 Hello, Uttara. I welcome you to this program success speaks with a lot of congratulations to you and your family. Thank you, sir Thank you so much for having me here. Yeah, this year. I know about your whole story of your success I'm sure this is going to be very interesting for a lot of future parents to know about you to know your success journey because a person getting highest possible education going to America and then Deciding I've been up to doing good package and job there Finally decided to come back to the country and serve in the country by joining civil services So this is going to be very interesting for all the audience were going to watch you, right? so once again, I welcome you to this program with her and a Bit of your background will help the audience to understand you where from you are and Who are there in the family and what has been the journey from here to us and back to India? How it has all happened. Hmm. Sure. I'm lucky to have this platform to share my story so I'm from I'm basically from Kerala where I did my Bachelor of Technology in electrical engineering and after that I decided to pursue masters in the same from United States. So I joined Drexel University in Philadelphia So I could after that I did my research there and I joined a Public utility company as a contractor as an electrical engineer But it was while working there that was a turning point for me to realize that you know job satisfaction is something more than a fat paycheck that You know, you need I needed more from my job than just being a technical person So I decided to after working for two and a half years. I decided to stop doing that With rights not very easy decision. So when you're saying you are having a very you can say have two packets there, right? Naturally, yeah working in the US as an engineer. There's must have been a very interesting package If you don't mind, I would like to ask you what package you were receiving there It is embarrassing for me to admit it but I was More than 40 blacks that I was getting there at that time So 40 laxity Indian currency the words will come in So I know American currency would be around $72,000 per annum. Yes, that's a very Yeah, it that the origin something for India. That is a very good package They were tight and then you worked as an engineer and let form there Right, but before we talk again about that. What made you back here? Do you have some other members also in family who joined IES or you were Someone first to come from your family to join services. That's an interesting question I am probably the first person in my close family to join government service I did not have anyone in government service at all. Right What they do what your father mom what they do is As my father is a business man in Kerala So we are into a little bit of food processing business and My mom is a homemaker and I've been and my sister and her husband are both dentists doctors And I've been married for seven years now. My husband is a software engineer in the United States So he's currently working there Then I have my in-laws So yeah, we are a very close-knit family one would say so this is very interesting for the audience to understand That you come from a business family of Kerala and you're all family members. They are highly placed Your husband is also software engineer. So naturally differently He might be running very good back is and you had a wonderful Life in terms of luxury and comforts in the US, right? But then you decided to come back back to India to study So first question is a what cooperation you got from your husband in this regard because it was a decision That you would be back to a country and he's working there in US, right? Yes so the amount of the cooperation and the Contribution that my husband has to my journey is immense like he's the sole supporter for my journey My whole family is extremely involved and they're supporting but my husband was staying by himself When I came here for preparation and currently I'm back and I might be doing training for one and a half to two Years, so he's going to stay back there. So he had supported me Throughout this more emotionally and in every other way he could say yes I've had immense support from my husband in this ten Uttara since there is no one in the family in civil services, right? So naturally It is very interesting to know how this idea of going into civil services came Did you have this something in mind when you were in India studying there or you came all after going to US? And who became instrumental in the whole decision? So basically it was my father who had planted this idea in my head when I was a kid that Civil service is something you should do to see what your true potential is How far can you go to challenge myself and not to get settled with okay? Do you have a job you have good nature? So he had always asked me to challenge myself see if we can do this But I was also young at that point and I was carried away with the idea of going abroad So I did not pay much attention to his idea at that time. So I went to US Okay, when I was there is when I realized okay what he said made sense So I decided to pursue that old dream and come back So basically the seat for civil services was already sewn by your dad your father had given that And it is while working in the US that you this idea came to us, which part of us you were working in So I was in Philadelphia, which is a town in Pennsylvania. So that is on the east coast closer to New York Although we have discussed to some extent about that, but while you were working you said about the three years you were there, right? I worked there for almost two and a half years But I've been in US for nine years now So when you were working there, you said that you were getting good package everything is that but this idea which was being nurtured, right? So the the main factors which were attracting you towards civil services to join I would be interested to know on behalf of the audience from you What were those dominating factors in your mind attracting towards India to come in the Frame of governance in India that is called still pillar of Indian governance civil services, right? So the first and foremost thing I realized while sitting in front of a computer and doing job is that is not my cup of tea that I wanted to do something but I can actually see the impact of my job like the decisions I make or the decisions To not to do something. So I wanted to see the impact of that and people and I believe For me a technical job was not set giving me that satisfaction And again, I think this is something that most people have gone abroad will relate to You realize how important and how much of a role your country and your nation and that feeling plays in your life Only when you go far away when I was in US is when I realized I want to come back and I want to contribute to the Society here. So these are the two main things that actually Disapplic the made me decide. Okay. Let me try some services and see if I can come back. So I'm sure you being a Person with social orientation Because to contribute in the society the lifestyle of US is completely different what we have in India So you always had an empathic understanding about your country that you could contribute by going in the car among the common people, right? That's way. Yes, sir. That is one reason. I decided I think you took a decision to start appearing in exam very late because I Know about you with the discussion that you took three attempts in the first and second attempt You could not qualify you didn't qualify pre also in the two attempts No, sir, I did not clear the problems in the two attempts. I had grossly underestimated the exam in my first That tick all the consecutive attempts like to 7 17 18 19 Yes, it was 17 18 and I cleared the 20 19 from 19 2019 you cleared and you are already 32 now That's why he became the Say the last attempt also, right? Yes You have got 200 and which rank is this? 217 217 217 right so definitely you're going to get a very good group of service most likely either in IPs Or you're going to Indian revenue service. I think this way, right? Yes. Now It will be very much of interest for the audience to know why you could not qualify in two two attempts in the pre also And what made you succeed in the third attempt to this extent? So the first two attempts The major reason was I had underestimated the zig-zag like really grossly underestimated it I after Being good in academics and college and also doing some it's like good to getting my masters from us I thought this is just another exam where I can study for one month and then I can do it So I did not understand the requirements of the exam or one would say I did not Understand the nature of the beast. So I had completely underestimated the exam in that sense So in the third attempt, I decided to sit down and watch a lot of videos of toppers I analyzed the syllabus very clearly. I went to previous year question papers I talked to people have already attempted so I decided to study the exam before I actually sat down to study the books So I think that is the major deciding factor for me what I understand and the audience would understand also on your behalf That in the two attempts you jumped into the race without understanding the basic art of the game What exactly is the need but realize finally that this cannot happen like that Third attempt you took it very seriously did a lot of research You listen to the toppers also you did some of the people who were experienced and did it. So It means that which is a very very Permanent in which is very important for the future as far as to know that don't don't jump into risk without understanding about the syllabus requirement of the questions and You must have some basic strategy developed While doing some basic ground workers paper that is very nice. So when you this this understood this factor in the third attempt Again, how did you start where from started studying? What? Basic books are starting books you again picked up. Would you like to share these all things? Absolutely So when I decided to do my third and last attempt right the first thing I realized is after Understanding the exam that I need to seek help So I decided to get professional help from people who are new know what they're doing and I joined an institute And I decided to get my basics right as you've already mentioned So I read the NCI to textbooks, which I believe is from where I could start completely Then I had the standard book list Lakshmi. God was something that I had already Started looking in my first two attempts then a spectrum for modern interview by Rajiv spectrum modern India Rajiv a hip-hop Then I was also looking at the Atlas and I was also trying to stay on top of current affairs So I believe that is the basic Process that everybody does I would read Hindu religiously know even if I don't write note I made sure that I read him to every day and I was also following PRS India's website Then I think Rajiv Sabati was something that I would never miss. I would watch their news programs I would watch their few programs like big picture and India's world policy watch so I spend a lot of time initially to get my basics right I know I was not keeping up with my competition, but I said it is okay Let me build my basic right and then build on top of it. So this is how I started my preparation. See you have Really identified the best possible resources started working on that But here the question again starts with your basic study in shiati books You said you let your hands on the shiati books started going through that, right? So from which to which standard you studied and how you studied in shiati books That will be an interesting thing to know for the audience when I started the preparation I was like I had said I didn't know exactly what this was. So I started all the way from eighth standard And I'm not saying the one should not do that. That is okay if you have enough time But once I was press for time in my last attempt I realized I kind of understood the end But I was focused more on the topic and books that were pertinent to the syllabus so I went from the syllabus to the books instead of reading all the books and then finding out what I needed from the Syllabus, so if it was art and culture, I would go to the textbook It doesn't matter if it is 8 or 12, but is this a relevant topic relevant to the syllabus? So I kind of did a back study from the syllabus to the book instead of just sitting and reading the books and My method was I would have a certain set of notes for prilams See if there is something that I know I cannot remember but it would be good for prilams I would make notes for that then I would have a separate I would have a separate note for mains because I knew this is an analysis perspective I would get only from NCIT, so I would make a separate note for mains So I was going kind of parallel at least with the note making See you are using a very important concept about note making Many of the students might be interested to know what kind of notes you are making and what is the art of making notes Especially for socials like damnation. So how did you make the notes? So note making I think is very key in the sense The process is going to be painful in the beginning and it was painful for me also Because one page article my note will be two pages For some reason I never understood how to make concise notes But it was just only through practice that one would get there So if anybody is starting this process my advice is initially it is painful But you will eventually get there And my idea was to pick each keyword from the syllabus Like if it is agriculture, if it is foreign policy, India, US, India, China So I would have notes for each of those topics one by one And every time I go over something that I think is good for mains or prilams I would just keep adding to it and I used to make handwritten notes But you can easily do it on one note, every note or whatever platform you choose to do it You are making later on the precise notes which you could really refer to and then revise later on Correct? Absolutely But I would... You were not knowing what to do so you in just in place of one page You were making two page notes But eventually I learnt to make it shorter and another good resource I found was There is a not making method called Cornell's not making method Where they give you when you listen to a lecture how to make notes So towards the end of my preparation to make it concise, I would follow that method You followed the app there? What you said? So that is called Cornell C-O-R-N-E-L-L So there is a university where they have a certain method of making notes That is interesting for the audience to know Yes, so I started using their method of making notes towards then So it will be very helpful Did you learn that method? Did you join any course or do you have some online to learn? Absolutely not, it is just a template that you can get in any not making app Or when you are in college it is just a method of writing down your lecture notes It is not even anything, it is just how you write, why, what, when Okay, that is it So these are the basic parameters of following that, right? Very good See a lot of things are there to remember, most of the students have this fear How to remember so many things Because the process of the exam is quite long And then you are reading a lot of things, so how will you remember? This is a very elementary question, but an important question for the people who are going to start How to remember? A lot of things, what do you have to say about that? I will start by saying one thing, trust the process Because mostly all of us who have cleared this exam might be saying the same thing Just, you start by reading, making notes and revise But this is something everybody says, which means there is no other way to do it, there is no shortcut to do it So to remember all that you have to do is make notes concise and revise, re-revise and revise again Especially for problems Your struggle comes how to make that material where you are going to revise You cannot revise a five page note for a single topic So every time you revise, you are going to retain some amount of information at that point Whatever you cannot retain, for me it was numbers, I could not retain any number at any point So after I have read anything, I would make a separate chart paper with the percentages, years, any numbers that I wanted Because that was my weakness, I would just go and read that once in a while, so I would retain it So the mantra is to always revise, re-revise and try to have it visually somewhere to look at it once in a while Very nice, very nice Uttar, now my next question would be related to how to read newspaper and prepare for current affairs Okay, most of the time students have this issue, you might have also faced what is important in the newspaper What is not in the newspaper, in which newspaper to read, how to read, these are the basic bothering questions What do you have to say about that? So I'll start by answering which newspapers to read I personally followed the Hindu and I know a few of my colleagues who have followed Indian Express as well So pick one or two newspapers and if you press for time, one is good And how to read, again, I go back to the two clues that UPSC have given us to understand what they expect of you Which is the syllabus and the previous year question papers So there is a lot of politics, there is polls, there are certain things that might be appealing to you But you're here to write an exam and clear this one exam So maybe you take that clue that UPSC has given you, so I would go from syllabus and look at the newspaper So after doing this few times, every time I look at an article I knew, this is corresponding to this topic in the syllabus, so I need it And you will understand that only with practice, eventually, initially it took me four or five hours to finish a newspaper But once you have done that process for some time, I will start understanding this is needed for this exam I will take that note and I will add it to my notes, whether it is for brilliance or for mates So that is basically how I was doing my newspaper reading and not making from newspaper So basically, you studied through the syllabus, you understood what topics are going to be important And you also referred to the previous year question to understand, is it correct? Yes, so then you have to relate between the syllabus and the previous year question paper The syllabus tells you what they're going to ask and previous year question papers telling you how they are going to ask that topic So you see secularism, but how is secularism going to be a question, we can understand only from the previous year question papers How much time you used to give to newspaper? Initially it took me a lot of time, but towards then I would spend mostly two hours, two and a half hours reading Hindu newspaper And you were reading some specific newspaper? No sir, I was reading Hindu and towards main preparation and interview I referred to Indian Express as well Ok, it is two papers and then you focused on all these things And also I used to do, there is something called monthly policy review that PRS India gives out Which is very useful I think, so I used to follow that And sometimes there are telegram channels from the institute that I joined And many premier institutes have it, where they will send you some good articles from all across the internet So you don't spend a lot of time looking for these things So if you have professional help you also get compilations from premier institutes But one big question with the student is rather it's a problem, there is a lot of information overload Coming from a lot of sources there, so identifying relevant source and sticking to a few of them is really a big challenge Did you also face such problem in the beginning and later on you focused on a few? Yes absolutely, because right now I have ended up with at least four editions of Lakshmikanh Because I thought I need to buy the next one to stay updated But I am telling from my experience it's a big mistake There are two things you need to think about when you are looking at the material or the resources required So firstly you don't have a lot of time, so you have to consolidate your material If you don't consolidate you cannot revise So every time you write something consolidate put everything together, so material consolidation is very key Second thing is limit your resources, take some time, spend one or two weeks To understand where you are going to study each keyword in the syllabus from, it will take time But once you have decided do not waver, if you do you are going to go far and wide So stick to the resources that you have chosen and consolidate your resources for a revision This is what I did This is very very important in case of reading through one resources three four times If you are going for different resources one one time, how fartedly that would not help So it is very important And it will also make you nervous because you cannot finish the one that you started And now you have another new book that you need to read So it will actually affect your mental stability and emotional stability The basic idea is not to finish books but to finish the syllabus Relevantly, right? That is very important The next important thing goes about time management How much to spend time and how to manage your time Right? Many of the starters in this race, they always have a fear or say a lot of doubts That they would have to give up everything in the world And 17 hours 15 hours they have to dedicate That will be there is no any personal life like that Do you think it is a correct statement? I personally I do not think that is right Because after you study the exam, what I usually say is then you have to study yourself The only person who can tell you how to manage your time is you So for some people, if they sit for four hours, they have the concentration of eight hours And for someone like me who actually have to sit 17 or 12-15 hours a day But my productivity might be different So it is up to you to personally decide how much time you can spend a day But could the key word is productivity How would it be productive? You can sit in front of a book What were you average working hours for this exam? Since this was my last attempt, I really had to push myself to clear brilliance and means So I did spend almost 12-15 hours a day If I am not attending classes You are right I know people who have cleared this exam were working professionals, mothers, full-time mothers So it is all about the productivity It is not about the number of hours that you put in So how much time concentrated you can remain And how much productive that is very important What was your normal schedule in the routine? Ride from sleep to exercise or study? Did you have some plan, structured plan or not? I didn't have it broken down to I'll wake up at this time, I'll do this But I would always have a schedule on how much to finish So I was mostly focused on finishing topics rather than I'll study for two hours, three hours So I would have a set timetable for I'll finish this by this many days So I used to stick to that And based on my mood and my sleep heart, whatever I felt like sleeping And as I have mentioned, my husband was in US while I was preparing So there is a time zone different So I had to adjust to talk to him Like their morning is our late night So I would just focus on the fact that I would study this much by the end of this week Not like I'll spend so many hours on it Were you compromising your sleep also or having six to seven hours sleep at least? I would compromise on my sleep for two days And then I'll realize on my third day that was a mistake Then I have forgotten everything that I studied in the first two days So to be consistent and to actually I would borrow the words of another topper, this is not like a sprint This is American So you have to have a strategy which is consistent for you Consistency, that is what it is So if you sprint for two days and you're burned out And then you're exhausted third day, you're wasting your day So you don't compromise on your physical health You have a very powerful word, consistency is very, very important in this examination Right, that is very good That is correct Uttara, basically the students always find The problem of how to remain motivated You know, it's a long journey, you also had See, year's journey You left your very lucrative job there in the US, came here So definitely sometimes with you, especially when you miss twice Some thoughts might have come Whether you did a right thing by quitting the job and coming to India Whether you would be able to qualify, what will happen Did you also pass through such kind of phases? I think I've been fortunate enough to not dwell on those thoughts Because my support system is really good So every time I would ask that question, my family, my husband would say It doesn't matter, you still have one more attempt So if you don't clear it, you can always come back So I was lucky enough to have that system And my motivation or my advice is Find something within yourself to motivate you You're looking for something external like I want to be famous or I want status See, all those things will go after some time So for me it was I want to prove to myself that I can do this This is a very tough exam, it requires a lot of dedication And every other exam is one month preparation This is something that is a cycle of one to one and a half years So I wanted to prove to myself that I can do it So my motivation was from inside And the thought that I can do something and be part of something that is bigger than myself So that's all inside me that was motivating me And I think that is the kind of motivation that sticks with you Right, so you have some driving force that I have nothing to lose I have to gain something, if I get it here I have accomplished my mission, right, that is a very good project Now, how well begun is half done, you know, this is all saying is there You might have seen in initial two attempts there, right So you definitely made the integrated provision for pre and mains both, right But to be sure to qualify in pre is also very, very important Because if you don't qualify, then you don't get a chance to go in the mains also there We are right now very close to the civil service exam in 2020 pre Both coming on 4th of October, right So here, especially for the students who are stuck in the pre Especially like you who could not make earlier or do want to make a sure sort of that What kind of basic tips you would like to see to share with the people Which will help them to make some kind of surety to qualify in the pre So I will, like we have the basic things that you have to do is first identify Whether your resources are right, identify whether you're actually So for me, the major thing was are you practicing enough Are you actually simulating the feeling that you get inside the exam hall enough So that is something that I think makes a big difference from performing really good in all the mock tests Studying all the material, but on the day of the exam, you're not able to actually get to the same point So simulate that feeling as much as you can practice as many mock tests as you can So these are two things that I did differently for to clear my problems One more thing I would like to add is you're consistently finding a difficult in your problems and you're not Talk to someone about why you picked the wrong answer when you picked one So for instead of just learning that right answer, see we all know problems You can anybody who has prepared well can only do 40 answers 100% right The rest is there is elimination technique guessing game to actually get that what I did is I was preparing with a friend So we would discuss why someone chose that wrong answer Talking aloud about your thought process helps you identify. What is that consistently wrong thing that you're doing? Why is your brain going in that wrong direction? So I think that is a tip that I took from a few mentors that I met on the way and I practiced it Which made a big difference to me. There are certain mistakes which are committed by the students in the exam hall also, right? Yeah, you write form managing their alertness level or Managing their own stress and anxiety, right? Yes to the performance in the exams and all So what would tips you would like to give for the students who go under such kind of stress and anxiety? Which is how they can overcome it and the purpose can be better there in the exam I understand this is a very tough exam and a lot of us have been preparing for this along Time, but if you can at least for that one hour before the exam and one hour after the exam Just think of this is just another exam This is not your life or death situation if you don't clear this you have some other job This is a very good job, but this is not the end of life. So get into that mindset I have nothing to lose. This is an exam. I still have my life So if you can be in that mindset throughout the exam, I think that is what I did I just thought this is just another exam. I don't have to be afraid of that So that is a mindset which you can get through mindful meditation Practice some yoga and have good people and peers to talk to but get into that mindset to not be afraid of the exam I think that really helps in that two hours that you're actually in the exam Hey, it is always or fully said that fear of failure becomes the real reason of failure So if you're always being dominated by fear that I lose it or you most likely you are held up So that your performance will go so excellent What you're saying is that you should go with stress-free mind and don't think it's the end of your life This is a big platform. It will teach you a lot. If you succeed It is going to you get it there Even if you are missing something you are going to get something better in life So if you go with this idea will do better very nice. That's very well said Hi, my name is Ranjeetha Sharma. I have secured rank 130 this year in the civil services exam 2018 and I'm getting into the Indian police services with this rank Here I'd like to mention that I appeared for a mock interview at Chanakya right before my final interview and The atmosphere provided here at the mock was quite similar to my actual interview And it helped me remain calm The feedback provided at the interview was really really helpful because it not only helped me Understand the areas that I needed to work upon But at the same time the positive feedback helped me stay motivated in the run-up to the interview because The time is very very crucial So I'd like to thank Chanakya IS for all the help offered Thank you so much Now Coming to the main part of the examination that is the mains right The there are a lot of papers for the studies paper one is a paper Right and then two options one options subject and two of papers. They are also variety of sittings are there So when it is a question of shifting the mind From pre to mains, of course you have to make integrated preparation, but when you shift your mind from pre to mains What should be the fundamental approach for the mains to handle? So the way I approached it as I actually thought from the From the jobs I kind of did a reverse engineering the administrative job So you need to have really good knowledge like you have to have pinpoint facts to make your argument But then as an administrator, you have to move from use that pinpoint facts that you learned in problems And as an administrator, you need to use that in policymaking to analyze a topic So I wouldn't consider both those two different things So it means they're analyzing a factor with the help of facts that you have learned in prisms So something that you learned in prisms becomes an example in your mains Right. So always try to think of that whenever you see a topic, but you see you're coming across an article Think which part of the syllabus it applies to and as a policymaker as an administrator How can I analyze this topic and then what example can I give it in that topic which becomes your answer for prisms? So I think that is one way to actually look at it and when it comes to interview How can I as an administrator communicate all these things to the third person? So just think of the job you are doing and they do reverse engineering to understand the requirement of things So when you write answer, of course, this is all knowledge best things they are in like history, geography, quality, economy I think you're reading there But do you think as compared to university exam, there is a different approach for appearing in this main examination There is a limited standard. They are already fixed at 10 plus to standard for their studies Optional subjects will be a graduation level So with your experience, what solution would like to give to the students who are not able to make a difference between university exam and this exam? My first thing is what I have done in my last two attempts to not underestimate this exam If you are a serious candidate, you really want to clear this exam, you have to take it actually with a pinch of salt This is a very serious competitive exam So in college, you're not competing. You're just getting a percentage You're not competing with anybody else And the syllabus is clearly defined for you. The books are clearly given to you But here you are aspiring for top administrative posts. So the exam will definitely be like that Your competitors are actually spending a lot of time. They started preparing from very young age So do not underestimate the exam. Do not underestimate your competition And this is a cycle. In college and school, you will have one exam, a semester exam or a mid-break exam But here the cycle is three for almost one and a half years. So you have to be consistent. You cannot just study for one month So do understand the exam and really get the fact that this takes a lot of consistent hard work for almost eight to nine months or even one year So I think that is a big difference Okay, that's very and the kind of questions which are being asked to you They are checking more of your administrative ability than your scholarly and research ability Yes, sir. That is a good point that I left out actually So this is actually Analyzing you as a person who is aware of what is going on around you In school or college, you can just study the book and get away with it But you are as a person you're expected to know what is going on around you And you have less than seven minutes to write an answer So you can pretend to be someone you are not you don't have the time to pretend to be someone else So whatever you have ingrained in you actually shows in the paper So during your preparation try to be that person who's a good administrator. That is perfect Very well said very well said what optional subject you had was wrong. I Was I did political science and international nations. This is very interesting to know for the audience again You are engineer with electricals, right? And you chose to take political science to how to select an option is again a very important thing Would you say your experience? How did you select your optional and especially landed to take political science as your subject? So for me, I was very keenly interested in international relations As a person like even before I started preparation. I just liked how the whole entire world system worked I was always amazed by it. So international relations was something I was really interested in So naturally when I started preparing for the exam I went and looked at the syllabus for international PSIR And I just realized that there is a lot of overlap between political science PSIR optional and also with the GS preparation So that was one major thing for me Especially because I was studying optional in my last attempt the first two attempts I had not even studied for main sword for my optional So I had to find something that had an overlap and also it really helped me with other GS papers like GS1, GS2 And it takes it really gave me an edge and essay writing. You are learning all these different views. It actually helps you with essay writing And also with interview. You are learning a lot of what I did have a lot of I mean not a lot, but I did have a few IR questions also in my interview So I think that was another thing that one can look into. But the first and foremost thing is your interest I mean, yeah, PSIR is not the only optional I was waiting for the same because I also most of the topers have discussed with and even I always suggest students Unless you have interest in the subject, you will not be able to take it forward. That is That is very key that you have an interest to study the subject and also third thing I think is do you have enough support system? Like is there a mentor available? Is the books available? Are you able to actually talk to someone about your doubts? So I think these are the three things. I don't believe that there is a scoring optional or anything. It's just primarily your interest And how you are able to manage it with GS preparation and how you can actually get help in actually preparing for it Very nice. So now a few tips for those who want to take political science as optional subject How they should begin and they can do good in the subject. Just try to give a few words for that For everything the first and foremost thing I say is look at the syllabus and I used to make One by like keyword each keyword from the syllabus I would have notes and I as I had already mentioned I decided these are the three resources I'm going to use I will not go into anything else And so I made I took the keywords from the syllabus I've made comprehensive notes using my resources and I stuck completely to it I was also lucky enough to have mentors who been pointed to me. These are the clear topics So I would suggest seek help Do not mean if you're a person who can do it on your own well and could no problem But I needed help so I sought professional help from people who knew what you can do it Well, that is another thing that would really shorten your time and improve your productivity Another thing is answer writing when it comes to political science and I international nations Practice for writing, right? Yes, and also understand the difference between GS answer writing and your optional answer writing That is very key and especially This will be very interesting Topic to understand because how to write in DS and how to write in Austin. So please elaborate that So I always do the reverse engineering from the job profile to the exact So yeah, G is they're trying to see as a generalist administrator How you're going to do it so you're expected to know the social political economic International all those impacts of this topic that is given in front of you But then when you actually think about the job You will be posted in one stick you could be a secretary for a certain Economics or you could be an economist or you would be in ground level work So optional actually checks Are you able to study one topic in depth in certain time and express that not just be a generalist But can you also be a specialist? So you have to understand that is the skill that they're looking for between GS and PSIA So take that one idea that you have and beautifully express it that is what I think I did in political science and international Now we'll talk about personality test you have gone once in personality test right interview That's always a dream for the students that one day I'll go to the Dharupur house and appear in the exam, right? If you have an interview pre-corona or post-corona situation Pre-corona, I was on the second day of painting. Okay, so you had a quite in the beginning itself Yes from your experience. What do you think the selectors want to see you in personality test? What I understood is do you have presence of mind in my experience? It's all about presence of mind. So again, I go back to the same thing You're in a job if you're an IPS officer, you immediately have a law and order problem You need to have the presence of mind to deal with any situation that is put in front of you So I think that is and that years of experience they can understand if you have presence of mind So even if you say blunder even if you don't know the answer I think it's just are you present there? Are you listening properly and are you actually communicating to see you always say answer to the question Do not digress, which actually shows you have presence of mind So I believe what they're looking for really is are you actually present there with your full attention and all your faculties right there? Okay, that's and you definitely have a wide range of questions there So Would you like to say some of your experiences that when you entered in the board? Who was your chairman? It was bones laser Okay So overall how it all began and the progress happened there in the interview with some of the Important questions which you first would you like to share that? So sure. Um, so mine was the four known session and I was the last one to go And I was kind a little bit nervous, but then again, I went back to my Common thing like okay. This is just another interview. This is not end of the world So I was able to stay calm throughout the interview But so sir asked me just introduced me a little bit and And moved on to the first members the interesting thing was while the first member was asking question He stood up and went to the bathroom And he was not present until the third member of fourth members started asking So I was kind of nervous Did I do it that bad or that terrible that he didn't want to listen to me? And while I'm talking to one member all the other members are Talking like giving like Asking for tea asking for hot water So there was a lot of talking between them while I'm talking to a single member I think I don't know if it's intentional But I was still able to continue that single conversation without getting distracted with all these things around you're right And this is also a method to check whether you can focus even there are some distractions or not But the person you are talking are you able to concentrate there when there are some this kind of Normal disturbances going around you Yes, so I kept telling myself but do not be Distracted just stay focused So I think that is why I got the feedback that they're looking to see if you have presence of mind right there That is presence of mind in any case is always the most important factor to go Yes situation any question where you found you were held up and you found difficult to come out Yes, I had a quite a few questions that I could not answer And I was so when I was doing mock I was told if you don't know the answer just say I don't know So I decided to say That is very well But they did not accept that has the answers so mostly I was like, okay So you don't know let us find out if we can help you to get to that answer So he would make me say things make me say things make me say blunders And then he would tell me the answer But he will not take I don't know for an answer for me So I think they were testing if I actually break down at some point I think that is what they're trying to check your level of strength along you can Continue with then you go in the bluffing side But you still maintain your points in all the odd situation also Very well very well said Now Udhra since you have already got selected for several services Right and you're going to definitely get one of the top most services in sense in the government, right? How do you see your career ahead for another 30 years or 35 years ahead? I don't know exactly the way it is going to go But like I said, wherever I go and whatever I do, I just hope I just to give it my best Like I prepared for this exam and my private presence of mine And also it is very humbling and honoring to be part of something so big like to be part of this nation building It's so humbling. So I just hope I do my best and I do not let down the people For the country that's very very powerful So Udhra, I wish you all the best and great career ahead in several services And I appreciate your decision tough coming back to the country by quitting even the lucrative job of us And there's need of people like you to really serve this country Right who are really willing to serve not just getting carried away by you can say pump and so off the western world Okay, so wish you all the best and god bless you with a lot of success in your career Thank you sir. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my story to a lot of people and aspirants And thank you so much. I also enjoyed talking a lot with you. Thank you Don't forget to like share and subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon to never miss an update