About:

Rank in CSE-2016	20
Number of attempts (include present one)	1
Medium (English/Hindi)	English
Optional Subject	Electrical Engineering

Prelims Strategy:

My preparation started about a year before the Prelims because I prepared for the Prelims and Mains simultaneously (the syllabus is largely overlapping). However, serious preparation for the Mains like answer writing and covering the topics that are not a part of Prelims started after the Prelims. The optional should ideally be done 2 months before the Prelims.

Preferred books:

• Bipan Chandra and NCERT for History
• NCERT for Geography
• Constitution App for Polity apart from the papers and manuals from GK Today.  

 

What to focus on for Mains Prep?

• After Prelims, the focus should always be on writing practice and shining the rough edges as well as preparing topic-wise notes for GS I, GS II and GS III.
• Ideally, I think one should at least do 80% of the questions. Questions that I was not sure about, I generally left and didn’t guess.
• Specifically for Mains, I was diligent in reading newspapers and ensured that I read the editorials carefully. I generally relied on making a mental map of the things stated in the article, but I advise people to go for making topic wise notes of the same.
• For the static part, it is necessary to cover the NCERT first hand. These can be backed up by online resources available on the subject such as Mrunal. What will be crucial is the writing practice that one does during the course of preparation.

Tips for students:

Interview was a good experience but then the beginning was not that good and I was told to be more specific in answering. Such moments are crucial, and as I kept my composure and the rest of the interview was smooth. There were many instances where the answer was unknown.
It is best to avoid such questions by apologetically replying in negative. But in general, it is important not to be worried too much about counter questions as it will unnecessarily burden you during the process.

Point to be noted:

• Always remember that UPSC will never ask tough questions here, unlike in the Engineering Services, but will cover a broad range of areas.
• It is important to go through the previous year’s questions to get an idea of the questions and the papers. In fact, one should go through previous year papers as soon as possible as it will clarify many doubts automatically and show the way forward for the preparation.
• The most important message to the aspirants is to have faith in yourself and to leave your ego in order to succeed.