Topper's Mantra OF 2009 IAS BATCH..............

Topper's Mantra

Choose Subject with Which You are Comfortable
Suja K.
All India Rank - 4 C.S. Exam. 2004

The trait of enjoying the process of learning and finding pleasure in the acquisition of knowledge should be cultivated from the early beginning. The solid preparation can begin later, may be one year before the exam. But, it is good to know if only really wants it right from the school, college days.” Says Suja K. All India Rank - 4 C.S., Exam. 2004.

Congratulation on your success. Having met your ambition now, what role do you visuals for yourself in context of the nation, society at large and your family?

I see myself doing my own bit of Science that I can in building an India, that has stronger economic ties with other nations, an India whose economic aspirations receive priority over political consideration. As a responsible individual. I will express my gratitude to the family and society that have groomed me by delivering them with all the best things which are within my reach.

Whom would you give credit for your success? Your secret of success?

To my family members who have always allowed me to carry on with my over aspirations, who have never pressurized me to do anything what they wanted, who have genuinely helped me to achieve all that I have achieved. Yes, the credit goes to my sweet parents, grand mother and uncle.

How much time did you devote for

(i) Prelims 1 year (GS was given more attention).
(ii) Mains 21/2 months (after declaration of Prelims result).
(iii) Interview nearly 20 days.

Did you integrate Prelims & Mains preparation or was ti separate?

It was separate.

Which magazines & newspapers did you concentrate on? Did you get any help from Civil Services Chronicle?

The Hindu, The Economic Times, Yojana, CSC etc. I was not a regular subscriber of any magazine. But I found it to be a handicap while preparing for mains.

What were your Optionals in Prelims & Mains? What was your basis of selecting them?

Prelims - Economics
Mains - Economics & Malayalam Literature.
I was familiar and extremely comfortable with both the subject.

Which books did you refer for Optionals & GS in Prelims and Mains?

GS : Prelims (Spectrum’s Books, India Year Book).
GS : Mains (Spectrum’s Book on Eng. T., Indian Geography, Polity, History etc.), Economics (Prelims).
Economy Survey, graduation notes, scum series work books, Books on various branches of Economics by Indian authors.
Economics (Mains)
Public Finance (Bhatia)
Micro & Micro Economics (Ahuja)
International Trade (Ravi Batra)
Development Economics (Debraj Raj, Thirwal & Missa & Puri)
Malayalam Literature
Sahitya Charithaam (KM George)
Indian Economy (Missa & Puri Dutt & Sundharam)
Karitha Charithaam (Leelavethi)

Did you make notes? Are they useful? What is your advise on note-making?

I was not good at making notes. But I used to note down the points. It has helped a lot especially for Prelims. I find it is good to do that when one is reading. It saves a lot of time in the end.

Did you feel any change in the trend of questions? When you appeared for the first time in the exam did you feel any change in question-trend in comparison to what you had anticipated? Comment on trend day in comparison to 5 to 10 years earlier.

There is a change in the trend of questions - Questions are becoming more and more analytical. Prelims has also been made together in the sense even if you knew two matches for sure out of sure, you cannot guess the correct match unless & until you know all four.

Did you attend any coaching institute? What is your over all opinion about the coaching institutes?

No, Attending Coaching Institutes are not a pre-requisite.

When should one ideally begin thinking about and preparing for this exam?

The trait of enjoying the process of learning and finding pleasure in the acquisition of knowledge should be cultivated from the early beginning. The solid preparation can begin later, may be one year before the exam. But, it is good to know if one really wants it right from the school, college days.

Do you believe writing style matters in the examination? What are your suggestions?

It may matter to some extent in all papers in the sense that you should ....... what you want to convey in a precise way, to the point. Flowery language is not advisable even for the essay paper writing point-wise can be useful for some questions.

Q. What is your opinion on time management for preparation and in the actual exam?

A. It is very important, especially when one is taking GS-II. It is good to give a fair deal to all questions rather than writing too much on some questions you know well and leaving out the rest. Keep up the word limit.

What is your observation on

(a) Disadvantage to Rural background candidates in this exam.
Accessibility to relevant materials may be a problem. If there is a factual doubt, through Internet, it can be easily cleared. In rural areas, this may be a problems. Searching things manually may waste a lot to time.
(b) Advantage to Professional and Technocrats qualifying in greater number.
It is easy for Technocrats to study humanities, but not the other way round .... GS contains questions from both, it may prove to be an advantage for them. As far as Optionals go, there is no difference, I believe between technocrats & others.
(c) Advantage to students of public school and top universities.
The atmosphere, discussions with friends, the peer-group frame work etc. may help. Interactions within such group may be an advantage.

What should be the strategy to maximise one’s score in essay paper?

Do not quote. Be personal and original. Do not use flowery language. Look at the issue from all angles. There should be a flow. Choosing of topic is also important.

Before getting down to actual preparation, what kind of reading should one do to prepare one’s suitability for this exam?

Quiz Books, GK Books, Previous issues of various magazines etc. give a feel of the knowledge that one is trying to acquire.

What is your advise to

(i) Freshers who are going to appear for the first time.
Read the instructions carefully Do not be in a hurry. Be relaxed. First attempt should be the best attempt.
(ii) Candidates who cannot decide upon Optionals.
Choose those subjects with which you are comfortable and you would enjoy reading it. There is nothing called a scoring optional. Do not be misled by this idea.
(iii) Those who have failed in this exam.
Whatever happens in life, happens for good... You might be wanted else where... Not clearing this exam should not be a dead-end... All people have failed to some point in their life...

Tell us something about your interview? Did you feel nervous in the exam?

It is an experience which I was worried about since my college days, but when it actually happened, it turned out to be wonderful.. I was very nervous before the actual interview and I was not satisfied after it was over... But I was relaxed when it was happening.

What was the biggest mistake you made in this exam?

That I wasted my time in between Prelims Exam and declaration of result. That I wrote my Roll No : in the precise-Sheet which I was not supposed to do.

When were you introduced to CSC for the first time? As a reader what do you think are the strong points in CSC and in which segment do you visualise a room for improvement?

In my M.A. days. The expected questions a mains is extremely useful.
(Career Quest General Studies Notes for Prelims and mainswww.studykit.blogspot.com)



Questions Test Knowledge Not Just Memory
Dr. Amit Shiv Kumar Telang
All India Rank - 11 C.S. Exam. 2004

" I look forward to represent my country at various international fora. I wish to let the world know that we are a country not only big in number but in intellect, culture and above all democratic ideals."

Congratulation on you success. Having met you ambition now, what role do you visualise for yourself in context of the nation, society at large and your family?

I look forward to represent my country at various international fora. I wish to let the world know that we are a country not only big a number but in intellect, culture and above all democratic ideals.

Whom would you give credit for you success? Your secret of success?

I thank the almighty and my parents my teachers from my early schooling till date, my friends Sandeep, Atul, Prasad and my wife Deepali who were always with me in thick and thin. The secret of my success is my perseverance and hard work.

How much time did you devoted for (This attempt)

(i) Prelims 15 days
(ii) Mains 21/2 months
(iii) Interview 15 days
I devoted equal time, for GS & Optionals in mains. In prelims I concentrated more on optional.

Did you integrate Prelims & Mains preparation or was it separate?

I integrated study of my first optional-Medical Science.

Which magazines & newspapers did you concentrate on? Did you get any help from Civil Services Chronicle?

I exclusively depended on Civil Services Chronicle for general studies (Current Events). It also read Hindu. I read books from Spectrum Publication for General Studies.

What were your Optionals in Prelims & Mains? What was your basis of selecting them?

Prelims : Medical Science
Mains : medical Science & Zoology
The former was my subject of graduation and Zoology was much similar to my first optional especially the second paper.

Which books did you refer for Optionals & GS in Prelims and Mains?

GS - Spectrum books, NCERT class VIII to XII, Civil Services Chronicle.
Medical Science - Standard books
Zoology - Kotpal series, Verma & Agrawal (Cell biology, ecology etc.), Veer Bala Rastogi (Evolution), Reena Mathur (Ethology), Guyton (Physiology) & Harper (Biochemistry)

Did you makes notes? Are they useful? What is your advise on note-making?

No, I have not made any notes. I relied on books, underlined them and revised them.

Did you feel any change in the trend of questions? When you appeared for the first time in the exam did you feel any change in question-trend in comparison to what you had anticipated? Comment on trend today in comparison to 5 to 10 years earlier.

The questions are more generalised now and test knowledge and to just memorising the notes.

Did you attend any coaching institute. What is your over all opinion about the coaching institutes?

I attended coaching for interview only. I feel guidance from a good coaching constitute helps a lot.

When should one ideally begin thinking about and preparing for this exam?

During final year for graduation.

Do you believe writing style matters in the examination? What are your suggestions?

Success in this examination depends a lot on one’s writing style. One has to be precise, succinct and simple. Illustrations, examples, diagrams are must.

What is your opinion on time management for preparation and in the actual exam?

It is “the most important” factor, infact poor time management is the reason for my initial failure in this examination. One must practice writing answers within time to prevent last moment hurry.

What is your observation on

(a) Disadvantage to Rural background candidates in this exam.
I don’t think in this examination any disadvantage exists. Infact background doesn’t make any difference.
(b) Advantage to Professionals and Technocrats qualifying in greater number.
They are a habit of writing precise answers.
(c) Advantage to students of public school and top universities.
I don’t find any specific advantage.

What should be the strategy to maximise one’s score in essay paper?

Should write a simple essay with real life examples. No need of any unnecessary idioms, phrases or quotations.

Before getting down to actual preparation, what kind of reading should one do to prepare one’s suitability for this exam?

One should be a regular newspaper reader to say the least. Interest in quizing, watching current event programs on TV etc. does help.

What is your advise to

(i) Freshers who are going to appear for the first time.
Think that it is your best attempt and put all your energy in it.
(ii) Candidates who cannot decide upon Optionals.
The best ways is to select an optional with which you are familiar. Write some answers, get them corrected by teachers and ask for their advise.

Those who have failed in this exam.

The failure is because of some mistakes. Try to rectify them and success is all yours.

Tell us something about your interview? Did you feel nervous in the exam?

I appeared in Prof. D.P. Agrawal’s board. The members and chairman were very cordial. Questions were general and situational. I did feel a bit nervous at the time of interview but not in prelims or mains.

When were you introduced to CSC for the first time? As a reader what do you think are the strong points in CSC and in which segment do you visualise a room for improvement?

I started reading CSC since 2001. Its strong points are sections like World Watch, India Watch, Economy Sections. Questions & answers on constitution are very good. Improvement may be done on model test papers many times the answers are wrong.

(Career Quest General Studies Notes for Prelims and mainswww.studykit.blogspot.com)



I Stressed on Writing Structured Answers
Mundhe Tukaram Haribhau
All India Rank-20 C.S. Exam. 2004

Language plays a crucial role in the main exam. If the language is good, it communicates your message clearly and precisely. ‘Good’ language means simple, lucid and intelligible language, with short and meaningful sentences. Good language does not mean language loaded with big and heavy words and complex sentences. It applies to all the papers, including Essay.


What was your strategy for success?

Planned hard work; particularly I stressed on writing “structured answers.” It is the writing communication which fetched me better marks. I resorted to the presentation of answers in point and attractive formats.

What were your Optionals?

Political Science International Relations and History.

On what basis did you select them?

It was a planned strategy these Optionals were my subjects at Graduation level.

What should be the approach of beginners in selecting Optionals?

The Criteria of selecting Optionals should be aptitude, interest and ability to comprehend the subject matter. Also, one should be able to express views in lucid and simple language.

What was your plan for preparation?

My plan for preparation was to go for the examination after my graduation. Preparation at graduation level was a part of preparation for civil services. Therefore, Optionals for civil services were already selected.
When actual preparation for civil services examination began, I prepared my own notes, as my style of studying was by preparing notes. I prepared notes on almost every topic.
Later on, I changed my strategy a little bit. Instead of preparing notes topic wise, I prepared by writing answers on every topic and sub topic, which paid rich dividends.

How much the quality of language is effective in main exam?

Language plays a crucial role in the main exam. If the language is good, it communicates your message clearly and precisely. “Good” language means simple, lucid and intelligible language, with short and meaningful sentences. Good language does not mean language loaded with big and heavy words and complex sentences. It applies to all the papers, including Essay.

Your opinion about coaching institutes?

Coaching institutes could play the role of improving your performance. The coaching institute can guide you along right path particularly in writing proper and complete answers.
However, all coaching are not good, only select few give proper guidance in writing quality answers.Coaching institutes help to a particular point only candidate himself has to devise the means to achieve the goal.

Did you prepare notes for Optionals and G.S.?

Yes, I did. It helps in creating structured answers. It also gives you confidence as you are ready to tackle any question as preparation takes place along those lines. Above all it helps in time management in the main examination.