the path you have so brilliantly forged. With honor and a desire to learn, we invite you to take the stage, Ma'am.
Yeah, hi. Thank you, Rayna. Right, Ma'am. Rayna, Rayna. Thank you, Rayna, for that introduction. Hi everyone. It's, it's so nice to see young people like you organizing sessions and running them. Are you guys also preparing? The host: Yes, part of okay. Preparation. Okay. Very nice. Usually, it is like sessions like these are organized by like people who I have no clue about preparation, but it's nice to see, especially young girls. So I am very happy. Thank you so much for inviting me, and I hope that this one-hour session, more or less, is going to benefit each and everyone who has joined this. When Shivshi asked me, Shivshi, right? Who is it? Yes, Ma'am. Here I am, Shivshi. Yes, when I was asked, they asked what theme do you want to keep? What do you want to talk about? I said, let it be a conversational session, and I am very happy to see that 72 participants have joined because the one-way communication we do is through YouTube, YouTube, and Instagram, various ways. We do one-way communication, but these sessions are a good way to have more one-on-one sessions. So whoever is participating, also, I would say that make the best use of this hour to ask your queries. So this will be a very personalized, customized session, answering your doubts and your questions, you know, everything. A brief about me has already been given by Rayna. I was, I graduated in 2016. I took a drop year because I was 20 years old. One year, I completely only prepared for UPSC, but I failed in my first prelims, and that was an eye-opener for me. Because a lot, I mean, I worked very hard in my first year. I worked the hardest. I prepared for three years. I worked the hardest in the first year. There was nothing that I hadn't read. I mean, I had the most sources in my first year. But a lot of things went wrong. I mean, then I realized that just by reading, by working hard, by doing donkey work, this exam is not cleared. For this, many things are needed. For this, direction is very important. Strategy is very important. Revision should be on time. After that, mindset is very important. So these were some of my realizations. After that, I worked on them. I gave the second attempt, and in the second attempt, I went quite far. My penalty marks were applied. I don't know if anyone knows or not. So my rank was also around 200 something, but due to penalty marks, my selection did not happen. Then again, I had to start all over. And then in the third attempt, I got rank 30. So, broadly, this was my journey. And the biggest challenge in this was prelims because I am from a humanities background, so I had never taken any kind of competitive exam, MCQ, ever in my life, never. I mean, the first time I took an MCQ was for UPSC only. So that was my, like, a very, very weak point, and because of that, my prelims also got missed. But I had this realization that until your prelims are cleared, you are not even in the race. I mean, you, it's like you haven't even fought. You, if people get out without clearing prelims, then it's completely wasted. So my first thing was, like, I have to clear prelims because then your family also starts doubting you, saying, what are you doing? I mean, if you haven't even cleared prelims, how will you go ahead? Secondly, I know many people who could have done very well in mains, but they got stuck in prelims. So after my first attempt, this was the thought: no matter what, mains or not, I have to clear prelims. So I prepared for prelims only for six months, and I did it so well because it was quite, quite bad for me, I mean, prelims. So I did it so well that in the next two attempts, when I cleared prelims, it was with a margin of 20 plus marks. And then I realized that whatever your weak points are, if you work on them, they become your strongest points. And there are no such weak points. In fact, my economics was also not good at all. I mean, I was scared of economics. But I did exceptionally well in economics. So this was also one of my realizations that if you work hard, it will happen. Thirdly, I realized this thing: we repeatedly feel that we are, like, I get the most messages saying, we are from an engineering background, starting from zero, how will it happen? In fact, engineering background people come first. I mean, if you look at the top 10, 60-70% are from an engineering background, even though this is a completely different field. Right? So in this exam, because there are so many subjects and so many things, no one has an advantage or disadvantage. I mean, if I was from social sciences, then I had some advantages. Some, I mean, they balance each other out. Everyone will have some advantage, some disadvantage. Because there are so many subjects, you have to touch upon all of them a little bit. So they all average out. So you should never think this. When we start, we think, oh, the person on their fourth attempt is so good. They have done Laxmikant 20 times. I haven't even done it twice. Or it feels like those on later attempts will be better. But the reality is, as your attempts increase, you get more burnt out. It becomes so difficult to read Laxmikant again, and then depression sets in. Your confidence breaks. So it's like, secondly, we think, oh, I have humanities. Engineering people will easily clear CSAT prelims. Engineering people are so used to studying. We have never studied humanities. We are not used to sitting. Engineering students think, I have never written answers. Humanities people can write so well. In fact, humanities people have more difficulty in writing answers. When I was in college, the way we used to write answers, our introductions were two pages long, and our thing was to write one answer for up to 15 pages. To write that in two pages. So, I mean, you have to unlearn and relearn. Whereas for engineering people, writing a two-page answer is not a big deal. So they could write. So these thoughts also come repeatedly that someone else has a better advantage. Those on their fourth attempt feel, wow, the first-attempt people are doing so well. They don't have any pressure of failure. They can just experiment. So these kinds of thoughts come. Yeah, I was talking about my first attempt. So I prepared for six months only for that. I cleared prelims with a 20-plus margin. I adopted a very smart strategy for mains. I mean, mains, I think, took me the least time. I just converted the entire preparation for prelims into answer writing and used it for mains. So mains, my first mains also cleared with very good marks. Even though my preparation was very little. And then I had this realization that a lot of preparation in that way is not needed for this exam. Preparing the right thing and repeating it is very important. Secondly, the final stage, I mean, the preparation for the last one month is very important. Let's say the last one or two months. In that, many people give up because suddenly it feels like, oh, I picked up geography, I don't know history. I picked up history, I don't know economics. I have to revise this, I have to revise that. So the last month gets overwhelmed. If we prepare very well in the last month, then exams are cleared with that momentum. I mean, I know so many people, in fact, I have seen my seniors too, who prepared very little but in the last one or two months, they worked very hard and cleared the exam very well. So you can work on all these things. And what else in my experience, I have many things. We can discuss interviews too. I am not sure what stage you all are at. I don't know how many people wrote mains this time. So whether I should talk about mains, interview. Every stage has a different type of preparation. A different type of mindset is needed. And and and it happens. I mean, prepare well for the stage you are at. In the interview too, in my first interview, I got 176 marks, which is slightly above average. And in the second interview, I got 200 marks. Which is very, very, very good. And one reason that I got rank 30 was because of my interview marks. And it's not that when I started preparing for the interview, I was very confident. I prepared with very low confidence because I was very socially cut off. So when my mains was done, until mains, I stayed at home. I didn't have a phone, I didn't have friends. I mean, I had stopped talking. So when the interview comes, interview is all about your talking skills. I mean, how well are you able to communicate? How well can you express your thoughts? So when I didn't talk to anyone, I had lost the habit of speaking. Hindi, English, nothing. That vocabulary was not there. It didn't come out. So it took me a long time to start speaking again. And I feel my interview strategy is also quite good. So if someone is there preparing for the interview, I have like a step-by-step guide on what you should do first, then what you should do later. Yes, one more thing, these steps should not be missed. I mean, if it's mains preparation, what happens is when we see any topper's seminar like this and talk to toppers, they say many things. Now, many of those things are relevant for different stages. Right? If I talk about improving speed in answer writing, that is a very later stage of answer writing. That will happen when your prelims are also cleared. You are only focusing on mains. So everything should be done according to your stage. If you are just starting your preparation, don't even think about the interview. I mean, many children in college come to me saying, Ma'am, how will the interview go? What will happen? I mean, it's none of your business. The interview will happen when it happens. I mean, it's, it's, it's, and its preparation will happen then. I mean, you should only think about the interview after mains. Not before that. So prepare according to the stage you are at. Also, now I will open the floor for question answers and discussion. I would say, start, like, ask specific questions. One more thing I realize is that many children ask questions, Ma'am, how to prepare? I mean, there is no one way that if I have a portion, I can tell you that it will be prepared like this. I mean, ask specific questions. So, yeah, I will open it. Whatever you guys have. So we will discuss it now. Okay. So the floor is open for queries. If anyone has any query for Ma'am, you can ask. Yeah, the participants have risen to 100, which is quite nice. Om Nayak, you can ask. Good afternoon, Ma'am. Am I audible to you? Yes. So, Ma'am, I am a second-year student in Delhi University in Shri Aurobindo College. I am also pursuing BA Political Science Honors only. And my question is that I am, like, I am in the second year, but since I have to give the attempt in 2028, so there is one year between my graduation and my attempt. So should I pursue MA further or should I completely prepare for civil services? That's actually a very good question. Right? See, MA, if you just want an MA degree, right? If you can compromise on the college, then you should pursue MA. I mean, if it is not too demanding. If, like, I also thought about the exact same question. What should I do? In fact, I got selected in JNU. So I was not very happy with my college in the bachelor's. So it was always my thought that I will go to a very good college for MA. And JNU was my dream college. Because so much, you know, I wanted a good college tag for myself. So I always wanted to go to JNU. But when I got selected in JNU, then I had this question. So now there will be no one solution for all. Okay? It's not that the solution I gave you, I mean, it's a different solution for everyone. But I will tell you how to make a decision. Okay? So the first thing is, if you are only concerned with the MA degree. Okay? Right? If you are concerned with the MA degree and can do MA on the side, then you should do it because there should be no gap. Right? So I would say that I did my LLM from MDS University, Ajmer, and there, you just had to go to give the exam. It was like a distance kind of thing. Okay? With that, my time was not wasted. So my MA was also completed in two years. I left JNU. Why? Why I took that decision was, I decided that MA from a very good college and UPSC, both, cannot go together. I mean, both are very demanding. Especially the first year you give to UPSC, that full year, you have to give it properly. I mean, UPSC is not an exam that you can sideline or give second priority and clear. Especially when it is your first year, a full year, with full effort, this exam deserves it. I mean, give it 100% to it. For that, I would say that one year is, even if you are taking a gap, it's fine. It's like, you know, if you can give a full year to it, it's okay. You can take a gap here. Because in many places, MA has many requirements. And I feel that an MA degree is enough. I mean, whether you do it from a very good college or not, it doesn't matter too much. After that, I mean, you have done two years, after that, you can think about whether you want to do M.Phil. further, then you go to a nicer college when you apply to a nicer one. But doing it on the side, you can give a full year to UPSC. Either do nothing, or take a drop year, or get an MA degree from a university from where you can do it by distance, because ultimately, that degree will matter. The college, the college, only up to bachelor's matters that much. After that, unless it's an IIM type of college, it doesn't matter that much. It won't give you placement anyway. Understood? So you will have, yes, Ma'am, thank you. Right? So you will have to decide what do you want to do? What is your priority in life at that point? If UPSC is the absolute priority, then prepare for it wholeheartedly for one year. After one year of complete preparation, then you are, okay, giving the second attempt, third attempt. College is also running alongside, this and that, that happens. But a full year, I think, this exam demands. Yes, Khushi, you can ask. She's taking comments from you. Hi, good afternoon, Ma'am. Ma'am, I have two questions. Uh, first is like, uh, since the UPSC journey, preparation journey is very, sometimes becomes very exhaustive, and you are not that motivated, you are in the beginning. So how to keep yourself motivated? And second is, aspects which we have to keep in mind while choosing our optional subject. Okay? Yeah, motivation. You are right that it won't be there on a daily basis. So that's why discipline is more important than motivation. Okay? Obviously, sometimes, I mean, our hormones also fluctuate a lot. So some days you will wake up with so much energy. You will rule the world, and sometimes you will be so, like, depressed that nothing is happening for me, this and that. So motivation is for everyone. Right? So a year-long preparation cannot be based on motivation. You will see something good on Instagram, watch a topper's video, get motivated. After 5 days, it will be gone again. So it's not a sustainable thing. It's just good for a boost sometimes, that we saw something motivating and studied well for five days. But it's not a sustainable thing. So what you have to do is, first is timetable, and second is discipline. That's what you use to pull through the whole year by working hard, slowly, slowly. Okay? A year-long study cannot be pulled through based on motivation. How will this happen? You have to make a timetable. You have to have an idea of the whole year. That, okay, I am writing in 2026. How many months are left now? Let's say eight months are left. Okay? Out of eight months, what are my main syllabi? Right? Subtract two months from eight months for the last revision. How many are left? Six months. In six months, how many subjects do I have to cover? Five subjects. Okay? So you have to give one month to each subject. The first month, like this, from a large to, I mean, from micro to macro.
You make a micro-plan. Okay? Or else you have to make this. Alright, my target for this week is that I have to complete these 10 chapters of Laxmikant. Along with that, I have to take its test series. Along with that, you make a complete plan for yourself. So, you have a plan. Okay? Now, you have a plan for a week. Now, those plans are not successful which start with "Today, from 8 to 10, I will do this subject" or "From 10 to 11". What if there isn't even one chapter in your 8 to 10 slot? Then you have to do outcome-based planning. Okay? You can never do time-based planning like "I will read one chapter from 8 to 10". If it doesn't happen, what will you do? Understood? So, you have to do outcome-based planning, which is that today I have to complete this chapter. Now, whether it takes 4 hours, 2 hours, or 2.5 hours for that chapter, that's a different thing. So, accordingly, you will have your daily plan. Okay? Now, it's also possible that your plan for today is not completed. So, the hack for that is that it should be completed within that week. For example, if you studied very well for two days in that week, and didn't study for two days, it doesn't matter, the balance should be achieved within that same week. So, if my plan for this week was to complete 10 chapters, and whatever else was to be done, all of that should be completed this week. Next week, I should not move with the backlog. And on this basis, you sustain your preparation. You know, preparation doesn't happen in a vacuum, like not knowing what you're doing. Picking up any book, any chapter, doing anything. Then suddenly getting scared that "Oh, I'm studying History. What if Geography isn't done?" So, in the middle, you leave History and pick up Geography. You finish nothing. I made this mistake in my first year. I was studying in a very haphazard manner, like "I did this, I did that, I didn't do that either." I studied a lot, I worked very hard, but it didn't really come to fruition. So, the thing is that you have to prepare very smartly. So, as I said, you should have a complete timetable, and how motivation comes is when you tick things off. I used to make my plans very childishly. I don't have a pen or anything to show, like how I've crossed out my entire plan here. So, I had my entire plan, like these are my tasks for today. It's for the whole week, right? These are my four tasks for today. These are for later. These are for later. Then you keep crossing them out, ticking them off. So, when you look at the whole week, you'll see that these were my tasks, and these have been crossed off. After that, you will get a lot of motivation. Meaning, real motivation comes from completing your tasks, finishing your timetable, and giving tests. It doesn't come from listening to someone. So, keep doing your tasks, keep following your timetable, and with discipline, meaning, don't slack off, right? From that, you will get motivated. What was your second question? The strategy for choosing an optional subject. Right? For choosing an optional subject, there's a criterion of what your background is. Okay? If your background is in an optional subject that you also like, then that's the first criterion. I did my graduation in Political Science Honors. So, for me, it was a natural choice. So, I didn't have to think much about how to choose an optional. But I have seen over the years that my friends kept switching between optionals. Meaning, they'd take something, not get good marks in it, then take something else. For some people, it even worked out. One of my friends had Political Science as an optional. Then she changed to, I think, Sociology, and got very good marks in it. Rank also came, right? So, people keep changing. I would suggest that before taking an optional, you should decide and then take it, so that time is not wasted later. So, number one is, what is your background? If it matches, take that. Second is, how vast is the syllabus of that optional? How much is it, you know? So, I would say that, for example, Political Science. Political Science is not that good as an optional because it's very vast. I realized that I was just studying Political Science. Meaning, I couldn't do anything else. In Mains, most of my time was spent on Political Science because it's so vast. International Relations, its dynamics are so dynamic that you can't prepare for it in advance. When you are studying it, you have to do it so well. So, very, very vast. Second is, there is a lot of competition. Meaning, all the top minds are taking Political Science. Engineering graduates are all taking Political Science. So, do you understand that when an examiner is checking your copy, you have to write exceptionally well because so many people have Political Science? So, meaning, they are all following the same coaching, they are all writing from the same sources. So, to stand out, you will have to use a lot of intelligence and hard work. Okay? So, number one is your background. Number two is, how vast is the subject? For example, Sociology is quite decent. Meaning, it's not that vast. The syllabus is not that vast. Third is competition. As I said, subjects like Political Science have a lot of competition. Fourth, I would say, is in which subjects is coaching and help available? For example, some subjects like Economics are good subjects, but you have to do it all by yourself from beginning to end because coaching is not available at that good a level. And by coaching, I don't mean that you go and join a class. The material is not available. Where will you study from? For example, if you want to prepare for Economics, you need something, right? Reference material. You won't create your entire reference material yourself, will you? You'll get that from coaching. So, is its reference material available? For example, subjects like Math, Physics, my friends who cleared with these subjects, they made their own material. So, that's a lot of hard work, right? It's possible to clear, but it takes time. So, we need to see what are the ways to save our time. So, these are some factors. You can write these down and study your optional. For example, with Political Science, it was ticked in my first criterion that my background is in it. The second negative was that there is too much competition. This and that. So, I was like, "Okay, I'll work harder in this." The third point was also ticked that good coaching material is available for it. So, at least the basics are there. I'll do the work above that myself. But there is some reference material, there are test series that I can join. I don't have to create everything from scratch. So, based on these subjects, you can decide which optional you should take. Some good optionals are, perhaps, it wasn't doing well in between, but now it's doing okay. Geography is also decent, limited, refined. Sociology is also decent. Although there is competition in these subjects, help is also available. Next, all your things. You can unmute yourself and ask. Hello. I will give short answers. Because, hello, good evening, ma'am. Good evening, Prince. Ma'am, first of all, my name is Prince Kumar, and I am from Zakir Hussain Delhi College. Yes. And I am pursuing BA Program History plus Political Science in the first year. And first year. So, ma'am, I have four questions. Okay? Four questions. But the first is, how to develop a personality like an IAS officer? I will answer one by one. Wait, I will answer one by one first. So, personality like an IAS officer, preparing like this, college is a very good time. You are in the first year. Good, good question you asked because when I was in 12th, I didn't have command over my language. Meaning, I didn't know Hindi well, nor did I know English well. And when I used to go to speak in public, not even in public, but in our college, at that time, a new framework called CCE was introduced, in which you had to give many presentations. So, I used to memorize presentations, but still, when I gave them, my voice would falter, my throat would get choked. So, the thing is that today you think, "Oh, they are so confident, they are IAS officers, this and that." But that develops over time. No one becomes confident overnight. No one is confident in college. Everyone is like extremely underconfident. I was also extremely, extremely underconfident. In college, I worked on one thing at a time. So, first, like your presentation skills, right? So, if there are presentations happening in college, work on them there. You'll give one, you'll give another, right? Your voice will falter a bit. It will be better in the third, and in the fourth. So, use your college time to the best of your ability. Make friends. Talk to them. Give presentations. Try to do many internships. Meaning, college is a good time to prepare. But at the same time, participate in many of our societies, etc. I was so underconfident that I always wanted to join the dramatic society, for those street plays, right? My voice was very loud. So, I felt like that, but I could never even audition for it. I was so underconfident. And even today, I feel like, "Oh, I wish I had done that" because I don't get those college days back, and I don't get those opportunities back either. Today, if I want to go and do a street play, I can't. That happens only in college. Right? And so, but I couldn't do it because I didn't have enough confidence to go and audition for it. But you should give it a try, you should do it. Do that in college. And otherwise, the personality of an IAS officer is not like that. You become an IAS officer later. When you go to LBSNAA, you get your training. Before that, there are some basics: you should know how to speak well, right? And that will be prepared in college. You should have some correct thoughts. They should be progressive, right? Whenever it comes to the vulnerable sections of society, you should have a progressive outlook. Meaning, the main reason why society, you know, the "giving back to society" kind of things should be strong. Passion should be strong. Service attitude should be there. You develop all that. That's the main thing. Everything else is doable. A lot of preparation also happens during the interview. What is your next question? Ma'am, currently, I am part of many societies: English Society, Hindi Debate Society, NSS, and Hindi Sahitya Society. So, ma'am, it happens that... because of the societies, it's a bit time-consuming. Colleges go on until 8 PM because societies have separate classes. So, because of that, it's a bit time-consuming. So, is that right or wrong? See, instead of so many societies, focus on a few so that you get more returns from them. Meaning, you are stretching yourself too thin. If there are too many societies, then keep one or two societies where you need to dedicate more time. And it's okay. Meaning, you are in the first year of college. I think these things are quite important. If you have heard of Vikram Garewal, he was the head of, I think, SRCC's dramatic society. He cleared UPSC in his first attempt, I think, because he had exceptional marks in Essay. If you have time, read Vikram Garewal sir's essays. They are too good, really, really good. So, yes, because he was the head of his dramatic society there and used to write. It helped him a lot. Now, as you are in Hindi Sahitya and debate, ultimately, aren't you developing your writing skills, your thinking skills? So, it's good only. And not every day is the same. So, you can't be like, coming at 8 PM every day. You have to have two days a week where you are properly preparing for UPSC, something. You are in the first year, so you don't need to do it that intensely, but make a timetable. Like, "I will finish this book in two months." Now, find time to do that book. Like, I also used to go to college, and sometimes there were gaps between periods, so I would sit there and read a book. Meaning, don't waste your time like that. So, find your time, make your timetable, and try to balance it so that your societies are also managed, and you grow from them, and your preparation also continues a little bit. And anyway, when you do debates and all, how much current affairs are needed? How much newspaper reading is needed? It's developed. So, that's a good thing. That's like preparing for UPSC only. Ma'am, third is, my favorite subject is Political Science. And I had decided in 11th grade that I want to keep optional P.S.I.R. Political Science and International Relations. So, ma'am, did I make a wrong decision too early, or is it okay? Meaning, I have some doubts about myself, like, is that right or wrong? No, why wrong? It's a good optional. Political Science is very vast, that's true, but selections also happen in proportion to that. So, do you like Political Science? Yes, ma'am. Yes. So, that's it then. There's nothing beyond that. You know, reading related novels, reading political theory, reading many such books, you enjoy it. And you are reading a lot already. So, now you are reading. So, do this: you can't read it repeatedly. Like, after reading a book once, make very brief notes of the very good ideas you find in it. They will make you stand out. Because everyone who is preparing for UPSC now is going and memorizing coaching material and writing it. What I said is that you need an edge. That edge comes from. We never read those books that you like and are reading. So, now that you are reading, and about the notes I'm talking about, those notes should not be in English or Hindi. Meaning, they should be purely content notes. For example, if we talk about Karl Marx's ideas, there are some keywords in it. Keywords. What was his main idea? "Why religion is the opium of the masses," right? So, keywords, keywords, meaning, very brief. If you can make a two-page note from a book, extract some very good information, then make it. So, you use it. It's a very good thing that you enjoy reading its books, but don't let it go to waste. Later, you'll think, "Oh, I read that idea from there, I read it like that." Don't make big notes, but make small notes from whatever you study at this point. They will help you a lot later. On the basis of Telegram, like, ma'am, right, diagrams, diagrams. You can make diagrams. Meaning, making keywords, there's no need to write long English. Make notes of keywords. What is the crux of the main idea? You can make that. Right? Nowadays, even ChatGPT helps. You write the idea, ask it to just give keywords, small notes. We are from the old generation. I don't know how you guys are using AI, but you can do what not with it. So, try making something through it. If I were in your place, what would I do? If I liked an idea, I would go to ChatGPT and... I don't type on ChatGPT. I speak. So, I would press the speaking button, read from the book, that line, then tell it, "Make a very crisp, short note of this idea." So, it will give you that. Make it into two lines, three lines. So, I read a paragraph that I liked. It gave me two words for it, and I saved them. Meaning, something like that. You won't even have to use your own brain to figure out how to make a two-point note. And when those two-point notes start being made, you will start learning that, "Oh, it can be made into two points like this." Okay, ma'am. Thank you so much, ma'am. Welcome. Yes, Riya Rawal. You can ask. Good afternoon, ma'am. I am Riya Rawal, and I am currently a second-year student of Economics Honors at LSR. Uh, my question to you is that, according to you, what do you think are those things that separate an average aspirant from the successful one, even when both are putting in the same number of study hours, same resources, same books, and adding to that, you mentioned about your first attempt that you did a lot of hard work but still wasn't able to clear. So, what according to you were the mistakes or, you know, things that you can just look out for that you would suggest a beginner that he or she should not do in his attempt? See, the biggest difference is belief. Right? So, in the beginning, with me, doing the same thing, the mindset difference is very significant. So, belief is very important that you can do it. You might be doing certain things, but you just don't believe you can do it. If you don't believe, you can never do it. Okay? So, that belief, that manifestation, it works. Meaning, I was clearing out my laptop yesterday, and I was watching old videos. In that, there's a video of mine from 2018, and I'm sitting like this, probably studying with my laptop open. And I just opened my video and I just started saying, "Hi, I am Pari Bishnoi. I cleared with rank one in UPSC." So, that confidence, that was after my first attempt, but I started manifesting it then, that I will get that rank one. Okay? So, that belief is very, very, very important that you can do it. Second is consistency. Meaning, one difference I see is that there are many intelligent people, but they can't manage this exam preparation. Meaning, it's very... this is the only preparation like UPSC which is not like a sprint. That you do it in one month. Meaning, many intelligent people have a habit of doing things quickly, like preparing this in one month, doing that. This requires long patience, and this preparation gets very scattered. This is also there, this is also there, have to do it this way, Prelims also, Mains also, Interview also. So, keeping it together is very, very important. And that's what makes a difference. So, your mind should be in the right position. Your strategy should be completely clear. You move forward step by step. You should have long-term consistency. Daily struggle, living a monotonous life, no distractions, like studying for four days...
It took a long time, then five days disappeared, then four days of studying. It requires a long time. What do you call it? It requires sacrifice. It has become even more difficult in today's time. I feel that the competition has decreased even more because there is so much distraction that even the best person is trapped in distractions. So, whoever avoids these distractions, meaning a good student, a bad student, whatever, whoever sits monotonously and studies diligently according to the requirements of this exam, that person will clearly make it. What was your second question? So, yes, consistency and mindset. Yes, ma'am. So, my other question was that what, according to you, was the mistake? Yes, yes, that was the main one, that I had spread myself too thin and in the end, I got very flustered. So, for this, like the next one, my attempt, I will tell you how I controlled it. So, like for Prelims, I started 6 months before. I thought I would give it maximum time, that how can it not be cleared in Prelims. Meaning, if I'm committed to it for 6 months, then it has to be cleared. And that's what happened. So, I gave it 6 months so that I wouldn't feel in my heart that Prelims is here and I don't know anything. So, then I started with Geography. So, how did I do it? I made a good, foolproof plan. I wrote the subject, and next to it, I wrote the source. In the source, I had some coaching notes and some book. I wrote only one book. I didn't write G.C. Leong or anything. I was very sure that I only wanted to do what I could do repeatedly, what I could revise. I only wrote my NCERT book and my coaching notes. And next to that, I wrote that I have to give test papers. So, I picked up only two test papers. I picked up Vision and I picked up Insights at that time. There are many other good ones. It depends on you. So, I picked those up. So, you see how I started the Prelims preparation. I started with the book, meaning for the first 10 days, I only gave it to Geography. So, I picked up Indian Geography. So, I used to do my coaching notes. I used to do the NCERT for it. So, that was my source. Then I used to give tests on it. So, I picked up Vision's subject-wise tests. So, I only did those for Geography. I gave Geography tests from Insights as well. In that, I saw what I was getting and what I wasn't. Then I moved to the next subject. I moved to Polity. In Polity, I only did Laxmikant and my coaching notes, etc. Then I only gave Polity tests. And Polity also has current affairs. Meaning, Geography doesn't really have current affairs as such. So, for Polity, I also picked up the subject-wise current affairs magazine and only did that. So, I finished one subject completely, meaning, okay, Polity. This also develops a lot of confidence. Because when you move subject-wise, you feel in your heart that, oh, two big subjects are covered. Now you move to Modern History, and then you will feel, oh wow, Modern History is also done. Then you put it for revision. So, this is very important. This is the golden thing that changed my everything. Like, you know, I was moving forward with a plan, slowly. Not like doing anything anytime. That plan itself was my biggest learning. And then, when this is done, confidence comes automatically. When you go to give the exam, you feel in your heart that, I have done it. Meaning, I have done Geography. You think in your heart, what did I do, what didn't I do? Like, I have done Geography, I have given the tests, you know, I have done its current affairs. When you cover the entire syllabus in this way, you will gain confidence. When you enter the exam hall, you will do so with the feeling that, I have done as much as was needed. No one has done more than this. Meaning, this is the basic minimum requirement, right? And now, beyond this, if a very difficult question comes, no one will be able to answer it. You know, you get that mindset that I have done the basics. Now, it won't come beyond this. That means the cutoff will also decrease. What do you call it? The cutoff will also decrease. So, then confidence comes. Then, when you have this confidence, you will be able to connect the dots. Even questions that you don't know, you will be able to apply them with that calm mindset. So, this was, I feel, a major, major difference between my failure and my success. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you very much. Just one last thing, and an important one, about revision. So, what was your strategy regarding revision? So, if you are completing one standard book of one particular subject and now you are moving to some other subject. So, what was, what will be your revision strategy of the previous one? Like, how would you revise it? So, for revision, I used to allocate some days in the month. Like, the last four days of a month, or whatever, were for my revision. So, I would revise whatever I had done in the previous month. So, the thing is that you have to keep doing regular revision. You don't have a very long gap. Like, I did Geography in December. So, in mid-January, I took out two days in between and revised it. But I only gave that revision for Geography. So, when you make a big plan, like Geography was my first subject that I did, then I did History after that. So, in between History, I also gave two days to Geography. Okay? Then my History was done. So, in between the next subject, I gave two days to History. Then a little bit of Geography. So, you have to make some adjustments and take out a day or two in between. Also, a lot of revision happens through tests. Meaning, you will do your subjects, and then when you take these full-length tests and all, then again. And the last two months are only for revision. So, in the last two months, I adopted the same strategy. I revised Geography for the first five days. Then the next five days, meaning, what I had given a whole month to one subject. Then in revision, I gave it five days again. Then, like a week before the exam, I gave one day each. I gave one day to Geography, one day to Modern History. So, it starts happening. Meaning, it doesn't take that much time in every revision. It takes a lot of time initially to do the book, to do it repeatedly, but later it doesn't take that much time. So, when you are preparing initially, the preparation will be a bit of a mix and match, and later it will be on specific days for your revision. So, like, if you are starting now, you have picked up one subject. Okay? After that, you will do another. Before moving to the third, revise the first one again. So, keep doing it like this. It will take a day or two in between, but keep doing it. And then, in the end, give it like full time, like a month before, give five days to the whole thing, then give one day each. Like that. Okay, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. Okay. So, we don't have much time. So, now, one person will ask only one question. So, Sneha Singh, Sneha, you can ask. Good afternoon, ma'am. Ma'am, I have two questions. My first question is a very common question: what exactly should be the approach to current affairs? Because no matter how much you read it, it feels very dynamic and not getting done. And ma'am, second is, answer writing, the subject we are doing now, for example, Polity, should we do one or two answer writings daily along with it, and what should be its approach? I have made a very good video on current affairs. You can go and see it on YouTube. I have made the strategy very well. Meaning, I feel that mine, because again, in the first year, I suffered a lot with current affairs. Okay? My mind was most troubled because of current affairs, and I felt that I had to do everything. I didn't want to leave anything in my first attempt. I and I, I tend to get carried away a bit. If I go to a shop to buy material, and I like something very much, I am like, I'll do this too. Literally, you won't believe, I had so much material in the first year that, and whatever material I saw in front of me, I had even more on my laptop. So, whatever I liked, I would start doing it, especially in current affairs. I liked this website Forum today, let's do Forum's. Oh, they started a daily quiz, let's do this. Nothing gets revised. Okay? So, current affairs troubled me the most in the first year. So, I made a very good strategy for it. See it, the strategy is quite good in detail. In that, you have to do it at three levels. Okay? I'll tell you quickly. You have to do it at three levels. One is daily, one is monthly, and one is yearly. Okay? For daily, there are two-three options. Either you read the newspaper, or you listen to a video, or you do some of these quizzes that come from coaching. Now, the trick here is that you have to do only one thing from these, and from only one source. Okay? It's not like today you are liking Insights. So, on a day when you are liking it, you do Insights, Vision, Poem, and the next day you do nothing. It is important to do one source for 30 days. Okay? So, it is important to have one source for current affairs too. Why does our mind get troubled? Because there are 10 sources. Notes from the newspaper are not made. So, what you can do is, first of all, for daily, I followed a simple strategy. I used to listen to their daily updates. I think I followed Only IAS. They had two videos, one for Prelims focus, and one for editorial discussion. So, I used to listen to that. Now, in that, if I missed two days, I would listen to them together. Even if I missed seven days, I could cover seven days in one day. So, that was happening on a daily basis. So, I ensured that my month ended, and I should have listened to the entire month's videos. Okay? I wasted a lot of time in the newspaper in the first year, so later I didn't. Because you read the newspaper, make notes, so many notes, they don't get revised, useless. So, I only followed Only IAS, and that's it. Then, sometimes, I would see something else. Oh, they are also doing daily updates. But no, then you have to close your eyes. People do a lot. A lot happens. It doesn't matter. When you are choosing which platform to choose, do it well. Give it 10 days. See well whose material is good. This and that. But once you have chosen, close your eyes. Then don't look at anything else. Then give loyalty to your chosen one. Do only that which you have chosen. Okay? So, I didn't look at anything else besides Only IAS until the end. Even though some people make very good videos. Meaning, Only IAS was quite a local way. I liked it. But many people make videos and teach other things. But I never watched them. Okay? So, first is this. Second, monthly magazines are a must. I used to do Vision's. And as soon as they came, I think around the 7th, 8th, 10th of the month, as soon as they came, I would finish them. I didn't have a specific time for them. My thing was that as soon as they came in the market, they should be finished by me first. Okay? I would read them and keep them. So, it takes three-four days. Sometimes it takes more. So, those monthly magazines should be done. Then for yearly, what to do is, you have done Vision monthly. You have done Only IAS daily. Now, for yearly, you can do someone else's, say Forum's. I don't know which coaching is currently running. Next IAS, whatever. So, for yearly, you can look at someone else's to see which topics you have missed in the index and do them. Simple strategy. And before Prelims, you will find some compilations. This compilation of the Economic Survey, this and that, these national parks, these maps, do those. Because that is a different thing. Meaning, it shouldn't be that you are doing the same thing from four different places in the monthly magazines. Okay? So, keep the plan very simple. Very simple. In this, the whole world will be contained. You just have to do your daily, your monthly, and look at the yearly. And see these special compilations that come for Prelims. That's it. Meaning, this is also a lot, but it is enough. And what was the second question? Current affairs and I forgot the question. Sneha, never mind. Someone else can ask. We have less time. So, we will just wind up. Maybe we can take questions. Yes, ma'am. Kayna, you can ask. Yes. Good afternoon, ma'am. I am Kayna Singh, a student of second year Political Science Honors from Kalindi College. Ma'am, I just wanted to ask that which book outside the syllabus influenced your perspective the most, and how did it shape your approach towards administration? Honestly, I wasn't very fond of reading. Even today, I struggle. I am, I am actually really wanting to build my habit to read books. Okay? So, I had a very practical approach: "Whatever gives me marks, whatever works, that's what I'll do." Okay? And I used to have this feeling very strongly: "Where will the marks come from?" And I used to consider all other time as a waste of time. Okay? So, I didn't read much. Meaning, I just focused on the syllabus: "This is the syllabus, this is how I have to do it, that and that." It becomes a bit necessary during the interview time. So, I read a few books. I read Atomic Habits, which was quite good. In that, it's about how you build habits. Meaning, really, really good. I read How to Win Friends and Influence People. That was also very nice. That is like how you become a good administrator. So, it's a very good quality to read books, but I have always struggled with it. So, I am not the right person to tell you what happened. My motivation and inspiration come more from real people and real experiences. Meaning, I have seen very closely. Meaning, I am more of a video medium guy, girl. I would watch things on YouTube and get inspired. You know, I didn't read much. But yes, all these self-help books are good. I did a couple of them for the interview. And they were actually very nice. If you follow them. It's not just about reading. Following them helps a lot. You can read books on manifestation. Because I feel manifestation really works. So, yeah. Last. Okay, ma'am. Thank you. Welcome. Okay. So, Vidushi Pandey. Okay, before we take the last question, I'm just saying, do you enjoy studying? Like, this preparation, do you enjoy it? Ma'am, I get a bit bored reading History. I love reading Geography, and it's my favorite subject. Making maps and watching its videos is interesting. But in History, I forget everything. If I study one night, I'll forget everything by the next night. I know. Some subjects will be interesting. I used to find Economics very boring. Very much so. Meaning, I used to think, what is this? But the fact is that I started enjoying it when my syllabus started getting completed. Meaning, if you go a bit further in preparation. Initially, it will feel overwhelming. Nothing will feel good. When my Prelims cleared, after that, I cried for three-four days, thinking, how will I do anything now? But towards the end, when I went to write the exam, I enjoyed writing answers, this and that. So, it's a process. Study with enjoyment. Meaning, right? And that enjoyment will come when you tick things off. When you see yourself improving. That, oh, where did I start from? When I started, I could answer 13 questions out of 20. In the end, I attempted all the questions. I didn't leave even a single mark. So, then I really liked that improvement. So, it was my own competition: "Man, I am better than this." I used to compare my earlier answers, and I will show you sometime, I will post them, how bad my earlier answers were and how much improvement I brought. So, enjoy the preparation. Like, I started enjoying it. When I worked hard with full dedication and worked on each and every step properly and saw myself improving, I enjoyed it a lot. So, and when you enjoy it, then I feel like I can give the exam again. Meaning, I really enjoyed, you know, getting better, applying those strategies, how can the answer be better, how can I make a good diagram. I used to make maps so quickly. I used to make world maps. I used to make maps in History too. Like, if something about the Mauryan Empire was asked, I would quickly draw a map of India and say, this was the Mauryan Empire, they traded from here, these were their trade routes, these were their boundaries, this and that. So, for me, in the end, it reached this point: "How can I just like make it look better? How can I?" I used to use very good facts. So, I started, you know, even now, when I sometimes read the newspaper, I feel, "Wow, this is such a good point, how well can it be used in an answer, in, you know, like how there are hooks on Instagram these days? You see this, oh, this is a hook. Similarly, when you write an answer, the introduction is like a hook only, right? So, I used to enjoy that. Like, you can throw a good piece of data there, if the question is about women, that makes a person think. So, I used to make such good introductions. I used to write conclusions. I studied less. Meaning, I read fewer things. But I executed very well. Meaning, by writing it well and executing it, I used a lot of facts, figures, data, quotes. If it's a Polity question, I would put constitutional articles in it. I would put quotes from Ambedkar, Gandhi. So, I used to make my answers very interesting, and I used to love it. So, try to like start falling in love with the preparation and start like enjoying getting better each day. Thank you, ma'am. So, now we are over with the Q&A session, and we are also streaming live, ma'am. And now I would like to hand over the session to Shivashi, who will deliver the vote of thanks. Oh, I don't know we were streaming live also. Okay. Yeah, okay. So, a huge thank you to you, dear ma'am, for sharing your incredible journey and insights with us today. We are truly inspired by your experience and the wisdom gained along the way. Your emphasis on how to approach UPSC stage-wise preparation, precise answers, and the whole simplification of the process was something we really wanted and was remarkable. We are grateful for the time you took and spent with us, addressing each and every question, and ignited that true aspirant in us. Thank you, everyone, for joining this and making this day a successful one. Let's carry forward the inspiration and wisdom shared today as we pursue on our path. Thank you so much, ma'am, for joining us today. Thank you. All the best, everyone. Hope to see you. Thank you, ma'am. Bye-bye. So.