 Hello everyone, welcome to success story with Shangri's Academy. Today we have with us Mr. Nitin K. Biju, who have secured all in a rank of 89 in the UPSC Civil Service examination. So Nitin, welcome to the session and hearty congratulations, first of all. Thank you so much Arjun. So how did you know the results? Did you go through the PDF by yourself and what was your first reaction when you knew the results and two weeks down now how do you feel? Has it all sunk in? Actually, I had like there was a discussion that the results were going to come on August 4th. So I was expecting that from the morning itself. But I didn't expect it to come in the morning. I thought it might come in that day and evening. So anyway, I was actually active. I was very much particular that I should see my result first before anyone says me. So I was like as soon as the result PDF came into a group, I saw it and I started scrolling down from the first page and luckily I found my name in the second page and I was so much relieved because there was a lot of tension during the days before. So when I saw my name, I was very much relieved and I told my parents I was so happy. Then after that the call started coming and personally, I feel everything has sunk down and I feel very happy and satisfied at my performance. That's great. So you know this PPSC journey is quite long. You also have been preparing for almost 4-5 years and this preparation journey, the support of family is very important. So can you tell us something about your family, parent, their support in this journey and all? Actually, it is very much important that you have a supportive family during the preparation. So my father and my mother were really supportive during the times of preparation. My father used to come to the exam centres during all stages of the examination. And when I had failed in my first two attempts, he was there to support me and motivate me to continue the preparation. Also, apart from that my mother had actually shifted with me to Bangalore for my education purpose and both of them ensured that I get an environment of studies which actually enabled me to focus on the exam. Also my sister was also very much supportive during my journey. That's great to know. So you are an electronics and communication engineer. You have completed your engineering and then you started preparing for civil service. So when in your life did you decide that you want to prepare for civil service? Was it during the school period or was it during the engineering or after engineering? When did you realise that you want to prepare for civil service and is there any inspiration, somebody who inspired you to take up this career? During the school days, I really didn't think of civil service but in my parents, my parents used to say that you should try for IAS. But I never took it seriously. But after that, during the third year of graduation, by that time I had decided that I am going to prepare for civil service and I had joined classes. We can classes by the third year of graduation. So if I say inspiration, there were a lot of civil servants who were really inspiring. For example, Raju Narayana Swami sir was there, Amshong Pamesh sir was there. Also there were a lot of civil servants with whom I had interacted. For example, Haritha V. Kumar madam who was the first rank holder of civil service in one particular year. I was able to talk with her over form and even Albi Jones sir. So all these people had actually inspired me to prepare hard for the civil service. So you started preparation in the third year of your college, right? So can you tell us about your preparation journey? So how did you manage your engineering studies with the preparation? And after once you completed your graduation, how did you take up this studies? How long did you study? How many hours did you study? Can you tell us how you prepared? Actually during the times of graduation was really difficult to balance both engineering as well as civil services. So the civil service preparation was not at full pace during graduation. I just used to attend some tests, that's it. I didn't prepare well during graduation because engineering itself is a difficult subject. So my proper preparation started in 2016 after I graduated. Then I started the self-study part, like I started doing the optional until December. Then along with that I focused on the static subject also. And when I say about the amount of studies which I had done, I used to study for around 7 to 8 hours. So here what I had actually focused was not the quantity of the time, but rather the quality of the time during which I prepared. I ensured that in those 8 hours which I am studying, even though it is less than 8 hours, even if it is less than 8 hours, I ensured that the time which I spend was of utmost efficiency. And if I am able to complete the syllabus which I have put the target for that particular day, then I would do my other things and come out of studies and do my other things. So it was like a work target that I should complete in a particular day. If I complete early then I am free. So that was the kind of studies which I used to do during the preparation phase. So it's about consistent qualitative work which matters more. Yes, yes. It is equally important that we study daily also. Like weekly we can take an off, but most of the days should be spent on studying. So you have given 3 attempts so far and in your first attempt, you cleared your first syllabus itself and you missed the means by 2 marks at the top. And in the second attempt, you could not clear problems and now you bounce back in the third attempt and then you got a rank of 89. So how did you face these failures? Like missing the means cut off by 2 marks and then failing in the problems which would be a huge disappointment. So how did you face these failures? What kept you motivated during these 4-5 years of preparation? Actually, it is very much true that a failure kept on coming. In my first attempt itself, I was lucky enough to clear the problems and I was fully confident in writing them. By writing the means also, I was fully confident that I am going to clear it in my first attempt itself. But when the results came, it was a disappointment. Later when the marks came, I felt so much unlucky that I just missed my 2 marks. But later I came to know that if I am able to like almost clear the means in my first attempt itself, then definitely I will be able to do it in one more attempt. So that was the confidence which I was able to get after seeing my marks. So then I thought now I should be preparing, focusing on my second attempt and try to get a rank below 100. So that was my target. But again, to say unlucky, to say like I had shifted, diverted my preparation a bit during those times. I had to do some part-time work and all. So because of that, my preparation took a back seat and I couldn't clear the problems in my second attempt. And that was again, I feel, presently when I see, I feel it to be a blessing actually. That time I was very much disappointed. But actually I was able to get out of the cycle for one year and just give complete focus, complete focus of an year for my third attempt. And that is the reason why I was able to achieve a good rank this year. So I feel that all the failures which happened, therefore a good reason and for a good result which happened now. Okay. So now let's discuss some specifics about your preparation. Like let's come to problems. So what was your strategy for problems and when did you start your, you know, a problem specific preparation because you're somebody who cleared the problems in the first set and itself. So you can guide those aspirants, especially who are taking the first set up. So when did you start the preparation, problems exclusive preparation and what did you do, your first problems so that you could crack it. Okay. When I say about the first film, what I focused on was from around June, around a year before the actual film, I started my preparation with the static subjects. I ensured that I give enough time for each of the static subject. When I read lexicon for the first time, I gave around one and a half months to complete the textbook one. So I was not giving much time around. I was giving around two, three hours daily and then I was focusing on other subjects also. So in this manner, since I finished these subjects very in a slow manner, I was able to recollect the fact I was able to read it thoroughly. In this manner, by around December, I had finished a lot of static subjects like lexicon was done, history was done, then acromi, NCRTs were done. And like that three or four static subjects were done. Along with that, I used to slowly start the current affairs preparation also. The current affairs magazine, I made it a habit to read the newspaper daily and along with this, the optional was also being simultaneously being done for around two hours a day. So in this manner, by December, January, I was able to do a lot of subjects, a lot of knowledge was done. Then after January, I focused mainly on the test series. So even during December, before my first attempt, I remember during November, December, my prelims marks was only 64, 60 in the 60 range. Okay, I still remember the mark. So then I was able to slowly improve it because each one by one the subjects were being done. My focus shifted to test series and in the last two, around two and a half to three months, I focused exclusively on prelims. Till that time, I was managing prelims with mains along with the optional. So then last two months, I shifted completely to prelims and by the end, like around just two months before prelims, I was able to get around 100, 110 marks I was able to get in the test series. Then I became confident that I would be, I have the potential to clear the prelims in the first attempt. So this was my method of study. Okay, so during the preparation, did you use to make notes? So there's a lot of aspirants who have canvations, especially those who are giving the first attempt, whether we should make notes for NCRT, whether we should make notes for, you know, Laxmi Khan, basic books. So how did you make notes? Did you make notes for prelims? And if so, how did you make notes? In case of prelims, we don't need to make notes like because subjects are very much watched. So what I used to do was to use a highlighter and highlight in the textbook for example in Laxmi Khan or even Shankar's environment book. I used to highlight it there and I used to categorize it as P for prelims and M for mains. So I just used to categorize. So when I come back to revision, I used to revise the same textbook again and again. So this was my method. This actually saved me a lot of time and I ensured that I come back to the textbook again and again. Also, I feel that if we start making notes out of this basic book, it will consume a lot of time and efforts and you will not be able to give justice to all the subjects. So for prelims, I don't recommend making notes, but when it comes to mains, not making is very much necessary and I have made notes for mains. Now like current affairs for prelims, you said that you are reading newspaper every day. So what other sources did you refer for current affairs? Did you read the PIB or any other sources, monthly magazines? What all did you refer for studying current affairs? In my case, my current affairs preparation was dependent only on two things. One is the Hindu newspaper. Reading the Hindu newspaper daily is compulsory and I tried my best to do that. And second is the monthly magazines which come out of various institutes. So here one thing which we should understand is we have to limit our sources. There are many people who try to use multiple sources for current affairs. This thing we should limit. If you are using the monthly current affairs of one academy, then we should stick to it and continuously revise it again and again. So that like the 12 month current affairs of that particular magazine is done thoroughly. So this was the only thing which I used to focus on, one monthly magazine preparing for 12 months and daily newspaper. And I used to revise it again and again. So this was my strategy for current affairs. So when you come nearer to the problems, there is a basic confusion among aspirants that whether you should revise these basic books again and again or whether you should go for solving more and more tests and revise them. So what is your advice to that question? I would say that both are equally important. Revising the books I would consider it to be more important because there are a lot of content in the basic books and most of the times the questions also come from there. So if you don't revise the books, reading a book only just one time is of no use. If you can't revise it at least two, three, or minimum three times I would say. I am sure that I would have revised lexicon for more than four, five times in the whole course of preparation. So definitely revision is very much important that has to be done and along with that the series has to be done based on individual pace. I used to do around one test in two days and like one day I'll be doing a test and the next day I'll be solving the solution. So that was my method of solving the test and before problems I would do anyway around 30 problems test I would be doing. But we should not just neglect one thing for the other. Both are equally important. Now let's discuss about mains. What was your strategy for the mains and what differences did you make between the first mains and second mains? In my first mains I would say I made a lot of big mistakes. I actually joined for a test series but I didn't opt for evaluation. So what happened was I used to write the test but I never bothered to go to a teacher for evaluation. That actually costed me a lot because there were a lot of mistakes which went unidentified and I was so much confident on myself that I would be able to do it by myself. And that was a big mistake which I done during the first mains. And in my second mains I ensured that this mistake is not rectified. So every mains paper, every mains answer sheet would be evaluated and I would personally go to teachers to again ask for the review. So this method I had a mentor at that point of time. So that was the main strategy which I, main difference which I did in my second mains. So that is very important that your answers are evaluated properly. Okay so regarding another concern students have is regarding answer writing. So when did you actually start this answer writing process? Did you start it in college itself or was it later at a later point where you actually started writing answers? And again when initially when you started writing answers what were the challenges that you faced? I started writing answer writing after my college. During my college preparation I couldn't focus on answer writing. But what I used to do was like when I started my self study I ensured that I try to write at least one question daily in the initial days of the preparation. Though I was not that consistent in answer writing during that point of time. What I used to try to do was writing an answer and showing it to a teacher. So that is the most important aspect. And the main challenges which I faced during that time was the lack of content. During the initial phase of the preparation we would be having very less content and we don't know like what to write. So the lack of content was the main challenge there. But to the freshers I would say that it's fine even if you are lacking the content you should keep on writing. Because the content will definitely build over the time. But you should have that technique of answer writing. You should practice that technique of answer writing from the initial phases of your preparation. Because main is the most important part of this journey I would say with 1,750 marks. Answer writing becomes the most important aspect of it. So you were initially saying during problems not making notes. Even if you don't make notes for problems not making is important for the main examination. So how did you approach note making for the main examination? For the main examination what I tried to do was I tried to make a list of the topics especially from the current affairs topics. Which were in use for the last one year. So not even last one year like my main was on September. So I ensured that from January at least I have a list of all the important topics from January. And I categorized it subject wise. Under quality I have 10 to 15 topics. Under economy I have this much topics. After making a list of that I ensured that I started making very crisp notes on individual topics. Under each topic maximum 5 to 6 points will be there. And these points I won't be elaborating it. I will be just writing the keyword. If it is a quality answer I would just try to note down the relevant articles, the relevant case or the relevant legal provision or something like that. So only the important keywords I will be noting down. So in one side of an A4 sheet I will write at least 4 topics. In this manner a lot of topics were covered in very less pages. So this kind of crisp notes should be made because it is equally important to revise them. Even during the day of the exam when you have to write for 6 hours in the gap in between. In the 2 hour gap in between you should be able to revise the notes also. So keeping that in mind I made the notes. And what about current affairs? Like you followed the same strategy as in films or did you do anything extra for preparing current affairs? I didn't do anything extra but what I did was earlier when I used to read newspaper I used to just read it and leave it. But when it came to means I ensured that I went back to the important editorials and articles of those Hindu newspapers from January. And I started noting it down and preparing notes on that. So I just went back to the Hindu newspaper itself and the monthly magazine which I already read. Now let's discuss about your optional subject. So you are an engineer but then still you chose public administration as an optional. So what was the reason behind this decision? Actually initially my optional was electrical engineering. But I haven't given any attempt but I understood that preparing engineering it will take a lot of time. And I was having a plan to clear in my first attempt itself. So definitely engineering was not a good option for that plan. So what I did is I started reading the syllabus of other subjects. I went through the syllabus of public administration. I felt public administration to be a very interesting subject. And I even started reading some books on public administration, some standard books. And I found that the subject is pretty much interesting for me. And I will definitely be able to complete it within 5-6 months. That was another target. And it was very much relevant and it was connected with the other subjects also. For example GS2, SA and even ethics. Part of it coincides with ethics also. So predominantly it is my interest and the other factors. Like which I already mentioned. Which made me to take public administration as an optional. So what would be your advice to those students who want to take public administration as an optional? Do then don'ts when you prepare public administration. One thing which I would say is public administration as an optional is not sufficient to read the books only. It is a subject which has to be dealt with at the thinking level, at the thought process. You have to think a lot on the subject. You have to connect it with various other subjects. So a lot of thinking process happens more than mugging up all the syllabus. So that is one thing which you should keep in mind first. And the second important thing is that to ensure that you keep your sources minimal. And you keep your sources the standard materials itself. I ensured that I started reading with new horizons on public administration written by Mohit Bhattajari. Even though the vocabulary is a bit difficult in that textbook. I ensured that I started with that only. So that even if it is difficult I will read it in a slow manner. Eventually I was able to complete it also. Then Prasad and Prasad administrative thinkers by Prasad and Prasad is an equally important book. You should be very thorough with these two books. These two are the most important books for paper one. If you are thorough with these two books then I assure you that you will be scoring great marks in public administration. And maybe for remaining syllabus of paper one and for paper two. Radha Binod Ariba is also a good book. So I actually relied on only these three books. These three were the only sources for paper for me. And extra you can read. Second AFC report summaries you can read. So apart from this don't go behind a lot of material. So this is the advice which I want to say. Any roads or something which you should not do I will go for public administration. Any mistakes which you would make. As if you say the mistake I can't think of any. Because from the beginning I was doing public administration in a right strategy. But one thing which I would say is to neglect there are many people who neglect the standard books. As I already mentioned Mohit Bhatt Aajariya and Tinker. Many people neglect those books telling that it's a very difficult book will read it later. So they focus on the materials which are available in the market. So that is a don't which I would say which should be kept in mind. Start with the standard book. And which all books did you refer to paper 2 of public administration? I do. Radha Binod Aribam. He covers the syllabus entirely all the chapters are there. Also he has tried to link it with the thinkers in the first paper one. There are a lot of thinkers about which we read in paper one. While writing an answer in paper two it is very important that we have to differentiate it with a normal GS2 answer. If we are not able to do that differentiation then the marks will be less. So it is where the thinkers come into use. So try to add the paper one thinkers in paper two as well as adding the paper two examples in paper one is equally important. So this in the paper linkage is provided by Radha Binod Aribam. I really like that book. Was there any difference in approach between the first main and the second main you wrote with public administration? Or the same strategy was followed? No it was not the same strategy. In my first main I had left a lot of syllabus. Especially in paper two I was not able to study a lot of syllabus. So it was like a general quality answer. Even if we don't study the syllabus also we will be able to write all the questions but we won't be able to write answers which look like a public administration answer. So I wrote the answers but it was a very general kind of answer. So that mistake are rectified in my second main. We are also happy that we could be, Changrae's Academy could be a part of your success journey. Nithin has taken mock interview at Changrae's Academy before his actual UPS interview. So we will see a small glimpse from his mock interview and then we will come back. Okay. So Nithin you had your interview amidst this COVID pandemic. So how was this COVID interview experience? And how was your experience of UPS interview in general? Which board did you get and did they ask any interesting questions? So how was the whole experience? This interview was very much different from the previous ones. Because during this year February itself I had been for the Indian Forest Service interview. So I could actually judge the difference, how different it was. First of all traveling to Delhi at that point of time was itself a big risk for me. I had more PPE kits for traveling to Delhi and flight and all. So after reaching there also it was very much different. Stay in Kerala house was also, I was the only person who was there in the initial 4-5 days. Then when it came to interview, the interview board ensured that a lot of precautions were taken. A lot of social distancing measures were taken to ensure utmost safety during the interview process. A lot of checking were there. And during the interview also I got PK Joshi's board. So I was actually sitting in one corner of the room and they were very much far away from me. It was a bit difficult for me to hear the questions. I had requested them to repeat the questions also. So that kind of issues were there. Another aspect was that they couldn't see our face. I am wearing a face mask, a face shield as well as I am having sex. So everything was kind of foggy. Even I couldn't see them. They couldn't see my face. So it was just mostly auditory kind of interview which was happening there. But that time I was able to manage it and coming to some of the questions. The areas of questions were focusing on my graduation. My graduation was electronics and communication. And a lot of questions were asked on that. At least 3 members started asking me questions on electronics and communication which I had already left 4 years before. So that was a bit of a tricky situation for me but I was able to manage it. And other than electronics, they asked me some theories on public administration. I was able to answer it because those were kind of easy theories. Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation. I was able to say it well. Then they asked about like Kerala. They asked how Kerala is affected by COVID. I told about the tourism effect on tourism, the remittances, etc. They also asked how Kerala economy can revive from COVID. So I told about that also. Then one interesting aspect which I didn't expect at all was in the international relations. So that was a time when there were a lot of issues between India, China and India and Nepal. So I was well prepared on those and they asked India about Bangladesh issue. So I was very much confused like from where did Bangladesh come into picture now. So I was not able to recall many of the issues but what came into my mind I just told them. And I couldn't say much. So I told madam I don't recall much of the issues. Anyway after that they changed the question. They asked me about my hobbies. My hobbies are playing football and endurance running. They asked me who is your favorite football team. I am a football player which is your favorite football team. Although this kind of question and what is the difference between endurance running and marathon. So these kind of questions I was able to answer. So overall if I see it was mostly a dash based question rather than current affairs based question. Okay nice to hear your experience and maybe you would be happy to hear your experiences with Shankaray's academy also. So Shankaray's academy actually I am coming to Shankar for the first time in 2018 actually. That time I was able to meet actually that was the time when I failed my prelims. So it was my second prelims. I wrote the prelims and I wanted to take a main series. So I came to Shankaray's academy. The results were not out but I was expecting that I would clear. Then I actually the admissions were kind of filled up at that point of time. But I was able to meet Shankar sir and I was very happy to meet him. Such a humble person he is. He actually allowed us to write the main series even though the vacancies I mean the slots are already filled. So I was happy. I actually started writing the main series happily at that point of time. But luckily I couldn't continue because when the prelims results came I failed and I couldn't continue with the main series. Then Shankar's environment book was a very important part of my preparation. For environment I relied on that along with the biology NCRT. That was there and my close association with Shankar started in this attempt. Present attempt 2019 attempt after the main results were out. I came for the first time for this MOOC interviews which happened there. And I had attended at least two MOOC interviews with the panels and a one on one session with Ramachandran sir also. So I would say for my interview preparation the most important input which I got was from Ramachandran sir. So he had told me various tips which actually I implemented in my interview which really helped me to bring more confidence into my answers. So I would consider that the panels in Shankar's academy are excellent. Really excellent and I thank Shankar's academy for bringing such panels. Also apart from that I was able to talk to Rajitha ma'am. Though she is not in dangles I was able to talk over phone with Rajitha ma'am. I used to send her my answers through voice messages. She used to reply back telling what can be improved. So this kind of help used to happen. Also apart from them I know you already used to interact a lot during the interview time. And even Arun Lal sir and Alan Sebastian sir also. So all of you people have really helped me during my interview preparation process and I am really thankful. Very much thankful for preparing me for the interview time. We are also really happy that you could be a part of your success journey and you have successfully cleared this exam this year. So now I want to ask something about this journey. Like it's four or five years you have been preparing and I am sure that there would be a lot of ups and downs. So how did you save it? You were having some hobbies and were you able to pursue these hobbies during this preparation? Were you using social media? So what was your approach while you were preparing for this four or five years? My approach was to ensure that if you study ensure that I am not completely into studies. This might seem a bit weird but it is equally important for us to have our own hobby. Our own friend circle, our own pastime and our own distraction. There should be a minimal amount of distraction also. That is equally important. So what I used to do was like every Sunday I used to play football with my friends. We had a group of friends who were UKC aspirants themselves. We used to go to a stadium and we used to play football. Apart from that I never logged out of mostly most of my preparation. I never tried to discipline myself. I was active in most of the social media. So it was like I was in touch with my friends and I had a very good peer circle. I used to go for a walk with them. I used to go for running with them. So that peer group is also important. So these are the things which act as shock absorbers during our setbacks and failures. So I ensure that I am not completely into studies. I had my other activities which were going on as well. That's nice. My final question to you Nidinesh, what would be your advice to the fellow aspirants who are preparing or to those students who want to start preparing for the civil service examination? Firstly, my advice would be to ensure that you should give yourself sufficient time. So sufficient time to understand the syllabus, understand the demand of the exam. It takes a lot of time. This guidance also, you should definitely have a mentor. So along with that, try to understand the syllabus properly initially itself and don't expect results. Maybe in the first attempt itself, don't expect results. There are people who clear but even they have a lot of years spent behind it. So even if you are failing once or twice, don't lose your heart. Don't take failure to your heart. Just keep on trying it. Try to identify your mistakes and keep on trying. Identification of the mistakes is very important because what I feel is small mistakes lead to big failures. So the mistakes which you do are really small. Just identify those small mistakes and correct it. You will be able to succeed one day and all the struggles and the troubles which you are going through will become really worth it after you clear the exam because that is what I am feeling as of now. The kind of struggles which I went through, everything seems worth now. So don't lose hope. Don't take failures to your heart. Have a calm mind. Have a cool mind. Do your hobby. Talk with your friends. Just discuss things with your parents and friends. Keep your parents in confidence. That is very much important because at the end of the day, they are the people who are supposed to support you the most financially and also keep your parents in confidence. Tell them what is happening. What is your plan? So these are some of the things I would like to say you and along with the knowledge part, skill is equally important focus on the skill part also. Writing that a series of problems and writing for me. So these kind of stuff. So these are some of the things which I would like to tell you. Advice you. That's a great advice and I am sure that the fellow aspirants would find it equally helpful and motivating. So thank you for spending time with us. I am sure that you are going to be a great bureaucrat and let you be an inspiring administrator. So wishing you all the very best. Thank you so much. Thank you so much Arjun for giving me this opportunity and thank you Shankara's academy for conducting this interview with me. Thank you.