Vaidya Ravi has been still there even during my Mains preparation, uh, during both my attempts, 23-24. I started my preparation in 2018 here as a foundation batch student and finally, I am again back here six years later. The life has come full circle finally. Uh, I graduated, I post-graduated, I actually in year 2018. After that, I came to Vajiram and Ravi. As the name has always been there, where I was completely clueless what to do, what not to do. And that year, I think, but I think I joined the test series. And we had those regular feedback sessions. We had, yes, GS, I was enrolled for the GS thing. I had that regular feedback session after every copy that was checked. We had those mentoring sessions going on. So, from that, it was clear what is wrong, where I should add on, what are the changes I need to make, etcetera. So, it went like that. And I really scored good in GS. Last year also, it was 435 marks in GS one, two, three, four.

Hello students. My name is Shakti Dubey. I am All India Rank One for this year's UPSC Civil Services Examination. Recently, UPSC released its results in which I secured the first rank. And I am really glad that after four failed attempts, finally, I could clear this exam and I could make it to the list. I will talk about my strategy in detail today, for Prelims, Mains, and even Interview. Because yesterday only, UPSC also released the mark sheets, which has perhaps now made me understand what were the things that worked, what were the things that did not work. And today, I think I am also in a right position to tell you which subjects I can provide good guidance for. Perhaps my strategy will definitely help you a little. And some subjects for which maybe I am not the right person, and I know other rankers will come forward and they will explain their strategy well. But before we go ahead, I had to give a very important clarification here. Since the results came out, on my social media, that is Instagram, on my Facebook, I have seen many messages from students where they are writing, "Ma'am, how much coaching did you join? Ma'am, you have been a student of every coaching." And there were also certain comments which perhaps I did not like that much. So, I requested DKT that I wanted a platform where I could clarify this thing. And I don't think I would find such a neutral platform anywhere else. So, I will just go ahead with that.

I did my foundation course from Vajiram and Ravi. I was a student of the 2018 batch. To get it very clear, I was a student of the 2018 batch, and here we are in 2025. When I joined my foundation course at Vajiram, there were two reasons behind it. First, I did not have a humanities background. So, it was very difficult for me to start everything from scratch and understand the exam. So, there was a need for guidance. So, I had joined that. Second thing, at that time, I was also working. So, I had very little time for self-study. So, that's why I joined, thinking that there will be a two-hour lecture, I will watch it, and I will find another two and a half hours to revise them, so perhaps my work will be done faster. But that time in 2018, and I finally cleared the exam in 2024. Was that thing relevant enough today? I would say yes, it gave me the foundation. But UPSC is an exam where with every year, your notes become outdated. So, I have worked a lot on self-study. I have done a lot of value addition. Although I am very thankful to the institute, because at that time, there were some very good faculty members whose classes really helped me. But you have to understand that joining coaching is not the solution. Because there are many students who have also sent me messages saying that they do not have a better financial condition, or they are like, "What if they won't be able to join a coaching?" I know very well, at that time, I told Papa that I need coaching, and how my dad went and collected all that money, and we went for the coaching. So, I do understand that this is a very big problem. But after COVID, I have also noticed that there are many platforms, many toppers, many rankers who have detailed their strategies. So, if you cannot afford any costly course, any costly foundation course, then what can you do? Just go through the strategy of these toppers, of the rankers that come out every year. You can follow one who suits you.

Second, since I did my foundation course a long time ago, in the first three attempts, I could not even clear Prelims. When I cleared Prelims for the first time in my third attempt, I had a very vast syllabus for Mains in front of me, which I had perhaps not completed yet. I had a lot to do. So, in that, I found GS III the most difficult at that time. Because GS III, if you have seen the syllabus, you know that it is quite current-oriented. They ask very little static. Be it agriculture, be it economy, or even disaster management, environment, ecology, science and tech. So, because of this, I attended Shivam Sir's GS III course. Along with that, I heard a lot from toppers that previous year questions are very important. So, in that same year, 2023 attempt, I also joined his Right Smart course, which made it easy for me to understand the mapping and dimensions of previous year questions. Besides this, since I prepared from Allahabad, I was only in Delhi initially in 2018 because I was working here too. Then I took foundation batches here and I used to attend that. But when I went back to Allahabad, I had neither a peer group nor friends who were appearing for UPSC. I knew one or two people. So, I was looking for a peer group, and that's when I came across one of the mentors, that is Satyam Ji Jain Sir. I joined his groups there, where we had discussions on current affairs, which I attended. So, these were the three platforms I was associated with.

Now, I will tell you, the foundation course was the initial one. The other two I did when I had a lot to do in Mains and I had very little time. So, to sort that out, I took help from some people. So that I could just get through. But it was just Mains. But I could not clear my Mains. I cleared the Mains. I went till the interview. But I could not, you know, make it to the final list in 2023. Then I had to start again, and I gave the 2024 attempt again. This year, I did not join any course. I joined a test series. Because I think you also understand that completing the paper in Mains is as important as proper answer structuring. And that comes with practice. So, for practice, I joined Vajiram and Ravi's Sure Shot program, which was headed by Sajal Sir at that time. He was my mentor under his guidance. So, he guided me very well. Talking about Ethics, during that year, in Sure Shot, I had another mentor. She was guiding me for Ethics, and she basically helped me a lot. A little bit, my marks last year were 126, they were pretty good, but still, I got guidance from her. Because she herself had secured 137, 138 marks in the previous attempt. So, she could guide me better, and I applied her learning, and finally, I could, you know, score this year, I think one of the highest marks, it's 141 in Ethics. And and and and and and and and and and and and and I think that's why I can better tell you about what is an approach for that paper to be to go ahead.

Then comes the interview stage. Now, I think you also understand that interview is the last stage of UPSC. You have cleared Prelims, you have cleared Mains. So, after that, it is that we just want to do anything to get our name on the final list. And that is the reason why we enroll on n number of platforms, just for the personality development test, in which it is just the mock interview. Okay? One or two institutes, at a very minimal amount of 500, 250, they keep current affairs classes. And since I was also working again, I had very little time to follow current affairs myself. Therefore, I had some courses, classes of Vipin Sir. I think one of the institutes was just, where he is currently, for current affairs. He had three classes for current affairs, and I attended just two of them offline. I am seeing that videos are circulating a lot. And I have also read comments from students in them, who are saying that "Ma'am is enrolled in every class." Let me clarify, those were current affairs classes, which were part of the personality development. There were just two classes that I attended, and it had very minimal fees. I was deeply saddened by watching so many institutes just using my photographs. And it is nothing about me. It doesn't matter to me. If you want to advertise, please go ahead. But it matters that students are getting confused by this, about which platform they should join. They are also feeling that everything is so costly. So, should I join everything? And that's why I have seen, I would not name some of them. But you must have seen, they have directly mentioned that "I enrolled in 10-10 courses in their institute." But no, I was not. I have clarified again. I have done everything very well. It was Vajiram and Ravi 2018 foundation batch. It was GS III Right Smart under Dr. Shivam in 2023. And this year, I was part of Mains Sure Shot program, which was headed by Sajal Sir at Vajiram and Ravi. And the current affairs classes for my Mains that I took help of, those lectures of Jayant Parikshit Sir, who is a, who is basically a faculty of Vajiram and Ravi for Economics. Then he came up with the budget and the Economic Survey that helped me a lot. So, this was the clarification I wanted to give before we move ahead.

Now, let's talk about my journey. Uh, I come from a very humble background. My father was a Head Constable in UP Police. Recently, he has been promoted to Sub-Inspector. Recently, I mean, two years back. So, he was promoted to Sub-Inspector. My mother is a housewife. But I think the dream that they saw, to make us, you know, financially independent, to make us, you know, strong enough to face the world. Their contribution in my journey, that is irreplaceable. I don't think I can thank them enough. I don't think I can ever tell a replacement for this. So, in this, what happened was, when I initially, in 2018, I passed out from my college from Banaras Hindu University. Okay, I will also like to start this. I did my schooling from St. Mary's Convent, Ghurpur. Then I went ahead and did my graduation from Allahabad University, and then from Banaras Hindu University, I did my post-graduation. I passed out from college in 2018. Uh, the financial condition has not always been very good. So, I went ahead for a job. So, at that time, when I started, that's when I joined Vajiram and Ravi for the foundation course, as I mentioned, why. So, at that time, I had very little time, and I gave my first two attempts along with the job. And that is why I think this was one of the reasons, because I did not do full-focus preparation. I could not clear. And as I also mentioned in, you know, my interview with Sans TV, that I told that my mother says one thing, "The biggest lie in the world is to lie to yourself." So, when I failed in two attempts, and I was getting frustrated, thinking, "What is this? UPSC is very tough. Perhaps I won't be able to do it." Then she said, "Just sit down and talk to yourself. Did you give the required input? Did you put in that effort?" And I realized that yes, perhaps I was not giving those hours. When toppers are saying it takes 8 to 10 hours, when they are working that hard, then how am I, coming from a non-humanities background, expecting to clear it without any, without any effort? So, at that time, COVID also arrived. And we were at home. So, I just resigned from my job and started the full-fledged preparation, as they say. Then I gave it with full preparation. Then I chose my option. I worked well on Mains, and I gave the 2022 attempt. When I gave the 2022 attempt, that year I did not clear Prelims. So, this was my third consecutive failure in UPSC Prelims. I think that was truly a low phase. Because this was an attempt that I gave after quitting my job, with full preparation, having prepared for Mains. That year, my Prelims stopped by one mark. But I think when you give the exam with good preparation, the best thing that happens is that you can identify your mistakes. You probably realize that, "Okay, these things, there were shortcomings in these areas." So, when I analyzed my 2022 paper, that year, I think there were some pair-type questions, and I thought that most of those questions were the ones that went wrong for me because, I think, it was new. So, I understood this thing that maybe I was not ready to absorb the shock that UPSC gave with that new pattern. So, I couldn't clear. But I thought that the knowledge gap, meaning the questions I had studied, the concepts I had studied, questions from them were not wrong. Current affairs questions were not wrong. Perhaps the strategy of attempting the paper was missing. So, I realized that now, for the 2023 attempt, I have to work on strategy. So, that is how I brought certain changes, because of which I cleared the 2023 Prelims and also cleared the 2024 Prelims. So, what were those things that I changed in my strategy? About the first two attempts, I don't want to say, because then there was a huge knowledge gap. What did I do in the third attempt? My NCERTs were done. Some standard books were done, and I had just looked at previous year questions. Then I realized, and I heard so many toppers saying that previous year questions have to be a guide. And then I felt, perhaps I had taken previous year questions very lightly. So, the things that I changed in the 2023 attempt, I can just count them on my fingertips. First, I used my previous year questions properly. Not just for solving and checking my knowledge, but in order to understand the kind of questions UPSC is asking. I identified themes from there. Like, okay, if questions are being asked from Fundamental Rights, there are so many articles, Article 14 to Article 32. But then you will see that Article 19, Article 21, and Article 32, these three are the articles that UPSC asks the most, whether it is Prelims or Mains. So, I decided that I have to read other Fundamental Rights, but on these three, I think I need to give a lot of focus. I need to look at Supreme Court judgments on these. I need to look at committee recommendations on these. If there are any changes, if any current things are being covered, I need to keep a track of that. So, this was just an example. I told this to explain to you that in this way, I used my previous year questions for every subject, to identify the themes, to identify the keywords, and to identify the dimensions that had to be covered.

Second change that I made was that I greatly reduced my book list. In the 2022 attempt, I remember for History, I read at least 10 books. I had New NCERT, Old NCERT, some reference books, Tamil Nadu's NCERT. Meaning, I read a lot of things, and in the last moment, I could not revise them. So, because of this, this time I decided, there is just one book that I will follow for every subject. So, let me get started with my resources as well. Here, for History, for Ancient History, I used Tamil Nadu Board's NCERT and Themes in Indian History Part One, which is the New NCERT of Class 12th. Then for Medieval, I did not refer to any NCERT, because Medieval usually was not asked initially. After 2022, questions started appearing. So, I think in 2021, I completed my NCERT from an online YouTube video. I think I was searching for that ma'am's video just now, and I couldn't find them. So, I think they are now not there on YouTube anymore. But in 2021, I completed the lectures from there. I did not refer to any book for that. Third comes your Modern India. For that, I only and only referred to Spectrum. For Art and Culture, I used Introduction to Fine Arts, which is an NCERT of Class 11th. So, this was about History. For Geography, I used 11th and 12th NCERT. There are four books in total. Besides this, I used my class notes from Vajiram and Ravi as a foundation, a little bit, because Geography was a bit of a technical subject. Mayocha Sir's notes, I used those. And after that, for mapping, I did world mapping myself, Indian mapping myself, from YouTube, from freely available videos. I know if I take the names of channels now, they will become monetized. I know if I talk about them, you will not be able to access them anymore freely. So, I will not name them. You are, you know, intelligent enough to go to YouTube and search for some really good videos. You will find them. Trust me. So, I did it from free resources only. World mapping and India mapping, and I was good to go. You can look for any of the channels.

After that, let's talk about Economics. Now, the story of Economics is a bit unique, because Economics has really been a really tough for me. Because, you know, to understand the basics. Because if you understand even one thing wrong, your entire understanding of the Indian economy starts declining. So, I had followed Shyam Sundar Sir's notes, and he was, Shyam Sir's notes. He is a faculty. He was a faculty of Vajiram and Ravi. So, because I had absolutely no background, I used his notes, and Jayant Sir's notes. So, these were the two I used. But as I told you, UPSC is all about staying relevant. So, those notes from 2018 became outdated by 2020. So, I will tell you, at that time, I used Shri Ram IAS's notes, which I picked up from the market. Nothing.

From paid courses, nothing from anywhere else. I just picked up notes from the market. And apart from that, every year there were some videos by Jayant Sir that were freely available on YouTube. I used to follow his current economic survey and budget. So, my economy became strong. So, for my foundation, I used a little bit of Bajiram's course in the initial days and then I went on with Shriram IAS. And then every year I basically used to complement it from the Economic Survey and Budget.

Now, if I talk about Polity, for Polity I had referred to Laxmikanth specifically for the Prelims. Now let's talk about another important resource I would like to mention. There is Abhay Kumar Sir who has his own YouTube channel. I will try to post the link of the channel on my official Telegram group, which is ShaktiDubey_1. Please, that is my only official Telegram channel, and there I will post the link of Abhay Kumar Sir's YouTube video. There, during COVID, he came up with 500 MCQs. Through these 500 MCQs, a new understanding developed for Polity. Because the explanations Sir gave me a new way of approaching the questions. And that is why that benefited me so much that I ended up taking PSIR as my optional. So, these were two sources of Polity that I referred to for my Prelims. Because if we look at Prelims, the themes from Polity are usually current. But questions are asked on static concepts. For example, if 2023 was the year where we saw questions on President elections. It was because that was there in the news. If a new CJI is appointed, there will be a question in Prelims on the appointment of the CJI of India. So, this is that simple. They will pick up the theme from current affairs but they ask static questions. So, I was good to go with these two sources with a bit of current addition. But this changed for my Mains, which I will be covering in the upcoming video.

So, now what happened is, these are the four static subjects that we call. For which I have detailed the booklist and everything that I followed. Apart from that, then come two major subjects that are very current oriented. Those were Environment and Ecology and Science and Technology. For them, since I was a Biochemistry student, a large portion of Environment I basically covered as part of Plant Biochemistry. So, I didn't have that much problem. But I know that students can face some issues in that. For that, you can just refer to any coaching material, just any. When I am saying any, it doesn't have to be very like choosy that some paid course will be good, some will be good. No. Pick up any one material. On that, you can develop your static understanding. Because mostly in Environment and Science and Tech, the questions come from current affairs. Be it questions on species, be it, you know, national parks or protected areas, or any conservation initiative of the government, or every year COP is held, Conference of Parties of UNFCCC. New initiatives are launched on international platforms. What is India launching? What is India joining? What is India refraining from? So, all these things that are from current affairs, we usually use them in Environment and Ecology. So, don't worry too much about static. You can pick up any relevant material and prepare your base on that.

Then comes Science and Technology. Now, since we can divide this into two parts. One is Biotechnology and then comes other technologies. In others, you have Nano, Quantum, or AI, etc. So, this is Space Technology. So, all of that comes in other technologies. Biotech was sorted because I was a student of Biochemistry. So, I never had a problem with it. I know some students might face some issues. But I think I am not the right person to guide for that. Because I literally used no sources for Biochemistry for Biotechnology. For other technologies, I have always used free YouTube videos. Like if Quantum Entanglement is in news. Superposition is in news. And I am not understanding it. I used to go and search on YouTube freely. Quantum Entanglement Explained. It was not even videos from here's coaching. Some good institutes have also uploaded them. If you look, some foreign institutes also have very good clips, four to five minutes long, and they have explained it very properly in a proper animated manner. I use those platforms to understand it. Apart from that, current affairs become very important for Science and Technology. James Webb Telescope released an image. James Webb Telescope was asked by UPSC. Chandrayaan 3 was launched by India. Chandrayaan 3 was asked by UPSC. When COVID was in the news, questions came on all types of vaccines. Questions came on protein receptors. Because that was very obvious. So, you have to understand that Science and Technology and Environment are two subjects where you have to focus a lot on current affairs. Don't worry about static. If your basics are clear. So, this is it for my Prelims basic sources that I used. After this, in Prelims, the important portion or aspect is current affairs. For which I also used to follow compilations from any institute. The order of following current affairs was Science and Technology, Environment Ecology, Economics, and IR and Places in News. For Polity, I used to just go through the content page. And I would see which themes are in the news. So that based on that, I can prepare it from my static. So, this is how I followed current affairs for GS papers.

Now let's move to GS Paper 2, that is CSAT. I know that CSAT is a qualifying paper. You just need to score some 33% marks. But in recent few years, I have seen students failing a lot in that. I know personally a few of them who could clear GS 1 by a very good margin but they failed in GS Paper 2. Now, I am basically a medical student. Medical, in the sense, I took Physics, Chemistry, Biology in Class 11th. So, my last interaction with Math was in Class 10th. And I left it because this is one of the most qualifying subjects for me. But reasoning was never a problem. For me, reasoning was never a problem. So, when I stepped into UPSC, first I sat down with CSAT's paper. And I saw what its pattern is. So, I identified three sections. One is Reading Comprehension, the second was the Quant, the Quant portion. And the third was your Reasoning and Aptitude. I was good with comprehension. At least if I am attempting 27, 28, 25 questions approximately, they were correct. So, I could extract maximum marks from comprehension. Then I would switch to reasoning. From reasoning, I used to pick up, you know, some 10, 15 to 20 questions. Sitting arrangement questions, dice questions, cubes questions, and series questions. So, all of that was very easy for me because I don't know the word for me. So, I used to then couple it up with that. Then I used to move to Quant. And in Quant, because I was very weak, so I had identified some specific areas. Like Time and Speed, Time and Work. Okay? Speed, Distance and Time, then Percentage, Average. So, these are five, six things which I felt that questions are coming more from these, and perhaps I can do them easily. I was not very good with Permutation, Combination, or Probability. So, I used to never go there either. I never even touched it. I just went with them. And with this combination, I could attempt some 45 to 50 questions, because of which I was able to clear CSAT in all my attempts. Like even in the first attempt, I could clear Prelims, but CSAT was like, I had marks like 75, 74, 73. In the last attempt, I think the 2023 paper was very tough. We saw people from engineering background also talking about that openly that yes, the paper was on the tougher side. But that year also, I scored 69 marks. I know it was very close to the cut-off. But I cleared it despite being a non-math student. So, I think CSAT is something in which if you can solve some previous year questions, like the last five years' previous year questions, and you can identify the areas from where more questions are coming. In CSAT, because the cut-off is already that you have to score only 33%, you can identify your own 40 and you can just stick to certain questions. Attempt 45 to 50, where your accuracy should be very good. Then I think you will be able to clear the cut-off with a nice margin. The year I scored 75 in CSAT. So, I think it was pretty much good. So, this was my approach towards CSAT. This is about Prelims.

So, now the question is, is Prelims all about the booklist? Is Prelims all about studying? I would say no. Prelims is also about the mindset. Prelims is also about, you know, mock practice. Because Prelims is a stage where I think UPSC uses it for filtering out the masses. Lakhs will appear, and only 15 to 16,000 will appear for Mains. So, from lakhs to the 20 or 15,000 we are coming down to, that filtration is happening at the Prelims stage. I think I had a lot of fear of Prelims too. Because I was the one who failed three consecutive Prelims. And after that, when I went on the fourth attempt, that mindset was, you lose there. When you see the paper, the 2023 paper was very unconventional. Most of the questions were of all types, and I did not know what to do. Because the fear of 2022 had turned into an even worse situation there in the hall. But then I realized one thing. I had already given many years to UPSC. Meaning, I had worked hard. Second thing, my NCERTs are done. My basics are done. My current affairs are done. So, if I don't know a question, definitely a student who has done all these things, they also won't know it. That's the mindset I kept, and I tried to calm myself down, and I went ahead with that. And I think I was able to clear by 82 marks. Last year the cut-off was 75. I scored 82, and it was pretty much good for me to clear Prelims. So, one thing I would like to mention here is that practice is very important. There is one thing called MCQ solving aptitude. That you know that when UPSC sets the paper, out of 100 questions, you know there are some 20 to 25 questions that you know. Remaining, out of all the questions. Okay? Then we are left with some 75 questions. Out of those, 10 are such questions that UPSC is not giving them to solve. They are just there for you to not solve them, not attempt them. For example, there are questions about species. Some species will be named, and it will ask if these are species of birds, reptiles, etc. You have to be very sure about that answer. You cannot be guessing there. Okay? So, UPSC asks some unconventional questions. Which, I think, are some 10 questions that nobody knows, that nobody can answer. You can just go for some intelligent guesses, etc., where there is a 50% chance of failing and a 50% chance of getting it correct. For the remaining 60 to 65 questions, you will notice that you get confused in two options, you get confused in three options. How do we tackle that? For that, you are required to have that MCQ solving aptitude. How will that develop? When you consistently work on previous year questions, you will realize that there are some specific types of statements that UPSC makes correct. There are some specific statements that UPSC makes wrong. You know, you just go with the vocabulary of UPSC, that is very important. So, I followed that and along with that, I gave a lot of mock tests. Now, if you want to know which institute's mocks I gave. There was not one institute. I picked up the question papers from the market. I used to pick up some 10-15. I used to solve. I would never get bogged down by the marks because seeing marks was not my target. My target was that if I have studied the basics, nothing should go wrong from there. If I have done the current affairs, nothing should go wrong from there. And if I am getting some good questions, some good themes that I am seeing in the test, which, say, if repeated in every paper, it means it is an important topic. That's why every coaching has covered it. So, I used to add them in my notes. So, in this way, I solved the mocks. If you ask the number of mocks, then I think there were some. In 2023, I gave a lot of mocks because the focus was only on Prelims to get that clear. So, that year I gave approximately 50 to 55 mocks from November to May. Don't think that I gave 55 mocks in one month. I started in November, every Wednesday and every Sunday, I used to give mocks. I started with full-length tests. And that's how I completed some 50 to 55 mocks. In the fifth attempt, I didn't have much time. The result came on April 16th. My next Prelims was on June 16th. So, in those 2 months, I only solved 10 to 12 mock papers. There were some full-length tests, and based on that, I just identified important current affairs themes, cleared my basics. And that's how I was able to go confidently to the Prelims hall. So, if I sum up Prelims, I have mentioned some NCERTs, I have mentioned some standard books, I talked about the importance of previous year questions, and then the importance of solving certain mocks. So, this was it for the Prelims part. These are my learnings that I took and which helped me clear the examination in both attempts.

Also, when I talk about mock tests, now a question comes, should we attempt them online or offline? Do we need to come to Delhi for that? I think there are many institutes that now conduct mock tests all over India. Just before your Prelims. Some tests are there to stimulate the environment of the examination. Initially, if you wish, you can give online mocks. Not an issue. But two to three months before Prelims is the time you should go for solving offline mocks. Now, what does offline mocks mean? You can get the paper from the market. You can get the OMR sheet from the market as well, and you can start filling it or doing it in a very offline manner. Because I will tell you that the atmosphere of the exam is very, you know, there is so much pressure on our minds. And some students, I have heard, that they even make mistakes in filling the OMR sheets because they are in a hurry or maybe they get just confused, and you mark one answer in another place, and then your whole answer sheet gets wrong, one by one. So, practicing this a bit in an offline setup to fill the OMR sheet properly, that is also required. So, I would suggest that two months before Prelims is the time, at least a minimum of two months, that you should start attempting the Prelims paper. Mocks, you can start doing them offline. This year, 2024 attempt, what happened was that I went to give my exam. This was actually a Mains exam. And I just heard when I came out, my father told me that there was a student, he was, I think he was from MP, and he was given a center in Prayagraj. And he comes there, and he arrived there, and I think he was late by four or five minutes, and he was not given entry for the examination. And nothing can be more heartbreaking than that. Because you are clearing Prelims, and you are not given an opportunity to sit for Mains. So, this mistake should not be made. UPSC gives very clear guidelines about what time the gate will close, at what time the gate will open. Please reach one hour before. You will not achieve anything new by studying for an extra hour on that day, just trust me. But sitting in the exam is important. So, what do we need to do? If the center is far away, we will go and see the center one day before. If the center is nearby, if we know it, then we will try to reach the center at least one hour before in the morning. So that we don't miss the paper due to our negligence. Okay? So, this has to be a very important thing. Please keep in mind that before the exam, this thing is also very important. Otherwise, even if suppose you are allowed entry, that hustle at the gate, you will be in an anxious state. Then you will go to the room to settle down, everything is going to be difficult. So, what to do to stay calm? See the exam center one day before. Your notes, etc., whatever you need to keep, your important ID, your admit card, pens, extra pens, and all, please carry all of them properly and then reach the examination center at least one hour before. This was about Prelims and the strategy that I used. You know, certain important learnings from five attempts that I can, that I wanted to forward to you all.

Also, now if I talk about, what is the ideal timeline for Prelims? How many revisions should be given? How many times should things be read? Now, this was my fifth attempt. So, if I say I gave 10 revisions before Prelims, it is very obvious because I had been studying for five years. I didn't have much new to cover. Static was complete, and I just wanted to do some current updates. So, maybe if I say, this first attempt won't relate to me. But an ideal way is that we wrap up everything for Mains by December. Okay? From January, we start preparing for Prelims. Preparing for Prelims means that we will now give mock tests. We will start focusing on CSAT for MCQs. We can take Ethics or Optional to the back stage a bit and bring Prelims-related things forward. Ideally, what should you do? January and February should be used for one proper detailed revision. And this is what I am saying, talking about revision. It's not that you hadn't studied anything before and you are trying to study it between January and February. Once you have done your basics, then from January to February, you can just use it for one detailed revision. Then in the month of March, we can keep another slot of revision in March and until April 15th, in 45 days. And that's how we can at least plan for three or four revisions before the exam. I will tell you why? Because the syllabus in UPSC is so vast that, you know, to just retain all of that in your brain.

It is the biggest challenge, and retention comes from revision. So, these three or four revisions, minimum, must be done before your Prelims. Now, I also realize that one day before the Prelims is the game-changer. 90% of us fail before actually failing in the Prelims examination because our confidence decreases. Anxiety is very high. It feels like maybe only I have not studied properly. I am the only one who, you know, has not covered things very well. My current affairs are not covered. My static is not covered. Relax. All those things will be looked into. If you have worked hard properly, have confidence in that. A little bit. I am not saying overconfidence, but there should be confidence. That yes, I have done that, and because of this, I will be able to tackle the questions in the examination because NCERT is done, static is done, basics are done. Along with that, we have also looked at previous year questions. Current affairs have been followed well throughout the year. Then, I think I am good to go. So, what do you have to do? I know some people won't be able to sleep. They get troubled by it. Don't just rest, lie down. Let the thoughts come and go. Try sleeping. We should try to sleep for 8 hours if we can sleep before Prelims. That would be better. But if sleep is not coming, then don't worry about why sleep is not coming. That is common. No one sleeps that night. Because the next day is one of the very, you know, big days for you. Because for this, you have prepared for a whole year. A little anxiety is bound to happen. It is common. But we will not let it overpower us. We will try to calm ourselves down. And we will go. Maybe you can have support from anyone. Parents, God, whoever you talk to and get peace from. Just talk and let your mind be calm. Leave everything to the Almighty. If you have worked hard, I really pray you all get through.

Now, when you enter the examination hall, the mindset that you have at that moment is really important because sometimes what happens is that we start from question number one and go to question number 100, meaning we go in that chronology. Now, what if the first 10 questions are of history? For me, I used to get so much anxious because out of those 10, I would hardly know five or six, or maybe even three or four. So, what was the thing is that your confidence will decline right there. So, it is not always a compulsion to start the paper from question number one. In the first 5 minutes, just take 5 minutes and skim through the paper. You can take a pencil in your hand and we will note down what the first question we see is. Then you see the first question. You will understand which subject the question is from. Just mention if it's Polity, mention Polity. Skim through, you will see from 11 onwards, the subject of the question will change. Just keep mentioning, here are Polity questions. Here are Economy questions. Here are History questions. Here are Geography ones. This looks a bit like Current Affairs. This is Environment. So, take 5 minutes to absorb the paper and just try highlighting the, you know, sections that are different. Then start from the subject which is your forte. My mind was Polity. So, I used to start from Polity itself. If you do the first 10 questions in such a way that you can attempt eight of them. Trust me, your confidence will skyrocket. Your confidence will boost. Your mind will automatically calm down, and you will be able to perform better in other subjects. So, even if you don't know some History questions, you will feel, okay, I have already attempted some 25 to 30 questions. Sure-shot questions that I knew for sure. Now, for the remaining, we will use our, you know, peripheral knowledge, applied knowledge, aptitude, and by applying that, we will try our best to solve the paper.

Now also, this is a basic concept for students. Should I do static? Should I do current affairs? I think I have personally known some of them who used to spend, you know, 50% of the day on current affairs. Because we feel that everything is current affairs. No, it is not like that. UPSC has maintained a very proper balance. For current affairs, have, you know, just follow one newspaper. Okay? And be regular with that. Be consistent. Follow the newspaper. And in the end, many coaching institutes bring out compilations. Whichever you are comfortable with, pick them up. More or less, they all have the same content. Just pick any one of them. But if I am picking up a compilation, make sure I am revising it at least three to four times. If you cannot do that, then don't pick it up. There is no point in reading it once if you cannot revise it three to four times because then you will not retain the information. So, what we can do for current affairs is to spend a little less time, have your static strong, and complement it with current affairs. So, this is a proper, you know, balance you need to maintain. Do not give too much importance or overemphasis to any one thing.

Also, if you see, Prelims are just a few, three weeks, I think, away, if I am not wrong. And here we are sitting just three weeks before the Prelims. I would suggest there are a few basic things. First, do not study anything new now. Now is not the time to read anything new. Now is not the time to pick up anything new. What you have studied, just give it a full-fledged revision. What we need to do is to properly revise the NCERT notes that I have prepared because I am expecting by now your one-pagers would be prepared. So, revise that. Revise the notes you made on the learnings from previous year questions. And if you had made notes from the mocks you took, extracting any new learning, any good question, any good theme, then revise those. So, these three weeks have to be all about revision, revision, revision. And along with that, I think I will tell you. Now, some students also have this question: should I give mocks at this time? If I talk personally, yes, I used to give mocks at least 10 days before. Full-length tests, proper 100 questions again. Why? Because this was my fifth attempt. My revision was done. I had that luxury of time; I could do it. For those who are in their first or second attempt, do not compromise on revision time by solving papers. Revise properly. You can do one thing: solve about 25 questions every day instead of going for a whole full-length test. Instead of 100, start solving 25-25 from today. So that you stay in touch with the practice of solving MCQs. You can keep picking up new themes. Otherwise, don't go for full-length tests. Because I think this will happen: your confidence will decrease if you don't get good marks in the paper. This might also hamper your productivity during these days. So, because of this, what you can do is, till I think this week, if you want, you can go ahead with some mocks. But in the last two weeks, please do not solve any new mocks. Just those 10-12 questions per day, previous year questions, or some solved papers that you had solved before. Just go through them to keep in that habit of solving MCQs.

So, I just came to know that my Mains score of 843 can be divided into three parts. First is 464 in GS papers. This is the cumulative score of GS 1, 2, 3, 4. Then in Essay, I have scored 100, and in my Optional, my scores were 280. So, based on this score of mine, I think now I will be able to tell a proper strategy where it worked, where it did not work. Like, let's talk, start from Essay only. In my last attempt also, I had 105. This attempt, I have 100. So, I don't think I am the right person to guide for the Essay part. So, I will refrain from that. I think there are other rankers who will have quite good scores, and I am hoping they will come forward. They will bring their strategies. So, for Essays, you can follow them. But talking about myself, how did I approach the Essay paper? I basically did one thing: I picked up relevant examples from current affairs. I used to, you know, follow some good case studies from the Better India website. I have, I also used to read certain books. So, I used to, you know, give the correct reference of the books as well in order to quote it in my answers, in the Essay paper specifically. So, my strategy for attempting the Essay was that, you know, for the two essays, do not follow the same structure. First thing. So, if I did the first essay in a question-answer format, then the second essay, I will go in a very, you know, that it goes in the GS paper format, or the SDG approach, all those things. So, in this way, I used to try to keep the two essays completely unique. This time, what I did was that I started one of my essays by quoting a book. Because this time, the Economic Survey mentioned a book where it talked about how, you know, the internet and the digital era is impacting the brain of youth. It is impacting the brain of children. So, I quoted that book, "The Great Rewiring of Generation" by Jonathan Headit, because there was a question this time on the impact of social media. So, I did those things: started with a book quote. After that, I went ahead in a question-answer format. I gave two angles to it: positive impact, negative impact. I gave some relevant examples to support my argument, and then I ended it with a conclusion: how we can promote its balanced use, how the ethical requirements in this social media intermediaries are very important these days, and also the proactive role that citizens have to play. After this, my second essay, I basically did it in a question-answer format. I began that thing with an anecdote, a story. Now, you can take anecdotes from anywhere. I take them from current affairs. So, if you know any relevant story line or a short, you know, case study, you can begin your essay with that too. And I went in that GS paper one format. Like, I used to approach the essay in the format of GS paper: a dimension from history, a dimension from geography, you know, society. So, I mapped all the dimensions of GS Paper 1. Mapped all the dimensions of Paper 2. In this way, I was able to generate some 15-16 dimensions in a single essay. And this made my answer look quite multidimensional. But I don't know if that is the right one for you guys to follow. But I will also upload some of my, you know, answer copies for Essays on my channel, and you can go through them and get an idea of how, or which kind of essay you can write for the UPSC examination.

Also, if I talk about the Essay paper, I think there is no time constraint here because there is three hours of time. You just have to write two essays. So, one thing you have to do is brainstorming. So, what else to do? For the first 1.5 hours, you can dedicate to one essay, in which you can do 30 minutes of brainstorming, 20 minutes of brainstorming, and in the remaining one hour, you can write your essay. And I think it is pretty much good time to complete the paper. Also, when I am talking about brainstorming, please keep in mind that it is not that I chose one essay from Section A, one essay from Section B, and I sit for an hour just brainstorming. No. First, brainstorm for the first essay. Write it down. Then brainstorm for the second essay, and then write it down. Otherwise, what will happen is that your flow will not be reflected in the answer when you will complete one essay at a time. Brainstorm, write. Brainstorm, write. So, this is my, you know, idea of approaching the Essay paper. My Telegram channel, the link for my Telegram channel will be mentioned in the description. You can join them where I will be uploading my essay copies to give you an idea. There are so many approaches to go for the Essay paper. Like, I am a PSIR student. I have used the thinkers, their books, very well in my essay answers as well. So, yes, if you belong to an optional whose knowledge you can use in the essay, feel free to do that. Yes, do not get into the technicalities of the optional in the essay paper, obviously, but you can definitely take references from there. That is what I used to do. Talking about where did I, you know, approach my essay for? For that, I had not joined any course. I just joined some of the other test series for Essays, just to write the essays. But I had followed a lot of toppers' copies for the essay every year. Shruthi Sharma ma'am's copy I have seen. Besides that, last year's topper was Nausheen ma'am. Her copy, I think that was one of the best essay copies I came across. You can also, you guys can go and watch that as well. She wrote an essay on AI. And I just went through how beautifully, how smoothly, in a very, you know, organic manner, her essay was written. The flow in the essay was really good. You know, the type of dimensions she has touched upon was really good. There were current dimensions. There were also future perspectives and all of that. So, it was really a very balanced essay that I would say. So, in this way, I had also referred to some toppers' copies. I think the benefit of referring to toppers' copies for this is that you will get an idea of how we can approach the essay in a very unique way.

Talking about the topic selection in Essay, if you know, there are two sections, Part A, Part B, and you have to choose one essay. UPSC gives four options. I also know some people that they are like, this common topic, I am not going to choose because everyone will be writing an essay on it. So, let me pick up something unique. If you do that, trust me, you are putting yourself at risk. Okay? Because others are writing, so I won't write, is not something you should go for. In UPSC, do not take any risks. So, whenever you get a common topic on which you can generate at least eight to ten dimensions, please go with that topic. You do not need to just, you know, give it up because others are writing. It does not make any difference. Everybody's essay is going to be unique. Because everyone will have their own ideas to incorporate. Everybody will have some different examples. So, do not worry about that. Pick the topic or choose the topic in which you are comfortable and you can easily generate nine to ten dimensions. So that you can create, you know, a very holistic and a very multidimensional kind of essay.

In recent times, we have also seen that UPSC has started asking certain, you know, philosophical essays, that has become an issue for the students. And I was a PSIR student. So, I think that I have worked a lot on thinkers and their theories. So, philosophical essays were never an issue for me. Even if a question would have come on happiness, I knew that I could quote Aristotle anytime. So, there is a way to approach philosophical essays, which you can, because these are abstract. Okay? And there is an issue that the way you look towards a topic is not the same way the other one is looking towards it. Because what is happiness for you is not happiness for others, maybe. So, these, you know, differences. So, that is also problematic, but that is also the beauty of philosophical essays. Because you, it is you have the full freedom to, you know, turn the direction of the whole essay. You can decide the course of how you are making it, you are interpreting it. That's what I would say. So, for philosophical essays, what you can do is, you can quote some thinkers. You know, you can give that dimension coming up from your optional paper if you have. You can also give very beautifully. You can try substantiating your arguments with some relevant examples which can make it look very organic. Which can make it look very, you know, live. Like I can say it should not be very mechanical. Because our fact-based essays, like on women empowerment. Now, I can pick up some important data, facts, and I can go with it, and those are facts. Nobody can refute it. But the beauty of a philosophical essay is that it provides you the opportunity to just, you know, decide the course of action. Decide the course of the whole story that you write. So, I think use it to your best abilities. Try picking up dimensions from every possible, you know, subjects that you have studied to make your answer look much multidimensional.

Now, we will talk about the GS papers. Because recently, the marksheet came, I have secured a cumulative score of 464 in the GS papers this year. In 2023 also, my GS cumulative score was 435, which was also like pretty much good. So, I think I am the person that I can tell you what worked for me. Last year also, I was not part of any course. I was not part of any coaching institute. I did the GS preparation by the freely available channel of Satyam Jain sir at that time. So, I was a part of that. And there we discussed a few current affairs, etc. We followed some, you know, templates for approaching or structuring answers, and I went with that. So, last year also, scored good. This year also, my scores are pretty much good only. In GS Paper 1, I have secured 112 marks. In GS Paper 2, I got 125. That is also my optional, so I think it was on the easier side for me. In GS Paper 3, both the years, I had a bit low score. Last year it was 85. This year it is 86. So, and then comes to GS Paper 4. Last year I had a score of 126. This year I have the score of 141. So, I think I know what worked for me in the GS papers. If we have to look at how I approached it, then I will go paper-wise now. I will tell my sources. I will tell my strategy, and also tell that how things unfolded for me. And how it was different to approach each and every.

GS Paper. Let's get started from GS Paper One. You know, in GS Paper One, we have History, we have Geography, and we have Society. Now, History, Geography is more or less the very static aspect that we call. And for this, I kept the same resources that I had for my Prelims, as I have already mentioned. So, those were the same resources, nothing new. But we know that in Geography, the aspect of disaster management, geographical phenomena, be it, you know, cloudburst, be it rainfall, or cyclones, etcetera, questions keep coming on that. They are also part of disaster management, but because these are results of geographical phenomena, they remain a current aspect. So, for that, I supplemented my knowledge from current affairs. Talking about History, in Mains, you also have two new subjects, that is Post-Independence, and we also have World History. For the last few years, questions were not coming, but from 2023, we are witnessing that World History is witnessing a resurgence. I think again, one or two questions have started coming from World History. For World History, toppers' notes were shared by mentors. So, I just used them. I have not referred to any book for Post-Independence. I have not referred to any book for Post-Independence and for World History. For World History, I referred to toppers' notes. For Post-Independence, I used Vision IAS material, which I think you will find in the market. There are about five-six units. I just read them very selectively and highlighted the points. And that's how I went for Post-Independence. Now, let's move to the third important section in GS Paper One, which is that of Society. UPSC has provided a very detailed syllabus in which they have mentioned themes, that these are the topics. Whether it is your Indian Society, caste system, globalization. So, all of those themes that were given. I followed the blog of Utkarsh Dwivedi Sir, who is an IAS of the 2022 batch, if I am not wrong. So, I followed his blog. Sir has his own blog. It is for PSIR, it is also for GS Paper One. So, this is just for GS papers. So, I went to his blog and from there, I picked up his society template because he had mentioned almost 10 to 20 basic facts on every topic. And I just picked up that template and I worked on current additions on that. So, what I did was, if there was a question on the caste system, then the caste census was in the news. So, I added it there. Okay? When there is a question on globalization, then you know, commodification of women, globalization and impact of globalization on women. So, these things, these topics, I picked up from current affairs. I used Sir's template. And I just did the value addition on that. Now, this is how I approached GS Paper One. But this is not the end. What I did, one most important thing for Mains, was the section-wise analysis of previous year questions. Meaning, I took previous year questions and mapped them with the syllabus. Meaning, if globalization or caste system is a topic, I used to see all the questions on caste system that have been asked in the last 10 years. I used to follow previous year questions for Mains from 2013. So, I used to just go and pick up what dimensions UPSC has already asked questions on. And I used to cover them accordingly. So, previous year questions were really very important that helped me generate dimensions. Like, on caste system, what dimensions have been covered? Or if you talk about cyclones, what conditions has UPSC sometimes asked about cyclones? Sometimes impact, sometimes color-coding warnings? So, in this way, I just went on to generate dimensions from previous year questions and I created my own, you know, one-pager notes out of that. So, the template I used from Utkarsh Dwivedi Sir's blog post, and I complemented it from current affairs by adding relevant schemes, by adding relevant data, information, and some current happenings that were already there in the news. Okay. Now, let me talk about the segregation of previous year questions that I am talking about. I did not do that myself. I think Shivansh Sir had posted it on his Telegram channel last year, in 2023. He had mapped some syllabus-wise questions. Which made it easier for me to, you know, because I got the segregated information at one place and I used it to generate dimensions. So, those previous year questions for Mains will be freely available. I think many institutes also upload them on their websites. So, you can get them from there. You will get proper segregated compilations there as well. Now, the issue here in answer writing for GS Paper One is because two of the subjects here are static: Geography and History. In Society, we can add current affairs. So, one of my aspects was to approach the paper in a very, you know, structured manner. But this year, I got a new perspective towards GS Paper One. And I think that's how my score improved. Last year, it was 105. This year, it's 112. So, I think this worked a bit. Sajal Sir gave me this direction. He told me that Shakti, whatever the static topic, you can do one thing: keep the introduction very current-oriented. This will show the examiner that you know exactly why the question was asked, and this will also show what is the relevance of the topic. Like, why are we studying Cholas right now? What is the significance of Cholas? So, if you can pick this up from current affairs and bring it, like last year, you would know, the year before last, when the new Parliament building was inaugurated, the Singol was placed behind the Speaker's chair. Okay. Now, the Singol has been brought from the Chola empire. Okay. So, that is something that shows current relevance, how the administration of that time overlaps with today's administration. So, whenever there is even a static topic like History, you can always pick up some current dimensions from the news that are there to begin your answer with, which makes, or it basically gives a good impression to the examiner that you are aware about the relevance of the topic. For example, also, we know that the Mauryan administration or Mauryan art and architecture, that's prominently there in the news. There was the Lion Pillar Capital of Sarnath. Its replica was inaugurated in the new Parliament building. So, if there is a question on Mauryan art and architecture, you could have begun from there. Similarly, if there is a question on cyclones, do not start by the definition of a cyclone. Rather, please mention if there is any cyclone in the news. Cyclone Fani, Cyclone Tauktae. Every year, in a month, you know, we will have those cyclones during the Northeast monsoon, Southwest monsoon. There will always be there in the news. Pick up some name and just start from that. Recently, say, Cyclone Tauktae hit the coast of Odisha, West Bengal, and Bangladesh, creating large-scale havoc. And that's how we started, which was classified as a severe category tropical cyclone by the IMD. So, this is something you can give a relevant introduction and then begin with the basics, definition, or points to cover, and all of that. Okay. So, GS Society is already current-oriented. For society, like if there is a condition of women, or if a National Family Health Survey for women has been released, and in that, if the mortality rate, or if the, you know, nutritional status of women, or anemia, and all, there is a change or decline or dip in that, questions will be there on that. Women's health, women's education. Pick up data from the Economic Survey. Pick up schemes from the budget, and you can make your answer look really vibrant and wonderful. So, talking about GS Paper One, which looks very static, but what we can do is, we can keep adding introductions from current affairs to make your answer look more relevant, and I think that can give you an edge over others. Vajiram and Ravi has been still there, even during my Mains preparation, both my attempts, 2023-24. I started my preparation in 2018 here as a foundation batch student, and finally, I am again back here six years later. Life has come full circle, finally. I graduated, I post-graduated actually in the year 2018. After that, I came to Vajiram and Ravi, as the name has always been there, where I was completely clueless about what to do and what not to do. And that year, I think, but I think I joined the test series. I joined the test series and we had those regular feedback sessions. We had, yes, GS, I was enrolled for the GS thing. I had that regular feedback session after every copy that was checked. We had those mentoring sessions going on. So, from that, I got to know what is wrong, where I should add on, what are the changes I need to make, etcetera. So, it went like that. And I really scored good in GS. Last year also, it was a score of 35 marks in GS One, Two, Three, Four. Now, let's move to GS Paper Two. Since PSIR was my optional, I don't think if I am the right person to talk about Polity and IR, but I will. Because I know that for Prelims, I have already mentioned that Laxmikant was a source I followed, and 500 MCQs on Abhay Sir's channel. After this, if I talk about your Mains. In Mains, what happens is that UPSC asks questions from Polity like the current developments. Okay. For example, Supreme Court judgments, any recent ones. Any committee's recommendation has come. Okay. For example, if UCC was implemented in Uttarakhand, then comes the role of, you know, all those committees that have talked about it. The Law Commission which mentioned about it. The Supreme Court which has mentioned about UCC and its requirement and its necessity. So, you can just quote those judgments. So, here, this value addition that was needed, you can do it from any relevant coaching material. Again, talking about myself, because I was a student of PSIR, I followed a lot of material and a lot of resources. There were multiple coaching institutes whose compilations I used. There were some compilations of court cases by Atish Mathur Sir that he came up with. I used those templates at times. Magna Carta is freely available on his YouTube channel. You can just go for that. And you can just watch all of that. So, yes, it was freely available back then. So, I used that only. I was not part of it, and I just used the PDF. I did not go for the lectures. So, the PDF, I used to pick up those relevant current affairs that you can do easily. So, that's the value addition I did: Supreme Court judgments, constitutional articles, committee recommendations, Second ARC, or your, you know, Law Commission, Sarkaria, all of that. So, I used to pick up relevant information from there and make my answers very current-oriented. I used to give very few static references. Yes, if you want, you can give a reference to an article. But usually, the questions asked in Mains are more analytical. So, there is no need to bombard with too many facts. Give the relevant information required in the first few lines, and then you can go ahead detailing the current dimensions in the topic. So, that your answers should look very current-oriented because GS Paper Two is all about current affairs. Moving on to IR. IR is something I don't need to tell. If BRICS summit has taken place, there will be a question on BRICS. If SCO's meet happened, there will be a question on SCO. India-Bangladesh relations were, like last year, disturbed. There will be a question on India-Bangladesh. Things are that obvious in IR. So, for IR, because I was a PSIR student, India and its relations are part of, you know, PSIR Paper Two, Part B. And that was covered from there. For which I will come up with a detailed video on PSIR. I think the students who can benefit from that. Otherwise, for this, I did not use any coaching material, any such thing. No foundation course material. I picked up my optional notes and used the knowledge here. Then comes Governance. For Governance, I used Vision IAS's booklet on Governance. And I complemented it with new current affairs from the budget, from the Economic Survey. Because, see, e-governance is like a topic. Now, digital initiatives, the government will always bring something new, which is mentioned in the budget. So, for current governance, I prepared the static base from Vision IAS material. And after this, I did current updates from the Economic Survey, budget, current affairs to make my answers look very vibrant. Then comes the fourth part, that is Social Justice. Again, I used Utkarsh Dwivedi Sir's template here also. He very well mentioned about SHGs, like Self-Help Groups. He mentioned about NABARD's data, he mentioned about government schemes, he mentioned about, you know, the percentage of women and everything. And I just went and updated it with current data, and I used the same template. Otherwise, I added new schemes. Like, if there are SHGs, then there was the Drone Didi initiative, which the government brought last year in the budget. So, I just added it there. So, it was like this: for Governance, I used a template, a bit of my Vision IAS. For Social Justice, I used Utkarsh Dwivedi Sir's, and I did a lot of value addition from current affairs. So, this was about the sources that I can mention. I did not follow any separate book, that I am reading a particular proper book for Governance or for IR. No, none of that. But the approach to the paper in GS Two has to be really, really current-oriented. You cannot just go for, like, this article talks about veto power. If the President has recently vetoed any bill, you can give that reference. In defection, you cannot say that the 10th Schedule, etcetera. Rather, start with any defection case that has been in the news recently, maybe in the Maharashtra State Assembly or in any state. Just start with that. It has to be very current-oriented. Same goes for Governance. If it's e-governance, then just talk about digital penetration in India. Talk about some new initiatives of the Government of India. That will make your answer look very relevant. Okay. For IR, same, if there is a question on SCO, and if there has been any recent SCO meet, just add that, that recently this meet happened. New members have joined. We know in BIMSTEC, there was an increase. In BRICS, there was an increase in members. Now Iran has also joined SCO. So, in this way, you can add, pick up current affairs and go for it. So, I think GS Paper Two is more or less just the current idea. You develop the static base from the basic books. But you have to do a lot of value addition from current affairs. So, please be very much, you know, thorough with current affairs for GS Paper Two. Now, let's move to GS Paper Three. Again, I think there is something that did not work out for me in both the attempts. I had 85 last year, I have 86 this year. But I worked very hard on GS Paper Three this year. Because last year, I had a really bad score. So, I thought that I will do something new in that. And last year, I took Shivansh Sir's course. So, I used his template. His answers, his template was quite good. I followed that. This year, I did a lot of current updates for Agriculture, for Economy from current affairs. But I think there has been, the marks in GS3 have already been on the lower side. So, because of that, a dip has been observed. But let me talk about my strategy. Since, as I told you, for the 2024 attempt, I used Jayant Sir's videos on the Economic Survey and Budget very well, because this time the budget and Economic Survey came in July. So, I used it very well. So, the data for Agriculture, where we see, now Agriculture is such that you will have data in current affairs. There will be new government schemes in current affairs. There might be some committees, like your Ashok Dalwai Committee, their recommendations for farmers. So, all those things, if we talk about irrigation, any new technology has come, micro-irrigation, etcetera. So, I have always updated those things from current affairs. And I have tried creating very vibrant and current-oriented answers. This was it. The other aspect for this was Internal Security, which is a very important aspect of GS Paper Three. For Internal Security, I used Sir's templates last year, Shivansh Sir's. And this year, if there is any new scheme. If there is any data on Naxalism. Okay? If there is any data on terrorism. Or there is data on Maoism. Percentage of women participating. If there is any data on money laundering. Any new data on organized crime. So, all of that I compiled, and I went ahead creating some very current-oriented answers. Because the syllabus is very detailed. I prepared notes on every topic, and from Shivansh Sir's course, and on top of that, I did current additions. After that comes Environment and Ecology, Science and Technology. When I talk about these two subjects, as I told you, I never had much problem with them. I was very updated with current affairs. For Environment and Ecology, I followed current schemes. I followed current issues. For Science and Technology, any recent launch, any recent mission, any recent developments. So, for both these subjects, I followed current affairs a lot. And I was very thorough with it. Previous year questions will remain your guide through and through. So, that should not be ignored. So, that's how I did. There was no fixed booklist for this. Compilations for Mains also come from many institutes. So, for Science and Tech and Environment Ecology, I used the Mains compilations only. I did not refer to any book. Then comes Disaster Management. For Disaster Management, I followed Utkarsh Dwivedi Sir's template. He very well, whatever be the disaster, be it cyclone, be it cloudburst, be it earthquake, be it volcano. He has given a single format. In every, you just need to change the data. You just need to change the name. Otherwise, more or less, things are the same. So, I have, like, NDMA guidelines, in which there is preparedness, you know, then prevention, then prohibition, then go for rehabilitation, reconstruction. So, these are three-four steps that they themselves have given. So, you can just keep modifying it based on the kind of disaster we are talking about. So, in this way, Sir has posted a very good template on his blog. So, I picked it up from there, and then based on that, I searched Google for most of the data. I Googled most of the, you know, went to the NDMA website, their guidelines, etcetera, and I created very concise and crisp notes on my own for Disaster Management. So, this was about GS Paper Three.

Again, if I talk about the answer writing of GS Paper Three. It is very current-oriented. If the question is on agriculture, if the question is on irrigation, please come up with the data. There might be some data from NITI Aayog. There might be some data from the Central Ground Water Authority. Pick it up from there. There might be some recommendation from the Ashok Dalwai Committee. Pick it up from there. There is data from the budget and the Economic Survey. Just try to inculcate all of that to make your answer look really vibrant and multidimensional.

Now, the Economic Survey and the Budget are very relevant documents. If you go to YouTube, some videos will complete them in one hour. Some videos will complete them in ten hours. You have to understand that it is a bulky document. It cannot be taught in one hour. So, please do not run after saving time because that will not help you at all. Rather, go for some detailed analysis. Follow any good, freely available YouTube channel that you find videos on. Because once you complete the Economic Survey and the Budget, you can use it across all papers – GS Paper One, Two, Three, Four. You can use its data and information everywhere. So, this will help you in making your answers look very current-oriented.

Now, moving on to GS Paper Four. This has been my personal favorite. Also, for students who ask me if coaching is necessary, and if they cannot afford it, how should they approach it? To them, I would say that Ethics is the only subject that I prepared by myself. For this, I did not take help from any coaching material, nor did I take anyone's guidance for it. To be very honest, in the last attempt, I had 126. This year, I have a 141 score in GS Paper Four. So, I think this will also serve as an example that sometimes things seem difficult to us. If we want, and if we are getting the correct direction, if I know what to do, then most of the time, we can achieve a lot through self-study, which can help us get good scores.

So, if I talk about GS Paper Four, when I initially started Ethics, I was very confused about how to approach it. How should I approach it? I also went to YouTube. I watched many videos from DKTY. I watched many videos from toppers. And from there, I started understanding that I was hearing some common things from everyone. First, the answer should be unique. Second, use some flowcharts, use some diagrams, use some relevant and current examples. And there, I thought that I needed some reference for this. And therefore, I started referring to toppers' notes and toppers' copies. I will tell you. I was a part of SFG. As I mentioned earlier, toppers' notes were shared there. My mentor shared toppers' notes there. There were notes from Shubham Kumar Sir. There were notes from Vishakha Yadav Ma'am. There were notes from Shruti Sharma Ma'am. There were their test copies. And also, there were many other toppers' notes. Maybe I was not aware of their names, but they had created some diagrams, compilations. All of that was used.

Besides this, there is a magazine called Prahar. I think I will mention that. They have a booklet of keywords. Not the Ethics booklet, but a booklet of keywords. It covers about 100 keywords. I think it covers at least 50-60 keywords. For each keyword, they have provided good examples, quotes, data, definitions, everything. So, I used that. So, what I did was, I picked up the syllabus of UPSC and identified 50 keywords from there. UPSC has mentioned them very well. Be it probity, integrity, you know, all of that is very nicely mentioned in the syllabus. So, I picked up about 25 to 30 keywords, 50 keywords from there. Then I picked up the previous year questions. From there, I got about 50-60 keywords. So, I got a compilation of about 100 keywords that UPSC has asked in the last 10-12 years, which are in their own previous year questions, which are mentioned in their own syllabus. For each keyword, what I did was, I wrote a definition. I wrote a quote. I wrote an example of a public servant, and I wrote a case study. So, for each keyword, I maintained and created these four things. The definition should be very short. If you keep a very long, fancy definition, it won't be remembered. So, I used to keep a very crisp and small definition. Mentioned a very relevant quotation, important types. And in this way, what I used to do was, create my own notes. So, for those 50 to 60-80 keywords, I prepared my own notes. I also picked up some keywords from the Prahar magazine because I was finding some new and good words.

I have extensively used my optional knowledge throughout. Because whether it is Aristotle or Plato, their cardinal virtues, categorical imperatives, questions are formed very well on them. Because thinkers are an important aspect of your GS Paper Four, and I had that in my optional as well. So, I used a lot of inspiration from there.

Besides this, I used to follow The Better India website, where I think about 10 good case studies are uploaded daily. The work of some good public servants is uploaded. For example, to give you an example, I followed an example of Meenal Karnwal Ma'am, who is an IAS officer of the 2018 batch, and she has started the concept of Balika Panchayat. Here, she goes to the villages, meets girls below 18 years of age, talks to them, understands their problems, and refers to them or educates them on health issues because cervical cancer was in the news, educates them about menstrual hygiene, educates them about their rights. So, I liked this concept a lot. So, this year, when I was mentioning dedication to public service, there was a question, and there I gave the example of Meenal Karnwal Ma'am. So, this is The Better India website from where you can pick up relevant examples and use them in your answers.

From Shruti Sharma Ma'am's copy, I learned something new, and that was that she used to give very basic examples, like day-to-day examples. If honesty is being discussed, then she used to mention how you used to take money from your mother's purse and go out to watch a movie. So, this is a very basic, small thing that perhaps we all do at home. But how you can use it to show that you are giving some real-life examples, right? So, a real-life example from your day-to-day life, if you can pick it up and mention it in a very small way, rephrase it in a very short way. It's not that you are writing a 10-line example. No, examples have to be very crisp. You write it in one word, two words, two-three lines. That's it. So, in this way, I learned a lot from toppers' copies. I also saw from Vishakha Yadav Ma'am's copy. I picked up some relevant civil servant examples from there. Right? So, this is what I did. Ethics was something that I created in this way, using toppers' notes, toppers' copies, and then some from Prahar magazine, and then with a lot of value addition on my own.

Now, if you look at UPSC, there are three types of questions asked in Ethics. One is your basic academic, where keywords and, you know, factors responsible, you know, all of that will be asked with relevant examples. The second is court-based questions. And the third are case studies. I was good at the first one because I could easily mention. I used to address every keyword. I was able to create dimensions and answer all of them with examples. Case studies were really good for me because there, you know, ethical dilemmas and all have to be mentioned. As I mentioned, I was a PSIR student, so we come across so many things given by Aristotle. He talks about the golden mean. We come across Hannah Arendt, who talks about the banality of evil. Right? So, in this way, I got many keywords from thinkers in my optional. Along with that, the Ethics thinkers, the notes mentioned in our syllabus, I had prepared a lot of data on them. Some ethical dilemmas UPSC has itself asked. So, I picked them up from its previous year questions and added them to my notes. So, I used UPSC's previous year questions very extensively for Ethics. But I was facing an issue in the court-based questions because I felt that court-based questions have to be approached like essays. And I think I was not able to do justice in my last attempt. Although I think I scored 126, it was good. But still, there were some issues in that part of court-based questions, which I tried to improve this year. My mentor told me how I could just, you know, understand the underlying value of the quote and then create a very proper, you know, well, I can answer it point-wise, dimension-wise. So, that I think worked for me this year, and I think the scores are that way. So, I guess that worked for me, and I hope that will work for you too. So, in court-based questions, do not approach them in an essay format. Just go, understand the underlying value, and go point-wise there also, and try to address every dimension or every aspect that has been asked or reflected in the quote.

So, this is it about Ethics. And this is how I followed all these resources and tried to cover Ethics, you know, from beginning to end, all by myself. So, let me elaborate on the court-based questions. This year in Mains, there was a question. Let me just mention that, and I will tell you how I have approached that. There was question number three. There was part C, which says, "In law, a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics, he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so." This is a statement by Immanuel Kant, and they have asked to detail about it, like what do you understand from the quote. So, basic, as I told you, you have to pick up the basic underlying value. So, we understood it is asking about law versus ethics. What is the difference between the two? And I think if you know, if you have done your Ethics static properly, there you read about law versus ethics, morality versus ethics. So, that difference was to be written here as a static concept. It was asked in a quote format. Right? They could have directly asked, "What is the difference between ethics and law? Just explain with relevant examples." But they used a quote to ask this question. So, in this way, what you have to do is, pick up the underlying value of any quote, and you can answer it in the static format with relevant examples as well.

Also, I will tell you, in Ethics, one of the biggest issues is time. Because it is very different from other papers. The first six questions are those questions that come from your syllabus, the static part, as we call it. But each question has three sub-parts. So, it becomes 6 * 3 = 18. Okay? And then you have six case studies after that. So, and those case studies will also have four sub-parts or three sub-parts. So, that is in three hours, completing the paper on time is itself a challenge. My approach used to be, because I wanted to write really good ethical dilemmas in case studies, I wanted to enrich it very properly. So, I felt I needed proper time for my case studies. So, I used to finish the static part in the first one hour and 15 minutes. That was my timer. I was looking at the time, and I used to try to complete it in one hour and 15 minutes. So, that at least I have one hour and 45 minutes for the case studies. So, that I can give it very properly, in detail, get some time to think, so that I can write very nice case studies. Now, I think in Ethics also, they have started asking some case laws of the Government of India in case studies. They have started asking some schemes of the Government of India. Like last year, they asked about initiatives related to prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace or to improve women's participation in the economic sphere. So, now, I think static information is also being used there. Use them if they have been asked. So, this was my approach to, you know, complete the paper on time. And for this, I practiced a lot. So, I used to write tests. As this year, I was part of the Mains Short Short Program. So, that I get evaluated a bit and get some input from the mentors. But apart from that, I also wrote certain tests which my sister Pragati checked. And she used to give me input that this is something you can change. This is where you can do value addition and all. You know, and because Ethics does not require much of, you know, background information. Like if I write something on World War and send it to a non-UPSC aspirant, they won't be able to understand. But if I write something in Ethics and send it to someone, they can probably understand. So, I also have a non-UPSC friend. She also used to, you know, cross-verify my answers, and she used to give her inputs that you can explain this a bit better, or you can use this example too. So, yeah. So, this is what I did. I wrote many tests in Ethics to ensure that my paper is completed on time and to ensure that my static part is completed in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and in 1 hour and 45 minutes, I used to give ample time to the case studies. You have to increase speed a bit in the Ethics paper because there are chances you will miss out. And if you miss out on a single case study, that's 20-25 marks gone, and we cannot afford that in an exam as competitive as UPSC.

Now, there is also a dilemma: should we complete the paper on time or should we go for those quality answers? Right? So, in this case, my approach used to be, completing the paper on time has to be your priority because if you are writing, it's not that you can write anything, but write relevant information. Don't run after filling pages. If you have met the demand of the answer, if you have properly detailed things, just go ahead. You don't need to fill pages. In case studies, it might happen that they give two or three pages. Write as much as is required and move ahead. Because if you keep filling pages, it might happen that you will miss out on the questions that are at the end. So, this is one way.

Secondly, for Mains, I would also like to mention how to attempt the paper. You know that the first 10 questions are 10 markers. The next 10 questions are 15 markers. So, I used a technique where I used to start from question number 11 to 20, and then I used to switch to one to 10. Because 15-marker questions are a bit multidimensional. You have to write more in them. And there, you know, you lose more. Like, for example, if I am attempting a 15-marker question, I might get six or seven marks on average. And if I am attempting a 10-marker, I get three or four marks on average. Right? So, if I miss a 15-marker, I lose six marks. If I miss a 10-marker, I lose three to four marks. So, I looked at the cost-benefit. So, I used to start with the 15-markers. So, I used to complete 11 to 20. And then I used to come from one to 10. And in that, the question I didn't know in GS, I used to attempt that question at the end. Because you will waste time thinking about it, and we don't have the luxury of time in the examination hall. So, what you can do is, you can just give your time properly, as much as you need to give to answers, you know, and in the end, you can attempt those answers that you don't know. So, this was my strategy for various GS papers.

Now, let's talk about answer writing because there are some things required in answer writing. Right? First thing is speed, so that we complete the paper on time. Then is better presentation, where I will talk about the structuring of the answer. Then comes the third, that is, like how do we make our answer look really credible, really, you know, attractive, or you can say, very relevant. So, there are some things in answer writing that we need to keep in mind. First thing, you should be able to identify the demand of the question. Right? There is a difference between what is asked and what you know. I tell this thing to my students more often than not, that suppose if I am asking a question on "What is the importance of optional in UPSC?" Okay? If I am asking, "What is the importance of optional in UPSC?" and you start telling me that UPSC is one of the very toughest exams. There are three stages. GS Paper One is there. Then GS Paper Two, which has CSAT. Then you tell me that Mains is there. But did I ask that? No. This is not what I asked. I am asking specifically about optional. You should mention specifically about optional. So, there is a difference between what you know and what has been asked. Right? So, in UPSC, one has to pay attention to this: if there is a question on self-help groups, I can write so many things about self-help groups. But what I need to stick to is, which dimension has UPSC asked? Are they asking about microfinancing? Are they asking about women empowerment with respect to SHGs? Are they asking about the issues that these SHGs are facing in their formalization? So, this is a very basic fact, a basic thing that you need to keep in mind: please write what is asked and do not write what you know. That is the difference. They know when we are bluffing. You know, these are really experienced examiners who are going to check your copy, and nobody wants to, you know, beat around the bush. Just be very direct. We have to write only what is asked.

Second thing, you should be able to identify the sub-parts in the question. That will help you in, you know, creating proper headings. Like, if it is asked, "What are tropical cyclones? What are the conditions..."

For the formation of tropical cyclones. What are the issues and the steps, and what are the steps that have been taken by the Government of India? So here, I can easily, easily pick up some four or five dimensions that they have already mentioned, making it easy for me to create headings and generate sub-points. Okay? So, understanding the sub-parts or generating dimensions is also very important. And then comes the structuring of the answer. Please use, you know, tables where required. Please use flowcharts where required. Please use diagrams where it is required. Do not, and if it is not required, do not worry. Do not force it there. Okay? Maps will be made only where required. If not required, they will not be made. Okay? There is no compulsion that something must be done. But if there is a possibility, we can create it. Then we can try. Now, for example, there is a question on G20. There is no point in creating a world map to show which countries are part of G20. Because it will take up space. It will take up your time. Okay? But if the issue of Indo-China is being discussed, or the South China Sea is being discussed, then you can represent it through a diagram showing the nine-dash line and all the issues that are going on there. So, this way of structuring the answer has to be very, you know, unique for you. You devise it yourself, whatever works for you. But the dimensions that you are generating, the subheadings you are generating, have to be very clear, and they have to be very crisp. Do not write anything that was not required.

Third thing: How do I write my answers? Write in points, write in paragraphs. What works? I think in GS, what happens is that there are multi-dimensional questions. You have to touch upon many aspects. You cannot go into detailing and explaining everything. So, I suggest going for point-wise. And every point has to be very small and crisp. Try to complete one point in one to one-and-a-half lines. And use keywords, use phrases, use relevant examples instead of creating those definitions or writing very long paragraphs. Okay?

Then comes an important part of an answer. That is your intro and your conclusion. For the introduction, I have already explained. There are several ways to introduce an answer. The best and most vibrant, I feel, is a current dimension. If you can add any committee's recommendation, use government schemes, use constitution articles, use Supreme Court judgments. Okay? Anything that you can pick up from current affairs, use that. When nothing comes to mind, when nothing at all comes to mind, that's when we go for the static way of approaching or introducing an answer. That can be done through a definition-based approach. Okay? That is something you can follow.

Coming on to the conclusion. The conclusion has to be very well-balanced. It has to be very positive and forward-looking. You see, UPSC is looking for administrators. Okay? So, your approach to looking at any problem should also be solution-oriented. Okay? It has to be very positive. Suppose it is a question on terrorism. I cannot end by saying, "Yes, terrorism is a problem." You need to give some way forward. So, if there is a question on issues like terrorism, women's safety, climate change, try mentioning a small way forward as well, and then conclude it. Say, you can conclude it by adding some SDGs. You can conclude it by adding some Government of India initiatives like Viksit Bharat. And in this way, on a very, you know, balanced note, you need to end your answers. Do not give a very, you know, pessimistic approach to it, or a pessimistic look. Go for optimism, go for positive, you know, and forward-looking conclusions.

Since I was also a mentor for some time, some students used to come to me asking, "Ma'am, I need to improve my handwriting. Should I start writing daily?" I tell you, until your answers are legible, they are readable. Handwriting won't matter a lot. In UPSC, if it is just readable, it should be readable. It shouldn't be so bad that you can only just barely read it. So, if it is readable, then your knowledge and the content matters. Handwriting has to be not very beautiful. I will, you can just go and look through some of the toppers' copies. You will see that everyone's handwriting is not necessarily very beautiful. People, some of them have really good handwriting. But that's just, you can say, it will give you a better presentation. But if your knowledge is good, if your information or the content is good, handwriting is something you don't need to worry about. Just make sure that it is readable. So that the examiner who is reading it, they are able to identify the words that you have written.

Now let's talk about Prelims and Mains. As I told you, one thing that I initially focused on during preparation was Prelims, because I didn't have time. Because initially, I was working. Second, when I had time, I was so scared of Prelims after two failures that I gave my entire time to Prelims, and I failed again. But when I wrote Mains in 2023, and after that, when I appeared for 2024 this year, I had very little time, two months' time, and I had to appear for the next Prelims. But I still managed to clear the Prelims because of my preparation that I did for Mains in 2023. Now I will explain this to you: students who have prepared for Mains will always have a better chance of clearing Prelims. I will tell you why. It is because UPSC does not work in very, you know, water-tight compartments, where Prelims is separate, Mains is separate. No, it's a very integrated study. Okay? It's a very integrated approach. IR is initially part of GS Paper II in Mains. But IR questions are also asked in Prelims. United Nations questions, IMF, World Bank, what you study for Mains in Economy, the same thing is asked here in Prelims. So, I don't prefer, I absolutely do not prefer. I absolutely do not advise that you should approach them separately. Initially, your approach should be integrated. Till the month of, say, if we are starting our preparation from June, or from March-April, till the month of December, you have to go for integrated preparation, where you are preparing equally for Prelims and Mains at the same time. But when Prelims are around the corner, from January or from the month of February, we can start closing up or winding up, you know, those subjects which are Mains-specific, like Ethics, like Optional, like Internal Security. We can wrap them up. And then we can start focusing more on the factual part than on the analytical part. So, the approach just changes a bit for Prelims and Mains. Content knowledge is the same. How you approach the paper, how you approach the preparation becomes different. So, initially, we have to proceed in an integrated manner. But when the exams are nearing, then you can switch your approach for both examinations, Prelims and Mains.

Also, now let's talk about Mains. What happens in Mains? We have back-to-back papers. On one weekend, you will have those five papers, and the next weekend, again, you will have four papers. At that time, for revision, you should have everything prepared very crisply. So that after writing GS Paper I, if I am coming, I will have those notes. I will revise and go and write GS Paper II. Okay? Similarly, it is the same with Prelims. What should happen in Prelims is that in the last one week, you should not be referring to those whole lot of books. You should have your own notes prepared. Now, what are those notes? What are notes? How are notes made? What things are mentioned in notes? That's a very important question. The thing here is that in notes, we do not go back to writing everything that is important. In notes, we only write those things that we are not remembering. As I mentioned, you have to do three to four revisions. So, after one to three revisions, if there is still something from that topic that I am not remembering. That's what I will mention in my notes. For example, I always give an example that when you are going for revision. First, you read in detail. When you are revising for the second time, please use the active recall method of revision. What does active recall mean? We do not open the book and start reading. Rather, I will close the book and try recalling what were the points that I found in the Preamble last time when I was reading it. What were the topics that I read? What were the themes that were there? Were there Supreme Court judgments there? Was any amendment mentioned? Just try recalling all of that. The things that you remember mean your brain has retained that information. For the things that you don't remember, you will require those, you know, repeated revisions. So, only those things that you are not able to recall are the ones that should be part of your notes. And that's why we say create one-pagers. Because in one-pagers, we try to write only those things from each unit that we are not remembering. Okay? So, just try shortening things. We will mention only those things in our notes that we are not remembering. So that a week before Prelims, I can revise them multiple times, so that the information starts getting retained in my brain.

Also, if I talk about how notes should be. Whatever you are comfortable with. If you are comfortable with digital, use digital. If you are comfortable with handwritten notes, go for handwritten notes. Speaking for myself, I made handwritten notes for some subjects. For example, if I was studying Polity, then on the white side pages of the book, I have mentioned, you know, like optic notes. But for some subjects, like Optional, I prepared them digitally. So, it was a mix of both. Whatever suits you, both are equally good. Please go for any of them that you find to be suitable.

Also, in UPSC preparation, I think one thing that most of us face is that while studying, suddenly confidence drops, thinking, "Is what I am studying enough? Is it relevant? Am I remembering it or not?" So, in order to keep a check on that, I used to have two things: one, repeated revision slots, I used to keep every 15-20 days. And the second thing is, every Sunday, to sit and solve tests. Meaning, if I have set a target for Polity that I have to complete Polity in a week. My idea would be that after the revision is done, I will solve one sectional test of Polity. Okay? And similarly, it was the thing for Mains. The more number of mocks you give, the more practice you do, the better you will be able to analyze yourself, you will be able to analyze your preparation, where do you stand? And what are the shortcomings that are there. So that if we identify our mistakes now, we will be able to work on them. And you will not have to wait for a failure in the examination to learn from it.

Talking about when to start giving tests. From when you are comfortable. I think first-timers need to wait and complete the syllabus before they start attempting the tests. Otherwise, you will not be able to understand what mistakes are happening, what is not. For students who have already given one attempt, who have prepared well once, for them, I would suggest starting to give tests the moment you enter into your next stage of preparation. Please give as many tests as you can. Because from that, you will know, you will be able to continuously check your performance. From this, you will be able to see whether the knowledge you are feeding in is to be practically applied in the examination or not. Are you able to retain it? Do you have conceptual clarity or not? So, for that, it is really very important for you to give those tests or mocks regularly. For that, there is no need to join anything. You can get the mocks from the market. You can get the test papers. But then comes the role of self-discipline. Because then you have to be disciplined enough to sit for two hours with a timer, like in an examination hall, and give it. Then you cross-check, and then you are checking your answers, and then you are also analyzing the test paper on your own. So, this little discipline, a little self-control is also very important to keep yourself on track.

Talking about my study routine. It was never about hours. I think I have said that multiple times. It was about ensuring quality study time. I used to have four slots in a day. One for Current Affairs, one for GS, one for Optional, and one for test practice. So, on a daily basis, I used to keep two hours at night for tests. In which I am solving 10 MCQs of Current Affairs, solving 25 MCQs of some subject, writing one or two answers, you know. And if not writing, then I try generating dimensions, what points could be written. So, that two-hour slot was for brainstorming, for test practice, I kept it. So that my brain is in that active mode. I will tell you, what are we doing in Prelims? What happens in Prelims? The answer is right in front of your eyes. It is one of those four options. So, whether it is Prelims or Mains, information retrieval is happening in the brain. So, you need to train your brain for that. Therefore, an active recall process is really important for revision, where I am not just opening the book and feeding information. Rather, I am closing the book and trying to recall. That's why I had that test slot fixed. Even if I didn't do Current Affairs during the day, let's say I didn't feel like studying Optional today, I didn't study. But the two hours at night for test practice was something that I used to keep constant. So, talking about hours, on an average, 8 to 10 hours. Because also, it was my fifth attempt. You have to understand that for me, those basics are clear. My Current Affairs, I have been in touch with that for five long years. I have been reading newspapers. So, things had become very short and already done for me. Most of the time in this attempt, I gave to Optional, because my score in Optional was very low last year. So, I gave most of the time to that only. So, these study hours have varied. Sometimes I used to not study because I didn't feel like it, you are feeling very low. The monotonous routine will take over your mental health. I used to take breaks. On those days, I would just read the newspaper. The entire gap, at night, I used to go and solve some MCQs, look at some answers, generate dimensions, and all. Sometimes I studied for three hours, sometimes it was 12 hours before Prelims. But that was only for a week or say, two, three, four days right before the Prelims or right before the Mains. So, that variation in the graph of study hours has been different. But on normal days, 8 to 10 hours was my average.

My Optional for the UPSC CSE was PSIR. I chose it based on certain factors. First, I had a huge interest in the subject. Second, it has a good overlap with GS Paper II. I also used information from this Optional in Ethics. I have used it in Essays. So, that was also a dimension because of which I chose it. Second thing, its material, because I did not take any coaching for it. I was relying on IGNOU material. I was relying on certain coaching materials. I used many coaching materials, not a single source. I used multiple resources. So, all those things worked for me. I will come up with a detailed video for that because I think for most students who might not have PSIR as an Optional, it will be irrelevant. So, I will come up with a video for Optional later.

Now, since this was five years into preparation, so I do realize, initially when we come, there is that confidence, there is that enthusiasm that maybe I will clear it in the first two attempts or maybe a few attempts. So, you cut yourself off a bit initially because UPSC demands that, you know, dedication. You can't be going out every time your friends say, "Let's go for a walk." We don't have that luxury of time. But my issue, I never had an issue with this because I was already a very introverted person. I don't have a friend circle. I just know one or two people whom I talk to on a regular basis. Those are a few friends. And that's okay. And besides that, I never had a problem with it. But if I talk about people in general, should we cut off from everyone? I say, cut off from people who drain your energy. Cut off from people who give you those negative things like, "I told you so, you shouldn't have done UPSC. Where have you gotten stuck?" Do not indulge with such people. Be with people who motivate you, who are there to speak positively, or somebody who just doesn't talk about UPSC every time you meet them. Okay? That is also very important. If I am going out for refreshment or meeting my friends to relax, I do not want to hear anything about UPSC, how bad it is, how tough it is, how unpredictable it is. No, I do not want to discuss that. So, please keep such friends who are real friends and who really care about your mental well-being and they are there to boost you up. For me, there were just two or three people whom I know. One, my friend, she is currently in Bangalore and she works there. So, she has been there for me when I felt completely burdened out after studying something. I used to talk to her. And we used to talk about random things, just different things. Never about UPSC. Very rarely it happened that I scored some bad marks and I used to call and rant about it. But okay, that's how it works. Besides that, I had some UPSC friends, so not on a regular basis, but I was in touch with them. So, we used to have academic discussions, like if you want to discuss about sources, you want to discuss about some, you know, answer writing or something, so we used to discuss that. And then comes the role of my family, whom I will place above everything, because they are the ones. If my mind is disturbed, I am not willing to study, so I used to go to them, talk to them, just vent out my emotions, cry, or, you know, just crib about it that I can't do it. But the next.

The moments that gave me words of confidence used to boost me up. So, in my journey in this, I learned one thing in these five years: please be close to people who really matter to you. Okay? And that is your family. That can be your few friends who are really supportive of you. And you don't need to cut off from them. You need to cut off from some distractions. That comes from self-control. Okay? Now, it's not that I'm watching series back to back, binge-watching. No, we cannot do that. We don't have the luxury of time. But one day, if I am taking a break and I am really interested in some series, I can sit and watch one or two episodes just for relaxing myself, and that's good to go.

Now comes the third and the most interesting phase. I think every aspirant wants to reach there. That's the interview phase. Last year, when in 2023, for the first time, I got that, you know, interview call, I was the happiest person. Because now it felt like this is just the last stage, and I will get through. But from last year's interview, I gained a lot of experiences. Last year, I scored 171. They said I have 200 marks in my interviews. So, this 30 marks jump came from experience. This 30 marks jump came from something I will say that is working on my shortcomings. In my first attempt, since the interview was completely new to me, I did think that we can bluff in the interview. Okay? So, I tell you that there is definitely a way that we used to fill. And that is basically like, you see, we will go in front of the exam board members. And they will pick up the information about you from there, and they can ask you anything. Be it your birthplace, be it your hometown, be it father's profession, mother's profession, hobbies, your achievements. There is so much, you know, uh, so much information that is required there, and questions can be picked up from there.

I remember, since I was not very active in sports from school days, and I thought that leaving that sports section blank would not be very good, so I used to play badminton casually. And I mentioned badminton as a sport. Only to realize later that now I need to have every specific information about badminton. I need to know the technicalities. I need to know about the players who are involved. I need to know the Olympic winners for that. All of that, which I was completely blank at. So, I will request you all. Please do not bluff in the DAFF. Be very true. Because I'm telling you, in Mains, what happens is that you are writing answers. Okay? When no one is looking at you, what you are writing. But in the interview, the panel members are sitting right in front of you. If you are lying. If you are, you know, getting nervous. All of that will be shown directly on your face. And that can give a very negative impression on the board members about you. So, please do not lie about anything in the interview.

Interview preparation is about three things. First, have your DAFF prepared thoroughly. You can generate proper questions on every aspect. I think now ChatGPT is one best friend that we can follow. You can put any keyword and say, "Generate dimensions or generate various questions on this," and ChatGPT will create it for you. And you can prepare accordingly. Otherwise, if you know any mentor who can do your DAFF analysis, you can go for them. I did this a bit online. I used to create questions on my own. I used to watch mock videos of toppers, because I was from Uttar Pradesh. So, I used to watch mock videos of people coming from Uttar Pradesh. What questions related to UP have been asked from them? I used to listen to people's mocks who are coming from Prayagraj, just to see what dimensions are being generated. So, from there, I started picking up questions.

Second thing, your current affairs should be very well prepared because here, your opinions, your opinions on what is happening, the current events, if suppose any act there has been there in the place, or some international event that is taking place, your core opinion on that will play a very important role. So, current affairs has to. You have to be very thorough with that. Then comes the third thing. And that is your optional. You should have, like, you know, revised your optional really well because questions can be coming from there. And since it's your optional, you are supposed to know that. I know after Mains, no one studies it. But if you have got your interview call, please revise it at least once. So, interview preparation was about this. And since we are all in this journey of UPSC, as I tell, we become very introverted, very closed. We start less interaction with people, and UPSC is all about that communication skill. The UPSC interview is all about that communication skill. So, you need to practice a lot. And this is the reason why I enrolled for so, for those mock tests. And that was last attempt. I can see so many videos circulating on the internet. Uh, most of them, please, believe me, most of them are of the 2023 attempt. And if you see me fumbling or on any, you know, answers, remember that I scored 170 last year. Okay? So, it was because of that. My preparation was not that good. This year, I worked on all of that, which I could not work on properly last year. This year, since I had experience, so I prepared my DAFF more properly. I did not write something which I was not truly prepared for. Third thing, my current affairs. Since IR is my option also, in this time, the international arena was so much flooded with new happenings that were going on. I prepared thorough opinions on all of that. I took guidance from some of my mentors, like Sajal Sir was one of them. And then Samar Sir was one of them. So, I just went for interview guidance to them. So that they detailed me about how to generate a balanced viewpoint. So, that was a lot of help for me. And I gave very few mocks this year. I think two or three, if I can count on my fingertips. There were just two or three mocks that I gave. Just to ensure that I am able to communicate what I want to say. Just to ensure that I am not getting scared of those people sitting in front of me. Because, you know, that nervousness starts coming out is fear. And it's something I wanted to refrain from. So, that's it.

And let's talk about one more important thing. That are the mock videos that you see. Is this how the real interview takes place? If I say about that, I will say, not exactly. Many such questions are asked to create reels. I will tell you, to be very honest, in some of the institutes. But in the main UPSC interview, it's a very honest, a very, you know, academic, and a very composed kind of conversation that is going on. Board members will give you time to express yourself. They are very cordial. Uh, means, even if you are fumbling at some points, they might give you prompts so that to encourage you to speak upon that. So, all of that you will get there, proper support. It's not like they don't allow you to speak or they are very, you know, very harsh on you, or maybe they will start just asking hard questions. No, if you don't know, and very politely, you can always say, "Sorry sir, sorry ma'am, I am not aware about it. I will read about it later." And they will not go on that question any further. They will just pick up another question and go ahead with that. Second thing, your DAFF has to be prepared. So, whenever they are asking anything, you are able to answer that. Okay. Hobbies are something which is a part of the extracurricular activities, of which you should be very well prepared with. And so that you can tackle the questions really well. Do not enter into arguments with any of the board members. Please do not do that. They are very experienced people. And I tell you, they are very calm. They are not there to, you know, they are not there to ensure you do not get selected. They are sitting just to get you in the services. So, you have to be very respectful of them. You have to be very mindful about every statement you speak. Do not give any extreme statement. Do not give any, you know, very biased political opinion. Do not do all of that. We are supposed to be neutral, you know, servants, public servants. So, we have to show that demeanor there. So, please maintain that. And I think be true, be your true self. It's not that you have to use very flowery language or very good English there. No. Basic English. If you are able to communicate or you are able to convey what are your viewpoints, you are good to go. Okay? If you don't understand something that they asked, you can ask them to repeat, sir, please, can you repeat? I was not able to understand. They will explain it to you properly. So, in the interview, it's a very beautiful experience. I will tell you. And if suppose, like I used to write poems, so they asked me to recite my self-written poem. If you are good at any of these, please showcase your abilities there. Because I think when they asked me to recite my own poem, the expression that came from the board members was really good. So, I think that is something to take advantage of if you have any. Well, I will say, and that's what, be respectful when you enter the hall. Be very respectful when you leave the hall. Carry yourself with grace in the interview. And be confident. It's the last stage. You have already cleared those hurdles of Prelims and Mains. It's just one. If you go with a very positive mindset there, I think things will be well sorted for you.

Talking about language, I think UPSC gives you an opportunity to choose English or Hindi. If you have chosen English and if they are asking you in English, please use English. But if you are not able to converse, you can take the permission of the board members to go ahead in Hindi. Uh, that's this because UPSC is already asking you before you enter the hall, what language you are comfortable with? So, please choose in which you are actually comfortable. If the board members are asking you questions in Hindi despite you mentioning English, then answer in Hindi only. If they are asking you in Hindi, please answer in Hindi. Do not go like, "No, I will only answer in English." So, you shouldn't do that. Because that's what I said. Being respectful shows your personality there. So, let's maintain that. In the mock interviews, when you go, you will get so many, you know, suggestions from various institutes. Like, I also got many, like, you move your hands a lot. Don't do that. Like, you can see in the whole of the video, then I was told that don't smile too much, or you cannot speak those long statements. Many, many such views you get. I will tell you, if someone tells me now that Shakti, just sit like this and keep speaking, I cannot maintain this posture for more than five, more than five minutes at max. Okay? Because it's not natural. But then, you cannot sit cross-legged in front of the interview board. Be very respectful, sit straight. But then you have that ability that if you are doing hand movements a little bit, it's okay. They won't get very much, you know, that boxed or they will be very much frustrated with that, or they might not cut your marks on that. Be your natural self. A little bit of what you get, these suggestions in mock interviews, because they are also experienced people, they are telling you something from their experience. Please take those suggestions. But do not completely try to emulate that. Ensure if it basically goes with your personality as well. And that's how you can, you know, try modifying or try bringing changes to your preparation.

For the interview, you need to go in a very formal attire. That should represent, you know, a very composed and a very, you know, dominant, a bit bold personality. So, do not go in any kind of attire, like just wearing anything and going. Go very well dressed. Okay? Second thing is that do not wear that, you know, that dress for the first time on the day of your interviews. Like for the girls, for me, it was a saree. So, I used to go in mocks also with a saree only, so that my body gets used to it. Otherwise, if you wear that saree on the very first day, your body language will be very different from that. So, please practice in some of the mocks. For boys also, just the suit or the coat and pants that you are wearing and going. Please practice in some of the mocks before you go for the main interview. Do not try something new on that very day. Okay? So that your confidence remains, because if you practice that for a few days, then your body will get used to it. You will be much more, you know, you will carry it much more properly.

So, my journey has been really long. Initially, if I say, if I talk about initially, I was doing it with a job. If I don't take those years into account, still from 2020, I was in proper, full-fledged preparation. So, for these four years, I have worked rigorously. The worst and the two lowest phases of my life were the Prelims of 2022 when I failed. And then the final list of 2023 when I missed by 12 marks. So, these were two such losses that I think I was not able to cope with, and I was at my lowest, thinking that maybe I am not worthy of this service. Maybe I don't deserve it, and I should have given so many years to it. Because financially also, it was getting unsustainable, and that's why I joined an institute recently as a mentor after my Mains. So, all those things came. But I think one thing is that you should have self-confidence. It's very cliché, but to be honest, I'm telling you, there is nobody who can motivate you except yourself. If I had sat and analyzed myself after the 2022 Prelims, I probably wouldn't have been able to bring those changes due to which I cleared two Prelims back to back. So, be true to yourself. I talked to myself. I identified my shortcomings. When last year's marksheet came, I realized that, okay, the scores in optional are very low. I can work a bit here. The scores in the interview were low. So, I can work a bit here. So, all of that I tried incorporating in this journey.

In this entire journey, the most important role has been played by my parents. They have motivated me like anything. They stood like a, you know, firm pillar in front of me. Nobody, whatever they were saying, relatives, friends, family, anyone. They said anything. My father was never bothered by that. He only said, "If you feel you can do it, go for it." My brother, who was always like, "No, you will always go really good. Just have confidence in yourself. I have confidence in you. You just believe in yourself. I do." And then my sister, who was there through and through in my preparation. They both, like, they have been there. I was getting my essay copies checked by them. I was getting my, like, my GS, Ethics copies checked by them. And for optional, when I was trying to revise, I would say, "Come, I'll teach you," and I was teaching them. And they have been there. So, this family support that I have had, that has been really, really helpful, because of which I was able to sustain for four long years despite multiple failures. I know you guys might face some other issues. Maybe some don't have good peer groups, some don't have family support, or something like that. Be your own pillar, a little bit. If you feel you can do it, don't get bogged down by that. If there is a little disbelief in your mind and you feel that maybe this UPSC won't really work out for you, there is no problem in that. Please step out. I am not sitting here to glorify that you should give five attempts or invest four years, five years in an exam. No, not at all. If you think after two attempts or three attempts that it's not happening, please move out, please go ahead. There are many opportunities to serve the nation. Okay? To serve the nation, go ahead with that. Always have that scope in mind that, okay, I might fail. And when you have that thing at the back of your mind, you can come up with some Plan B that can be there as an option in case if UPSC doesn't work out. And for me, I didn't want to go back to the PhD field. Because that's again another long journey. So, I moved in as a mentor because last year I had good scores in my Mains. I thought I can guide students in answer writing. And that's how I started as a mentor here in Ram and Ravi. So, you can search for such an option, any opportunity for yourself. Okay? There are many other services too, like the State PCS, banking exams, SSC exams, in which you can apply the same knowledge, use it to go through. So, I will suggest that don't get bogged down by things. Sometimes some things are destiny. I believe in that because last year also when it didn't happen, then I was very much shattered, like why did this happen? God would have given some rank. And this year when I ranked one, I do realize that destiny had better plans for me. So, one thing is, if you have prepared for UPSC, you are a well-educated aspirant. I don't think there is a, you know, death of opportunities for you. There will be some or the other. We just need to find some and get through them. They will reach to you. Don't worry when the time is right. But it's not like you are just sitting waiting for UPSC. Giving five, six, seven, eight attempts. Don't do that. Okay? Just if it's not happening after two-three attempts, and you think you can't, please move ahead. If you have that motivation that no, I have to carry on, I will give it, please, please go ahead. Because if we can improvise on the small mistakes, if we can work on them a little bit, then yes, things get better. Things got better for me. I did it. So, I know that you guys can do that too.

Now, if I talk about myself, when I started preparation, I was working here only in Delhi. So, it was easy for me to do coaching by coming to Delhi. But now, many students are such that they cannot come to Delhi. The best thing I can say that happened after 2021, 2022 was the, you know, that expansion of EdTech platforms. A lot of digitally available content. So, things have been made very easy. You don't need to come to Delhi. Delhi, in terms of air, in terms of water, it is better to stay at home to stay healthy. At many times, that's also there. The second thing is that here, you are alone in a PG, confined to those four rooms. There is nobody to support you. There is competition everywhere around. At those times, we get very much, you know, exhausted by watching all of that around again and again. So, if you don't have that financial support. If you don't have that, you know, resources to come and stay in Delhi, that's totally fine. If you still want to join foundation courses, there are many such institutes that are also giving online coaching. You can join them. There is no, you know, requirement to just come here. You might have heard about certain incidents that take place here in Delhi because of those natural disasters, those some unavoidable circumstances. So, it's better to be safe, I think. And if you are able to come here and manage things well, please come. If not, nothing to worry about. Please go ahead with the online resources that are there. I personally did all the preparation myself because initially, I did my foundation course from Delhi. After that, all my preparation was from Prayagraj. I went back home. I joined many such groups on Telegram, not very renowned ones, anywhere. Topers' channels, I used to join all of them. Picked up their notes from there. Found a free cost group, just join that and get an idea about what things are there, what are not. So, I did my preparation myself, not from Delhi. I just came to Delhi for my interviews. I gave Mains also from Allahabad. Prelims also from Allahabad only. So, I don't think not coming to Delhi causes any personal loss. Otherwise, let that be your choice as well.

Now, I wish you all the very best. There are just a few days to go for the Prelims. I hope the people who have really worked hard, who have put in those hours, who have given in those years, you guys succeed. My best wishes, my blessings are always there with you. And I have my official Telegram channel. I will mention the link. Please join there. I will keep updating the strategy. I will keep updating, you know, the things that are required for you to help you in that journey. And I will also open up the comment section so you guys can put in your, you know, doubts, etc. So that I will take them up in the upcoming or the next videos. With DKDT, obviously, because this is one platform where I can sit and talk about multiple things at once. Be that paid platforms that I was a part of. Be that free initiatives I was a part of. So, it's a neutral platform where I could express myself freely. Looking forward to some more videos with you guys here on DKDT. Till then, keep watching and all the very best.

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Rank 1 CSE 2024 Shakti Dubey | A to Z of UPSC CSE Strategy | शक्ति दुबे की डिटेल्ड स्ट्रेटेजी

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