- Candidate profile
- Education
- Introduction
- Electronic Vs Paper material
- Tempo and style
- Struggle of a Senior player
- Prelim (CSAT) General studies
- Prelims (CSAT) Aptitude
- Prelim accuracy
- Mains: Compulsory language paper
- Mains: Essay
- General Studies (Mains) paper 1
- General studies (Mains) paper 2
- General studies (Mains) Paper 3
- General Studies 4: Ethics, Integrity, aptitude
- GS4 Ethics case study answers in Mains 2013
- Mains answer-writing?
- Commerce optional?
- CSE-2013 Marksheet
- Career Backup
- Insecurity about profile
- Wisdom
- Credit: Friends/family
- Marketing Propaganda
Candidate profile
Name | PARTH GAUTAM SHARMA |
Rank in CSE-2013 | 294 |
Roll No | 176967 |
Age | 23 |
No. of previous attempts in Civil service Exam | 1 |
Optional Subject | COMMERCE AND ACCOUNTANCY |
Medium chosen for Mains answers | ENGLISH |
Schooling medium | ENGLISH |
College medium | ENGLISH |
Home town/city | GWALIOR AND BHOPAL |
Work-experience if any | NOPE |
Details of other competitive exams, including success/failures | NOPE |
Details of coaching, mock tests, postal material for any competitive exam (if used) | i joined rankers classes and srirams.. but given that i had always remained in hostel since childhood, i always had the habit of relying more on self study.. Hence in did not attend it much. |
Education
% in class 10 | 87 CBSE |
% in class 12 | 94 CBSE |
Schooling (Medium) | ENGLISH |
Graduation | BCOM(HONS) |
College | 2011, HANSRAJ COLLEGE, DELHI UNIVERSITY |
Post-graduation | NOPE |
Any other professional courses | NOPE |
Hobbies & Extra curricular | Watching current political debates, financial investing, big cats ( i wrote this in the mains form) |
Introduction
Q. Tell us something about yourself, your family, when and why did you enter in this field of competitive exams?
My initial inspiration for this exam was my father. He is an IPS officer, cleared the exam at a very young age with a very humble background. He insisted me to start preparing for this exam just after my graduation. He always impressed upon me the advantages of getting into the services early given the amount of difference you can make. Hence I started preparing for this exam from august 2011. Ā In my first attempt I did not clear because I had public administration, a subject if I had today as my optional, I wouldāve been out of the list. Thanks to my graduation that I could do justice to my optional in both the attempts. I was very impressed with the way my father and his batchmates used to talk and wear. Ā I would like to thank specially my mentor Nitin Singhania(rank 51 batch 2012) who guided me realistically through the tough time and the countless people who gave me hope( im sorry itās a long list). I thank you Mrunal for making my preparation easier. I have very high regards for people like you who never gave up and truly inspired me all this while.
Electronic Vs Paper material
Q. In recent times, there is spur in electronic material- blogs, sites, pdfs, RSS-feeds. Many aspirants feel bogged down by this information overload. So, how much do you rely on electronic material and how much on the paper material (Books, newspapers)? If possible narrate a typical day in your studylife. What is your style of preparation (e.g. I continue making notes no matter what Iām reading, I just read multiple times but donāt maintain notes, I make mindmaps on computer ā¦or xyz style)
Iām not that tech friendly person to rely much upon electronic materail.Ā 99% of my preparation was from paper material either books or coaching material.Ā One point Iāll like to stress for my fellow aspirants- please do the hindu newspaper very very very nicely at least an year prior to your mains⦠I used to cut out clippings of my newspaper specially of the editorial and oped section and it helped very much in analytical questions.Ā It surely is worth the effort.Ā No magazine or material can supplement that.Ā Trust me. Ā I supplemented my newspaper with visionias current affair material which was more than enough.Ā Current affairs apart, for static portions and topics I made it a point to refer to maximum of 2 sources and kept on revising it⦠it paid me dividends. Ā I hope my fellow aspirants do adopt this strategy.
Tempo and style
Q. On an average, how many hours do you study? How do you keep study momentum going on? How do you fight against the mood swings?
Never kept a record on the number of hours studied but it wouldve been around 7 hours. Ā Mood swings were very common to the extent of I doubting myself and being a total skeptic about my caliber and potential. Ā I was however priveleged to have good friends and room partners who never let the hopes die and kept on telling me that its just a matter of time that your name figures in the list. Ā I thank them all.
Struggle of a Senior player
After 1-2 failures in any competitive exam, a phase of mental saturation comes. The person knows the booklist, he knows what is necessary to succeed. But it doesnāt yield result. Social and psychological pressure keeps mounting. Youāve cleared exam on second attempt. So, whatāre your words of wisdom to other senior players? If any specific inspirational incident(s), please share.
I do believe its very very disappointing to not get results after youāve invested so much of time, money and effort. Ā I shall urge all my senior players to please read the story of my friends arpit jain( rank 194 2013 batch) and specially pavitra kumar dubey( rank 388 2012 batch). Ā Im sure you will start hoping and dreaming again that yes we can and we will. Ā Please do get to know how, when and in what circumstances did they clear this exam
Prelim (CSAT) General studies
Topic | strategy/booklist/comment |
History Ancient | NCERT |
History Medieval | DIDNāT DO. |
History Modern (Freedom Struggle) | SPECTRUM |
Culture society | |
Polity (theory + current) | Srirams Plus Newspaper And Vision |
Economy (theory + current) | Srirams Plus Newspaper And Vision |
Science (theory + current) | NEWSPAPER AND VISION IAS SCIENCE MATERIAL |
Environment (theory + current) | IGNOU, CRACK IAS AND SHANKAR IAS MATERIAL |
geography physical | 11TH NCERT NEW ONE |
geography India | 11TH AND 12TH NCERT |
geography world | NCERT |
other national/international current affairs | NEWSPAPER And vision ias.. it is enough.. wanna do more?? Do Yojna and All India Radio |
Schemes, Policy & Filler Stuff | Srirams and vision material |
Prelims (CSAT) Aptitude
Topic | strategy / booklist |
Maths | TMH |
reasoning | TMH |
comprehension | TMH |
Decision Making | TMH |
Any observation / comments / tips about GS prelims?
PRACTICE AS MANY MOCKS AS POSSIBLE.. AIM FOR 170 PLUS IN CSAT
Prelim accuracy
Q1. Did you attend any āmock testsā? do you think theyāre necessary for success?
I used to get the mock tests being sold in the market to my home.. They help you very very much specially for CSAT.
Q2. Approximate no. of attempted answers vs. correct answers. in CSAT-2013
attempted | correct | |
GS | 85 | 67 |
aptitude | 80 | 77 |
Q3. Your score in prelim (when UPSC uploads it please mail me your score)
Mains: Compulsory language paper
Q1. Please fill this table
Compulsory language paper | Your preparation strategy / booklist? |
English paper | NO PREPARATION |
your regional language | PRACTICED WRITING HINDI FOR TWO DAYS PRIOR TO THE EXAMINATION. |
Q2.other observations / tips / comments on the length / difficulty level of compulsory language papers in CSE-2013
Please donāt play with them
Mains: Essay
Q1. How did you prepare for the essay paper?
This was my weakest part.. I didnāt write a single essay before my mains.. But i wont suggest people to follow my approach.. Practice 2 essays in a month and get it checked by your friends or teachers.. Do read newspapers nicely for fodder points
Q2. Which essay did you write? What key points did you include in it?
I wrote about the āGDP (Gross Domestic Product) along with GDH (Gross Domestic Happiness) would be the right indices for judging the wellbeing of a countryā.
I picked this topic because of my BACKGROUND AND OPTIONAL.. INTRODUCTION WAS ON WHAT DEVELOPMENT WAS AND MEANS TODAY AND THE NEED FOR INDICES TO MEASURE IT⦠EXPLAINING WHAT GDP IS WHY REQUIRED GOOD POINT BAD POINTS⦠BAD POINTS TOOK ME TO GDH.. WHAT IS IT,, WHY IS IT REQUIRED, GOOD POINTS OF THE INDEX, BAD ONES
CONCLUDING BYĀ SAYING NO INDEX SHOULD BE USED ON A STAND ALONE BASIS.. BOTH SHOW DIFFERENT AREAS OF SOCIO ECONOMIC WELL BEINGā¦
General Studies (Mains) paper 1
Topic | How did you prepare? |
---|---|
culture | NITIN SINGHANIAS NOTES |
Indian history | SPECTRUM |
world history | NCERT 9TH 10TH AND 12TH |
post-independence India | DID IT ONLY TILL 1956.. BUT EITHER GUHA OR YELLOW BOOK SHALL SUFFICE |
Indian society | SYNERGY NOTES |
role of women, poverty etc. | SAME |
globalization on Indian society | SAME |
communalism, regionalism, secularism | SAME |
world geo physical | 11TH NCERT 12TH NCERT GC LEONG AND VAJIRAM MATERIAL FOR MAINS |
resource distribution | Same |
factors for industrial location | Same |
earthquake tsunami etc | Same |
impact on flora-fauna | Same |
General studies (Mains) paper 2
Topic | How did you prepare? |
---|---|
Indian Constitution, devolution, dispute redressal etc. | Srirams |
comparing Constitution with world | Vision ias |
parliament, state Legislatures | Srirams |
executive-judiciary | Srirams and newspaper |
minsitries departments | Same |
pressure group, informal asso. | Srirams( pressure groups and NGO is very nicely given) |
Representation of peopleās act | Srirams |
various bodies: Constitutional, statutory.. | Vision |
NGO, SHG etc | Sriramd |
welfare schemes, bodies | Newspaper |
social sector, health, edu, HRD | 12th plan full reports |
governance, transparency, accountability | Arc report |
e-governance | Arc report |
role of civil service | Srirams( nicely given) |
India & neighbors | Newspaper and vajiram printed material( very very good) |
bilateral/global grouping | Same |
effect of foreign country policies on Indian interest | Same |
diaspora | Not done |
intl.bodies- structure mandate | Vajiram material |
General studies (Mains) Paper 3
Topic | How did you prepare? |
---|---|
Indian economy, resource mobilization | Srirams( very very good) |
inclusive growth | Srirams |
budgeting | Vision value addition material( good) |
major crops, irrigation | Vision |
agro produce ā storage, marketing | Vision and srirams |
e-technology for famers | Vision |
farm subsidies, MSP | Vision and srirams |
PDS, buffer, food security | Vision and srirams |
technology mission | Vision and srirams |
animal rearing economics | Vision and srirams |
food processing | Mrunal first two articles |
land reforms | Vision and srirams |
liberalization | Vision and srirams |
infra | Vision and srirams |
investment models | Vision and srirams |
science-tech day to day life | Only current science done from vision and newspaper |
Indian achievements in sci-tech | |
awareness in IT, space, biotech, nano, IPR | |
environmental impact assessment | Insightson india website link |
Disaster Management | Srirams |
non state actors, internal security | Vajiram and als |
internal security ā role of media, social networking site | Vajiram yellow book |
cyber security | Same |
money laundering | Same |
borderĀ Management | Your article |
organized crime, terrorism | Vajiram |
security agencies- structure mandate | Als material |
General Studies 4: Ethics, Integrity, aptitude
Topic | How did you prepare? |
---|---|
ethics and interface, family, society and all the hathodaa topics | Only synergy classnotes |
attitude, moral influence etc. | |
civil service: integrity, impartiality, tolerance to weak etc | |
emotional intelligence, its use in governance | |
moral thinkers of India and world | How many did you prepare? |
ethics in pub.ad, accountability, laws, rules etc. | |
corporate governance | |
probity in governance, work culture | |
citizen charter, ethics code, work culture etc. | |
challenges of corruption | |
case studies on above topics |
Any other comments, word of wisdom after going through the mains-2013.
I canāt help my fellow aspirants with gs4 coz I still donāt know which material is good. Wait for rank 1 to spell it out.
GS4 Ethics case study answers in Mains 2013
Q. in GS4 ethics papers, please give a sketchy overview of your case study answers:
Ans. I couldnāt do any justice to these question, so plz spare me.
case | your approach/answer |
1: RTI: To hide or not to hide | |
2: Engineer: Bogus flyover vs deadline | |
3: Child Labourers in Sivakasi | |
4: Nepotism in Job recruitment | |
5: Leaking information |
Mains answer-writing?
Q1. How was your experience with the āfixed spaceā answer sheet?
Thereās too much space⦠like way too much
Q2. Did you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs? Some players (who cleared mains and got interview call letter) were claiming that they wrote entire paper in bullet points, so it doesnāt matterā¦.whether examiner is asking āexamine, comment, discuss or xyzāā¦.simply write in bullets and points.
It doesnāt matter.. I used both paragraphs and point form.. but usually explanation and elaboration I did using paragraphsĀ and discuss comment evaluate and analyse were in point form.
Q3. In GS papers, Since UPSC came with those 100 and 200 words questions. What was your approach in the exam (I wrote all, I only focused on the questions where I could answer perfectly, I just not to high quality points to reach the word limit etc.) Because the UPSC aspirant Community is divided over what counts as a āgoodā paper. Some experts claim you should attempt all- even if it involves āmaking upā an answer with filler lines, some claim attempt only those questions you know perfectly. Where do you stand on this?
I attempted 1660 out of 1750.. but did try my best to maintain quality by mentioning as many points as possible.. I think regular answer writing shall resolve the dilemma between quality and quantity.
Q4. Did you use highlighters / sketchpens in your answers?
Nope. Only in commerce paper by highlighting the important point using a pencil
Q5. Did you draw any diagram in any paper? (e.g. in GS1 Geography)
Yes only in commerce paper2
Q6. If yes, did you draw diagrams with pencil or pen?
Pencil
Q7. Did you use ruler to draw the lines in diagram? Or did you just make it by hand?
No ruler used
Q8. You wrote the answer in blue pen or black pen?
Blue pen
(Mrunal ā since readers keep mailing such queries, therefore Iām asking the topper to clear all the air haha.)
Commerce optional?
Q1. Your booklist strategy and analysis for the optional subjects. Please provide an elaborate reply on this because in last three years, difficulty level & scaling has become very tough in all optionals. Therefore, old āstrategyā articles on internet are pretty much toothless. So, please throw some new light please.
Please do rankers classes classnotes and printed material very very nicely.. it is MORE than enough⦠nothing more is required.. RS sir keeps on updating his material.. do pick up the most updated one.. trust me donāt go anywhere else
CSE-2013 Marksheet
Q. When UPSC uploads the Marksheets, please mail it to me so I can include it in your interview article.
Sure
Career Backup
Q1. If you were not selected, what was your career backup plan?
Given that I belong to the field of finance and commerce, I had thought of giving rbi or any banking sector job.
Q2. when were you going to āexecuteā that backup plan? (e.g. after __ failed attempts/ after I cross __ age/after dad retires/after GF dumps me/ etc.)
Had I failed in my second attempt.
Insecurity about profile
Q. Many candidates prepare sincerely but constantly live under fear about āprofile insecurityā. Iām not from a big college, Iām not from English medium, and I donāt have work-experience. What if they ask some stressful questions in the interview about this? Did you suffer from such insecurities? What is your message to these candidates?
I donāt think any such insecurities should be there⦠I do admit unfortunately that having these things is an advantage but not having these is not a disadvantage. UPSC is quite fair in assessing you the way you are presently and not your past. My friend Pavitra Kumar Dubey had none of these, did he not clear? Even my father dint have any of these.
Wisdom
Q. Through this journey and success, what have your learned? What is the wisdom of life and competition?
Know your boundaries well, work hard within those boundaries and never ever give up. Because if you do, your dreams are shattered. Live life only to see your dreams being materialized and not to see them being blown away just because someday you lost the courage.
Q. What is your message to the future aspirants?
IF YOU THINK YOU CAN, YOU WILL.
IF YOU THINK YOU WONāT, YOU WILL NEVER EVER SUCCEED.
Credit: Friends/family
Q. Behind every topper are many people who stood by during those uncertain times when he/she was merely an āaspirantā. Would you like to tell the world, who were those people in your case? Any specific incidence that you would like to share with the readers?
I thank my parents, roomates (special thanks To Ashish Dikshit, Shashank Sharma And Ankit Jalan), friends and allmighty god for making this possible. Ā I remember when I failed in my first attempt when I had worked very very hard for it that why the hell didnāt luck favour me??, why did the commerce paper come so tough, why did pub ad got butchered and not the other optionals? Whats my mistake in it, why the hell that I always heard nothing is impossible with hardwork did I not get selectedā¦my roommate replied to me sitting on the other side of the bed āfortune favors the brave and luck favours the hardworking and you didnāt get through because god wanted to teach you humility in lifeā. Ā I do believe yes this was the case because given my ego centric personality at that point in time, had I cleared then, I wouldāve never been able to become a better and a humble human being and I wouldve never learnt what failiure wanted to teach me and that was hope and humility. Ā I now think Iām over it and hence truly deserved to be in the list.
Marketing Propaganda
Q. You are well aware for the sacred rule of conducting toppersā interview- the last question must be about self-marketing. So, Did you use Mrunal.org for your preparation and if yes, how did it help you?Ā And you can even reply āNoā. Iāll publish your answer without tempering/editing it.
Yes I did in all those areas where no guidance was possible and no source was available.  Your topics on the economy portion were class apart. And yes I did your current affairs as well for my last and final attempt. I only have one request please do even cover editorials of the hindu⦠I know sir youre overloaded with work but I suggest you to stop covering pib and do the edit and op-ed instead.  Thank you very much sir.
Mrunal replies: that [PIB] series was later subsumed into [Current] series, so now it encompasses PIB+noteworthy topics from Hindu, IE, Frontline and EPW.
can u pls tell what books to refer for paper 2 ??
Hello….parth sir…
I want to know that if someone plans geography as an optional subject for upsc…then which coaching or books or whose classes notes will be beneficial?
..sir there was an article about NITI ayog somewhere.. I m not able to find it..can u pls tel how shud I search it..??
Dear sir.
Mera naam guru hai aur mai LLB first year me hu aur mai upsc ki preparation bhi start kiya hu but thoda confuse hu ki GS aur aptitude ki preparation ke liye sahi book kon si hogi
congratulations sir for your success …..to giving answer maximum aspirants i didn’t saw anywhere . thank you so much….
Partha Guatham Sir,
Hopefully i would be writing mains for 2015, please guide me the books to be followed for paper 1 & 2 along with strategy to be followed.
i dnt have time to join classes as am a working professional. please guide me in doing the commerce optional well.
What is your Message? Search before asking questions & confine discussions to exams related matter only.sir please tell me how to prepare for IAS while doing graduation i.e.simple bcom.
sir please tell me how to prepare for IAS while doing graduation i.e.simple bcom.
Those like to know everything please mail to me drrajeshsp#gmail.com iam teaching commerce as well as having good exposure in that area for both papers1 and 2