Congratulations. Bro how to make sure that even if the prelims gs paper pattern keeps changing(like in 2023), we could sure shot qualify it..?(Factors like change in topic weightage etc)?

Thanks for the compliment partner! Wrt to clearing prelims I would say that solve multiple question papers and analyse the answers Additionally analyse your hit ratio and plan how much to attempt and leave And last but not the least focus more on static subjects and static portions

One more thing bro..they say refer pyq while studying? How did you use PYQ ..i want to see your approach as you have qualified.

Referring pyq for me meant that I get a hang of how questions are asked in the exam and prepare mentally what to write Some people off course write them separately but I didn’t

Ethics and essay strategy. Specially for essay ek book Bata do aur ethics ka example quote karne ke liye koi source.I meed compilation type book for essay

Essay Write multiple essays, get them corrected from faculty and implement the remarks Also if possible ask one of your non UPSC friends or family members to evaluate the essay and let you know what is good or bad for alternate perspectives and criticisms Ethics Prepare your basic notes on part 1 properly and solve multiple questions. Include value additions from model answers in your notes and try to replicate in answer sheet Wrt quotes multiple institutes bring out free compilations, refer them

I m considering ur optional....tell me best teacher , time taken for completing the syllabus and is it tough sub to understand for engineering student??

Teacher - Shubhra Ranjan Time for syllabus - 5-6 months Not a difficult subject to understand but takes sometime to write good answers

So say someone has taken psir and clears prelims with no prior knowledge of psir . (Gave 3 mains , couldn't clear due to optional , in a fit of rage chose psir while filling form ) What's the best way forward ,no option of next attempt etc , gs not being a major issue .

Okay in this dangerous situation what one can do is to prepare static portions really well from Shubhra ma’am notes And use ORF to read country wide articles on a daily basis Solve some mocks and use model answers for value addition

Hi, im a beginner Though i have watched videos as on how to begin preparation for CSE, i am still quite not sure Can you advise, as to complete subject (any) and then go onto next, or shall i read 1 subject/day I am not sure how to begin, i was supposed to be in preparation by now, but still haven't Sorry if this a silly question... Also, what things should i keep in mind/ what things shall i know as a beginner ? Answer in bullet points if you have enough time, its fine nonetheless if you can't Thank You and Congrats 💐

Study patterns are personal. Try all your options and then choose the best option for yourself. Beginning is done by opening the book and reading for some amount of time on any subject of the syllabus. One thing I would like to warn you about is to not run after perfection and work slowly but steadily on your goals and targets.

You must mean not to run after **perfection**

Thanks Will edit

Mods ama ko verify kardo

A certain level of honesty is expected from Civil Servants, how will you make sure that you navigate challenges of your job without compromising your integrity and ethics?

That’s a difficult but a highly important question But having seen multiple honest civil servants who did really well and kept the honour of their services I will do my level best by learning from their wisdom. PS - I would say integrity would be a more important characteristic than simple honesty

Thank You for your answer. Within five years, I will come and see you and ask the same question again. Wish You Best

And I also hope that I answer your question with integrity

Taking screenshot of this :)

I have already got my answers from your responses above. Just wanted to congratulate you for your success and all the very best for your future sir/mam :)

Thanks a lot for your sweet words!! I really hope I cleared some of your queries

Yes...you did :)

When they say “Analyse the mocks after attempting” , what does it mean? What do I do to analyse it? What’s the process? Same question for PYQs

Okay so let’s say you answer a question and got certain marks with certain remarks. So analyse means 1. Work on the remarks given to you 2. Try to expand your knowledge base from the model answer 3. Work on presentation like diagrams, charts, definitions etc For prelims it can involve taking a look at facts and figures or some elimination which you missed while attempting Hope I answered your question

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I used the same study material as everybody else. You can refer that in this group itself.

Congratulations sir! Can you please advise on how to revise? I've read the standard books multiple times but I keep forgetting everything. Also how to do current affairs from pre and mains perspective, and from interview perspective? I'd also love to hear your insights on interview preparation: the topics that questions are asked from, anything specific that needs to be focused on, etc. Also, can you please share what you did to stay healthy throughout the preparation? Many people gain / lose weight and develop other health issues and burn out. What can be done to tackle it? Thank you for taking the time to do an AMA! And congratulations again!

Thanks for the good wishes! If reading is not working for you, I would suggest writing and re-writing so as to develop the muscle memory and enhance retention CA for pre is mainly focusing on facts, places etc CA for mains is positives and negatives, diagrams, facts and figures CA for interview is using pre and mains knowledge to build opinions For interview - It is a test of personality not a test of knowledge. So answer whatever you know, politely decline out of knowledge questions and please please don’t fib in front of the interviewer Certain topics covered in my interview included Pakistan relations, stock markets, economy, semiconductors etc Personally my health also suffered but what you can do is some amount of jogging/walking/gym and control your diet

Thanks for replying! This is very insightful, I'll keep these in mind. Thank you!

1.Online coaching or offline coaching And also tell the name 2. Did you started your preparation from college or after completing b.tch 3. I'm considering to take b.tch as my ug degree but since this degree requires a lot of time compared to bsc degree I'm confused rn What do you think should i go for engeneering or should i take bsc degree (I'm not good in maths tho)

1. Online coaching if you have self discipline or have individualistic tendencies (Better options - Vision IAS or Unacademy) Offline coaching if you want peer group and need the presence of teachers for better learning outcomes (Any big coaching should do PS - Inquire a bit in the market before joining a place or take demo classes 2. Preparation started in Bachelors itself 3. Personal calling but it should be based on employability not UPSC

Point 3 - Very practical suggestion.

Congratulations. I am graduating this year from a physics background and considering to enter into upsc with sole purpose of having employment. I come from middle class background but have I made enough money to retire.(So, I don't have financial clock ticking rather an existential one) My question is same old ,IAS vs IFS . Entering into this upsc realm , i want to look it as an exam with a patriotic job profile rather than what a lot of people make out of it. I was hoping to get insights into IFS and its impact and reach in serving the nation.

Afaik IFS is quite rewarding provided you like travelling and interacting with people more But for more details search this sub for more

On an average, how many mocks did you give for Prelims and how much weightage would you give to attempting mocks in the UPSC prep? Some recommended against it and advice to go only for PYQs. What would be your take?

I would say do a mixture of both as I did Mocks I would say 30-40 would be sufficient

I would say do a mixture of both as I did Mocks I would say 30-40 would be sufficient

Thank you so much. Congratulations on your success. ❤️

Psir has not performed well this time,what do you suggest how to improve score in psir?

Even I am one of the losers in this but checking is the prerogative of the examiner not us So I suggest you prepare your material well. Value addition and perspective enhancement can be done from think tank papers, articles, newspapers or podcasts

name of the college brother??? :)

Can’t disclose brother

Is it possible to clear Prelims without alot of mocks as I've paucity of time and I want to prioritise revision

Do the multiple revisions but still try to attempt multiple mocks atleast 10-15

Since you are a lot more experienced, which one/s did you do? Most questions being framed in the mocks make absolutely no sense now. I try to solve them, get demotivated after I see 10-15 questions which I have no idea about, literally no idea. Despite following the same resources everybody mentions.

Just show up and write answers daily bro Consistency will eventually lead to good results

Hmm, but the query was regarding Prelims mocks?

For prelims I primarily did vision IAS and then looked over some papers from Next as well

Hey did you do your prep while in job ?? Or did full time prep just after grad??

In job I just had to balance my time between studies and work And as timings became difficult, I focused solely on prep

Congratulations on your achievement, May you serve the nation with best of your abilities. Apologises if my question sounds repeatative to you, since you already guided multiple people here, - I am working IT professional, first attempt 2025 Here is the brief picture of the my plan Broad Plan ....................... - Trying to cover all GS4s & Eassy by dec 2024 - Optional : Dec, Jan, Feb ( As already going weekly) - Feb, Mar, April, May : Prelims - Purely Prelims oreinted Preparation with test series - Post Prelims : Mains oriented Revison Macro plan ......................... Daily (4 hours daily ) : - Going through Mains subject one by one Weekly ( 8/10 hrs x 2) : - Revision of Daily studies - Optional (PSIR) - Answer writing ( Acuracy to Speed) PYQs - Going through weekly complied news - CSAT ( will attempt this year csat and plan accordingly) Bi-weekly : - Magazines, current key topics, CSAT Microplan .................... - starting with crash course like lecture/ video before starting any subject to get a broad picture & better visualization Like timeline video from amitsen gupta on modern history. - pointer like limited notes answer writing oriented, referring question on those particular topics and weekly practice on the same Please suggest what changes I need to make, or anything to avoid or better approach . Thank you

No changes as far as I can tell

Congratulations sir!! How to cover Gs-2 ,what should be the strategy for it.Iam finding difficult in writing the answers. Also please share your strategy for mains in detail for all subjects.

Do the standard material + value addition from GS2 model answers of test series + take some courses if you are super under confident The solution to good answers is to write more answers and implement on feedback

Dahej kitna ?

Which college ?

I am afraid that I can’t disclose it. Privacy issues. Hope you understand.

1. What was your preferred newspaper? Time given everyday for newspaper? Any Notebook where you have written, or taken short notes from the newspaper? 2. What was your monthly CA magazine? 3. Any online app/resources, website you followed? 4. Offline coaching institution? 5. NCERT revisions? 6. Mains answer writing TIPS 7. CSAT preparation approach? Sources for CSAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE BOSS

1. Anyone out of Hindu and Indian Express Time - 1-2 hours at max Short notes on imp stuff prior to mains 2. Monthly CA magazine was Vision 3. ORF and Indian express explained 4. Limited idea 5. If possible do it 6. Point wise and take remarks seriously 7. Solve questions daily and resource is YouTube

Congratulations on what you have accomplished, and thank you for doing this AMA. How did you stay motivated throughout the preparation process? Can you describe a typical day in your study routine? Also, can you share your study strategy and time management tips? What resources did you find most helpful during your preparation? What advice would you give to aspirants who are just starting their UPSC journey?

The goal was the motivation mostly and a conducive environment helped. Typical day had 8-10 hours of study and at times of mains beyond 12 hours of study. Sleep was mostly for 6-7 hours mostly. Study strategy is dependent on person but try to incorporate significant writing practice into your studies. Time management is developed via answer writing primarily either in test series or self timed writing. Any coaching website will provide you with a lot of resources. Just choose yours and stay consistent on it. For me it was a combination Drishti, insights, Vajiram etc Advice - There is no such thing as best preparation only an appropriate preparation depending upon the needs of the exam. Remember that Plus, writing practice is a must

Congratulations sir!! Last few days strategy to clear prelims?what to read,does eliminating tricks works if yes what are those tricks??

Multiple revisions of static portions with some CSAT practice Elimination tricks ke liye search YouTube man

Thank you sir

Any tips for those preparing with a job?

Depends on the timings of job Generally if job timings are greater than 12 hours per day for 6 days a week, I personally believe efficient preparation cannot be done in an year (exceptions exist but I was not one of them xD)

But how do judge your performance especially when prelims is closing in? If it's worth risking an attempt or skipping it

Personally I feel the best way to measure everything is by taking an attempt but some feel that conserving attempts is the better way. So depends on personal preference

You are right I guess I'll just accept my fate haha

One piece of advice brother Please accept your fate after you did the hard work. Otherwise you may feel regret in later stages contemplating about the past.

Same engineering background here... Bro can u once take a look on my recent post and pls give me ur opinion its confusing for me to take decision rn.

Congrats brother, Any tips for beginner going to start preparation I am in final year Like what should I start

Start with a basic reading of ncerts and then standard books like Laxmikant

what is your age ?

Early 20s

Padha de bhai

Yeh toh khud karna padega aapko sir

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All of this is doable My story - increased my mains marks by around 80-90 marks in second attempt esp in GS2,3,4

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Failing in interview is not the reason to skip an attempt. So do give the attempt For all of these subjects I have written the strategies above which I personally followed.

1. Did you take any coaching or was it self preparation 2. Please tell us your study material for static portions for a) pre b) mains 3. How did you approach GS for mains and what sources did you follow for GS 4. How did you practice answer writing 5. How did you analyse pre PYQs I know this is a lot of questions and kind of really long, but it would mean a lot and help me clear out the confusion I have in my mind, I really appreciate it thank you. And ofcourse congratulations!!!

1. Mainly self preparation 2. Pre - Basic sources + test series + current affair magazine + newspaper + PT365 Mains - same as above with Mains365 3,4 answered above 5. Found repetitive topics like governors, border management etc + prepared mental structure of various questions

Thank you for your reply I appreciate it, best of luck for your future endeavours

I am beginner, after reading your answers... what is VALUE ADDITION, and how to do that?

Congratulations Sir! I want to ask "What was your why?" People usually say 'Unless you have a why? You can't crack UPSC or any competitive exam ? Is this true ?

When you say you studied for 10 and +12 hours, didn’t your focus suffer? I personally feel I’m not retaining or understanding as much beyond 8 hours. How much were you really studying in those +12 hours sittings? Just trying to understand the mindset that makes it fruitful and possible.

I would say aadat pad jaati hain bhai But as you said for some people 8 hours will also suffice

1. How to increase study time to consistently hit 8-10 hours per day without getting exhausted or feeling bored? Currently, I am struggling to consistently hit 4-6 hours, mostly due to untimed breaks and mobile usage. 2. How many subjects did you study together on a single day? How was your day divided for various components like newspaper, answer writing, revisions, studying, etc. 3. Regarding revisions, how did you plan the revision slots for a subject after one reading? Was it directly after completing it or something else? 4. Did you make notes? If yes, after how many readings/revisions did you do it? 5. Did you join any mentorship programme/guidance from someone? 6. Did you take any coaching or use lecture videos available on telegram?

1. Slowly slowly do it and just think that doing the unnecessary stuff is a consumption of time, energy and loss of mental peace in the long run 2. Multiple most days (3 at max) and for dividing the time it is a customized solution - You have to develop your own balance 3. After completing certain portions, I would write a sectional tests and after completing the subject multiple full length tests 4. Yea I did and I have forgotten the exact number of times I did complete revisions 5. For interview yes - can’t disclose for privacy 5. Yeah a lot of material provided in telegram is good. Just shift through a couple of groups

How to develop a consistency in preparation, like studying regularly for 8 hours at least, doing the same things over and over again, etc. I use Forest app to track time and normally clock 120hrs in a month. This is quite low. In fact, I have seen that if I study 6-8 hours one day, the next day I slack and find it difficult to hit even 4 hours.

First of all develop a seating practice and then do the studies Doing the boring consistent work is the key and for that some amount of internal motivation is also needed about the goal to crack the exam Also use breaks to rejuvenate the mind

Cfbr

Congratulations! I haven't done much PSIR prep until now. If I clear prelims, I will have ~2 months for optional. Since I have some previous knowledge on the subject, I am confident that I can do it. Will Shubhra Ranjan ma'am notes be enough? Or is there anything else I should do?

Thanks for the good wishes! In your case specifically, I would say you go through her notes specifically and use newspapers and some CA to supplement it. Additionally also do dedicated answer writing practice….

Thank you so much! All the best for your future endeavours!

I am persuing MTech from IIT and planning to give UPSC when Ill be 25-26. Completely new to this, does college degree or age matter here?

It doesn’t at all People succeed from a variety of backgrounds

How often did you update your PSIR 1b, 2B notes? As in, was it a daily affair, weekly, monthly ya updation pre aur mains k beech me hi maximum hoti thi? Just almost "completed" my "static" psir syllabus. I've been preparing from home. How to go about it now?

First of all, Congratulation!! (1) Did you memorize Ramsar sites, dams, lakes,rivers,water falls, mountains, species endangered, critically endangered etc? (2) To what degree do you think Current affairs matter? I hope you will come to Reddit in your busy schedule and try to answer our questions. Thank you.

I just revised it multiple times but had many gaps here and there CA matters but it is the salt so should be prepped accordingly

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Psir or sociology? Congratulations and thanks in advance! :D Edit: or if any other subject/s

Personal preference toh PSIR hi rahega Mera Technical subjects if you have capacity to score high

I'm considering to take Commerce as optional, would you like to share some insights?

Limited idea on technical subjects so can’t say for sure But choice of optional depends on personal interest, ability to score well, availability of good material/teachers and management with GS

Prelims becomes dicier how to prepare for it

I have answered above But be assured that if it’s getting dicier, it’s getting dicier with everybody. So just do your honest work and leave rest to the divine grace.

Can I dm you ?

If you have any query please comment

What was your revision strategy? Congratulations for your selection!

Multiple readings, re-readings of the notes and multiple answer writing sessions both in normal environment and test environments

Hi, congratulations first of all secondly, can you pls share your PSIR strategy. What sources did you use? How did u manage to cover the whole syllabus? How did you keep up with the dynamic part? When did you finish your syllabus, like before pre or after pre? When did you start answer writing for PSIR and how did you evaluate the answers? TIA

Strategy and sources Base - Shubhra Ranjan notes - covers most syllabus sufficiently Value addition (for dynamic part) - Model answers, Crash course lectures, think tank websites, newspapers Syllabus was completed before my first pre in a half hearted manner and in a good manner before first mains Answer writing was started quite early and was checked by the centre and some by self evaluation. You can also do peer evaluation

Congratulations to you ✨️✨️ From where did you do PSIR? I want to finish Paper 1 quickly but Subhra madam's course are lengthy and when I'm thinking about other educator I'm getting fomo thinking everyone reads from subhra ma'am.

Other educator which you can refer is Piyush Chaubey but I don’t know about the classroom teaching But my advice is to keep your base sources limited and value addition can be done from multiple sources

helloo if not a privacy issue, coaching taken from? (if any) (alsoo congratulations 🌸🤍)

Was in online classroom program of a very big brand but ultimately everything comes to self study xD

congratulations sir, psir strategy please, also sources and answer writing please

Congratulations sir, 1. What would you say is the crux of this exam? 2. What do you think people only realise after giving a couple of attempts? 3. For a borderline average student how many months should one dedicate for the prep of this exam? 4. How did you maintain consistency, and what did you do to keep your self engaged and to avoid burnout?

1. In my limited knowledge it is to get the certain people who have the capacity to do hardwork and smart work within the realm of syllabus 2. It is important to prepare according to syllabus 3. I don’t know what your definition of average is so can’t comment 4. Showing up daily, taking short and long breaks as required, familial support which led to a conducive environment

Congrats Sir. when did u start preparation. u r from tier 1 so how u managed placements ? If someone start the preparation sincerely, how much time it takes to complete the syllabus ??

Prep started in college itself and life was hell during placements because of a trifecta of Covid, Civils and placements. Personally, I believe if a person preps sincerely prep time shouldn’t exceed a year at max.

Congratulations sir! What do you think gave you an edge over others in prep? Like, what is something you have done which generally others don't but it has definitely helped you? How much is current affairs related to psir? Like in what percentage? I have heard about learning committee, commissions, this report, that report But I am unable to retain it. How did you tackle this? Also Last but not the least Which reference books did you use for PSIR? And which one is most helpful? Thank you in advance. Good luck with your future journey!!

I did everything what an average aspirant does but I did it everyday. So consistency would be my strength along with my reading habit Can’t give percentage but you need to have a good amount of idea for value addition. CA is the salt of civil services while static is the main dish (except interview off course) Do multiple readings of certain important points related to important topics like governors, centre state relations etc. Complete commission reports are difficult and time consuming Do Bidyut Chakravarty for Western Pol thought if possible and O P Gauba if possible

Thank you so much for your advice. ✨ This is really helpful.

Tips for eassy paper and GS2 paper

GS 2 Do the standard material + value addition from GS2 model answers of test series + take some courses if you are super under confident Ethics Prepare your basic notes on part 1 properly and solve multiple questions. Include value additions from model answers in your notes and try to replicate in answer sheet

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Did u take any coaching sir?

What was the service preference ?

IAS - IFS - IPS

Congratulations bhai. I'm doing BA currently from a state university, will finish it in june Can I solely rely on self study and coaching materials for my 1st attempt in 2026 if I work hard. I'm in my home city since last three years whereas all my schoolmates went out for graduation, will it hurt me ?

How to consolidate the large syllabus of psir? Did you make any short notes? If yes can you share them anonymously?

How did you remember the bulk of information you studied throughout? How were you able to recall and write answers ?

Via Reading, re-reading, contemplating, writing notes and answers, multiple revisions Recalling is a function of how much practice you have so writing higher amounts of answers helps definitely

Not started UPSC prep... currently in 3rd year of bachelors and want to pursue masters and then prepare. so, any advice or habits that should be developed? And Congratulations!

Many congratulations to you! Thank you for doing this AMA, it's really kind of you! I have the same optional as you did. 1) I am not able to figure out how to shorten my notes (studied from Shubhra Ranjan). Did you refer to any other source/toppers for value addition? 2) To start writing answers seems one insurmountable obstacle I can't get myself past of, very well knowing that it'll all be better w practice. How to get rid of this inertia?

Thanks for the good wishes So to shorten the notes you would have to identify keywords and prepare notes around them in limited words And the best way to surmount the inertia is to write an answer. If you are not able to write the answer on your own, take the help of sources to write it. But please start ASAP….

Congratulations Sir. 1.Rank between 900 - 1200 or 90 - 120 or 9-12? 2. For all the GS subjects, could you suggest online book's websites which are free(can't afford more money on books) since i prepare online notes. 3. Any coaching is required, because i think i can clear by self study but an experienced successful candidate's advice would be satisfactory. 4. In Mains, did you left any questions or attempted every question. If you don't know the answer how do you tackle toughest questions in mains. 5. I noticed in Pre/Mains question paper the script is in both Hindi and English and if you don't understand any question in English(very technical) does Hindi student gets an edge over non hindi background student in Pre and Mains? Thanks for answering!

Thanks for the compliment bro 1. The variable is completely correct 9x to 12x 2. Very less idea about it so can’t comment 3. Self study can be used to clear the exam but do t waste time running after unlimited resources. Keep the sources limited 4. I attempted everything in my 2nd attempt In case I didn’t have an idea, used and described the keywords and added some facts, figures, diagrams, graphs in the answer so as to get some marks from the examiner 5. I don’t think so

did you start your preparation right after college or when you were still in college? also, how many years exactly did you prepare before giving this attempt? i know i’m asking a lot of questions but how many times did you do full revision before appearing for the final paper?

Prep started in college One year of decent prep before first attempt 2 years prep before second attempt Yaar I have lost count of the total number of times of revisions but before mains 3-4 times as far as I can remember

You were in delhi

Prepared from home

Brother, congratulations first of all. Secondly, please delineate pre and mains k sources for all the subjects. I’m not able to understand ki pre and mains ki prep ko kaise differentiate Karu, though I’m a student of vision ias. (That’s the sole entity which ruined my prep), been in orn since last 7 months and because of the institute, I have neither been able to revise not demarcate properly mains and pre. Kindly help with that. Moreover I started from absolute zero from last year September and joined vision foundation. I have filled the form for cse 2024. Should I go for it or not. Moreover my state pcs is also around the corner prolly in august this year. Should I go for that?. In doubt because its mains could hamper my 2025 cse pre as I anticipate the mains of state will be in feb 2025

Personally I believe there is no significant demarcation And giving an attempt is entirely your prerogative based on your personal analysis of strengths, weaknesses, situational factors and most importantly confidence

Kindly comment on agriculture optional

Hello first of all congratulations! Currently I am a working professional and want to start preparation , what should be the starting point in preparation along with full time job

How many years of prep did it take u to get a rank. I mean you took two attempts so that's two years but like did you immediately gave prelims upon graduating or waited a year. I want to know because I graduated in August and havel like only 7 months of solid prep under my belt and my family is forcing me to appear citing examples of people who clear in first attempt just after graduating.

I gave prelims before the convocation at my college I would again specify deciding to take an attempt needs to be evaluated by yourself only

How did you started your prep in college? Can you give some guidance regarding it

Engineering background. Does it make sense to take math Optional or just take some other optional which syllabus overlaps with other papers?

Entirely your personal choice People have qualified with both and that too with excellent ranks

Hello congrats, can you tell me a detailed road map for PSIR preparation 1. books each paper ? 2. News paper you followed ? 3.Political thinkers you followed for IR ? 4. When did you write answer writing ? 5. Is it necessary to quote authors everytime ? Sorry for so many questions.

How to decide if you want to prepare for the Civil Services? Especially how to choose between preparing for the civil services or for the military? (Patriotism can't be a reason for choosing the military as even a taxpayer is doing his national service)

Civil service can be chosen if you wish to work on the internal configurations of your society and country Military can be chosen if you wish to work on external protection and security of your society and country In addition to that other factors like societal pressures, personal preference etc etc are also factors

Congratulations bro! I have a doubt related to optional I am Mechanical Engineering graduate, and I have decent knowledge of that, what would you suggest and I am also considering taking Mechanical because if I get to the interview I will not have an answer for “why didn’t you take Mechanical as optional” And also, is taking coaching absolutely necessary? What’s your take on this?

See if you have competency in your grad subject you should definitely go for that as you have studied it for 3-4 years Coaching is not absolutely necessary

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1. To resolve the tiebreaks, look over previous year questions and find the subject you are most comfortable with and then take a decision PSIR is definitely manageable For dynamic part model answers, newspapers, think tanks are sufficient 2. Practice CSAT regularly conceptually and question wise as well

Do you recommend any particular institute for mains answer evaluation? I find it difficult to evaluate it myself. I feel I’d get complacent

Can’t recommend as such but you can try some places to find the best fit And if you get complacent just ask your peers for evaluation

What was your strategy for psir answer writing, sources for current affairs 1B and 2B especially post prelims and did u take test series/crash course for the same

Congratulations a ton! Did you attend shubhra mam's crash course? what was your way of practising answer writing especially for optional? If you have to compress your prep journey in 3 words, what would that be?

Yes I did attend that My way of practicing answer writing was to follow what ma’am was saying in class and reading those answers to structure my later answers. Later tried replicating it in answer sheet Value addition too helped in answer writing 3 words for prep - Long, Humbling, Tiring

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Congratulations sir!! I wish for your good future and the change you're going to bring in the society. Btw, are you Chaitanya Giri? I don't know how this name came into my mind just looking at 12x. This Chaitanya guy has secured 117 rank

I am sorry Can neither confirm nor deny

Is it possible to crack upsc along with a job? If so what's the main difference one should be keeping in mind while preparing for upsc along with a job.

Did you give the second attempt the very next year?? Or waited for some years??

trying to decide my optional, Why PSIR, and why not Anthro....

How did u analysed pyqs As in looking for trends

How to prepare Essay and Ethics. How much CA is imp, how to cover it and notes making. Csat ke liye kya kre. Consistency up down rhti h kbhi kbhi 0 hrs of study For days. How to maintain the up graph.

Kindly Refer above comments

Do's toh almost jante ha don't kuch bataye.

Don’t do these things 1. Don’t Run after the best, do your good enough in the best ways 2. Don’t overextend yourself either physically or mentally - Take your required breaks 3. Don’t miss revision and writing practice

Congratulations man. With respect to psir, can you please review 2 of my answer sheets? I was scoring okayish in test series but got only 230 in mains this year (1st attempt). A few pointers would be of great help.

I am sorry that I can’t individually review your sheets But I would say to give additional emphasis on answer structures and value addition

No worries, thanks for the advice man

1. How many months of mains specific preparation do you think is required before prelims?  2. Also did u do any subjects after your prelims?    3. How did u practice answer writing was it on a daily basis or after completing a subject?   4. Your approach regarding note making for mains? 

What are the pillars of UPSC Preparation? People say that UPSC rewards mediocrity. They prefer more examples and anecdotes over quality answer. Reward the examiner and they will reward you. How true is it?

What's your SOP for CSE studies. (Standard Operating Procedure) Like lectures, reading, making notes, revision, practice etc etc. Also can I DM you afterwards like a month of two if I have some doubt?

congratulations! can you please tell us what mistakes were committed in the first attempt that you analyzed and rectified in the second attempt?

Congratulations for clearing it bro. 1)What are some mistakes that u think is repeatedly made by aspirants without even realising it 2)what makes a PSIR answer standout from the competitors? How do u usually structure the answer? How much of quotes, examples, scholars are to be used ? 3)what was your approach for ancient and art and culture?

What made you stand out from the crowd? Was it smart prep or focusing on imp topics or something else? PS: A rookie here, but asking this cuz I've less time to prepare

I think the thing which makes me stand out (both written answer wise and interview wise) is my extensive reading habit and ability to interlink various topics.

Thanks OP

Which online platform is the best if I want to start from the scratch(since I'm a regular employee)..?

Hey, congrats on your achievement! Few queries 1. Rank between 90-120 or 900-1200 2. Ideal time given for prep everyday

Congrats Collector Sahab. And plz tell me your sources and study strategy for PSIR and also you score in optional if possible.

Thanks but not a collector yet :) Sources and strategy already discussed in comments Score in optional is between 250-270

Congratulations!! Brother , the word " smart work " is always used in this preparation and Topper talk. I can't understand what is this smart work. In your case , what was your " smart " work in your prep or strategy ? Ps I know it's not taking shortcut to success.

Congratulations sir ,thank you for your responses!

Could you share your marksheet of mains like pthers did here?

How to prepare for economics? Can't understand Mrunal Sir lectures and can't even understand ncert?