C.S.C. : Heartiest congratulations to you from Civil Services Chronicle for your success. How are you feeling about it?

Abhishek Saraf : Honestly, it is a feeling of relief. The CSE chapter of my life has ended and it ended on a happy note. It also feel humbled and overwhelmed at the same time by the result. I never expected such a high rank. I was expecting a rank around 100.

C.S.C. : What is your inspiration for becoming an IAS officer? Whom do you give credit for your success?What is the role of family and others (teacher, friends) in your preparation and success?

Abhishek Saraf : I am naturally inquisitive. I like to learn new things from a wide variety of sources, apply what I learn in daily life. IAS provides the best opportunity for that. This motivated me to join IAS. The fact that IAS officers along with other civil servants contribute to the largest cross section of society and in the most direct manner inspired me to become an IAS officer.

I am eternally grateful to God Almighty for bestowing this success upon me. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to my mother. I would give the biggest credit to her. But credit also goes to my brother and sister-in-law, my whole maternal family and dear friends (especially Shubhanshu Jain, IPS) without whose support it would not have been possible.

My family supported me financially, logistically as well as emotionally. They gave me full freedom to write as many attempts as I wanted to no matter how much strain it put upon them. They dealt will all the problems that arose themselves without even telling me so that I can study free of any stress.

I would like to thank my friend Shubhanshu Jain, IPS for his critical inputs to my essays without which such result would not have been possible. I got 105 marks in essay paper in CSE 2017 and 79 marks in CSE 2018.. this is 40 marks below average. Hence, improvement in essay paper was critical for my success and I thank Shubhanshu for it. I would also like to thank Anmol Jain (AIR-14 CSE 2019) for his help in interview preparation.

C.S.C. : What strategy one should follow for preparing Examination General Studies Prelims & Mains? Did you integrate your Prelims and Mains preparation or was it separate?

Abhishek Saraf : As the name suggests, general studies is about working understanding of things. One has to balance depth with width of knowledge of the subject matter. Other than that, memorize the syllabus because that will help you sort out exam relevant material from whatever you read. It is advisable to read the toppers answer booklets. That will enable one to understand the depth of content that needs to be covered and also tricks topper use to improve presentation. It is advisable to do answer writing practice for at least 8-10 months in the first attempt. Answer writing practice will help only if answers are either reviewed by senior aspirant, selected candidates or self review based on top voted answer if one is using websites. Writing practice can be reduced further as one proceeds to second third attempts.

Special mention can be made of the ethics paper, it is more about application and less about theory. Not more than 20% of the answer should be composed of theory and 80% should discuss real life application of ethical principles. Examples from one’s own life and life of other accomplished people can be used.

Essay preparation- Two years of subpar performance (105 marks in CSE 2017 and 79 marks in CSE 2018) made me realise that essay paper is not about volume of content and the depth of knowledge. It is about diversity and broadness of perspective. The closest analogy I can give to make my point is that of a balanced diet. A balanced diet is supposed to contain all the major and micro-nutrients needed for human survival. Just like that in an essay there has to be a balance between a various perspectives of the topic. UPSC expects candidates to be knowledgeable thinking and analytical persons. Knowledge gets tested in GS papers and thinking and analytical capacity gets tested in essay paper. Lastly, you have to write only 2400 words at the maximum in 3 hours. GS papers make you write 4000 words. Less written words means UPSC has given time to think. So if you have brainstormed on a topic for 20 or so minutes, then UPSC has the right to expect some sort of learning or a logical way ahead that can help make improvement to the state of affairs. That is what the essay should be about- a discussion on the state of affairs from positive and negative perspectives, an analysis of the cause and a solution for a better future. Dear candidates, kindly do not just spill the existing knowledge in the paper. It will not yield you marks. Give your new perspective and an insight.

I oriented my preparation and answer writing strategy as per the above approach. And hopefully it yielded benefits. For Prelims- Yearlong preparation with self-notes. Revision in last one month with test series. Overall target was to finish 4000-5000 question including quizzes and full length mock tests for Paper 1 of prelims. Quizzes had to be solved all year long and notes have to be made.

Preparation for prelims and mains has to go all year round but separately. Even in the 1-2 months same books have to be read for prelims as well as mains but focus has to be on facts for prelims and analytical part for mains.

C.S.C. : How much time did you devote for This exam Prelims, Mains,Interview,Optional ? How did you manage your time in both prelims and mains examinations?

Prelims

Prelims preparation has to go all year round. Candidates can devote last 1-2 months for interview preparation as per one’s own convenience. Along with yearlong preparation as mentioned above, I used to devote 1 full month for prelims preparation.

Mains

My optional was civil engineering. Being a civil engineer by qualification as well as having cleared Engineering Services Exam (formerly called Indian Engineering Service) in 2013 provided me a lot of comfort. So I studied optional only between prelims and mains. When I had full day to study, I divided my day into 3 parts. 3-4 hours for newspaper. 4 hours for one GS topic and another 4 hours for another GS topic. When did not, I prioritized the newspaper and did that diligently. Whatever, time I had left over was used for GS preparation.

Interview

Generally it is said that you need 1 month to prepare for interview. But I tend to prepare a little bit more intensively than an average candidate. So it took me around 3 months to prepare for interview.

During Examination- Prelims

Solve the paper 1 in 3 iterations. Fill the bubbles only to those questions which you are 100% sure of in the first iteration. Also sort out and strike off the questions that you are absolutely unaware. Do not look at them again. Also mark the questions that you are partially sure of (for such questions write the options that you think are the possible answers in the question paper itself). In the second iteration, fill in the bubbles to those questions that you can answer with 70% or 60% certainty. In the third iteration go for questions that you have only 50% certainty. (70%, 60% certainty might sound vague but with enough test papers you develop a knack). Make sure you attempt 85-90 questions. Guess work in second third iterations should include at least 30 questions to ensure guess work lead to a net positive score. Learn the art of elimination to maximize attempt and accuracy.

Mains

7 minutes each for 10 markers. 11 minuets each for 15 markers. No prioritisation of questions was done. Attempted Q1 to Q20 in order. In ethics paper, 90 minutes for each part. 7 minutes for each of the 13 markers. 15 minutes for each case study.

C.S.C. : Did you prepare notes? How helpful are the notes? What is your advice on notes-making?

Abhishek Saraf : Yes I did make notes. But only for current affairs. I made my own notes for current affairs for mains as well as prelims separately. I did not rely on any coaching notes. Notes help one to internalise the content faster.. and what you internalise is what you really produce in the mains and interview.

I was particularly unskilled at making notes. So I made notes when I am reading the newspaper and trimmed them down iteratively during revisions. In the third iteration I reached the final crisp concise version that could be used for final revision.

C.S.C. : What was your optional? What was the basis of selecting this optional? What strategy one should follow for preparing .

Civil engineering.

There are various parameters to consider. Some people go by the previous years’ high scores. Empirical evidence suggests some options have consistently yielded higher scores. Sometimes people tend to go by ease of covering syllabus and availability of material in market. Some others tend to go by their interest in the subject matter. I think a combination of these factors with the best way to go by. However, the most important parameter is one’s interest in the subject matter. After all people do get selected from various optionals. If you are really interested in the subject you can work hard enough to become the subject topper in the exam. Otherwise, even in a so-called scoring optional you can end up with mediocre marks.

Civil engineering – College class notes or Distance Learning Programme Material of IES Master, PYQ books of ESE and CSE of Made Easy and Next IAS.

Optional papers can be very scoring and hence one needs to devote sufficient amount of time. Syllabus of optionals is limited while the same cannot be said about GS, which makes the cost benefit analysis very much favourable for devoting time on optionals.

It was relatively easier for me since my optional was my graduation subject and I had also cleared Engineering Services Exam (formerly called IES) of UPSC in 2013. So I could do well even by studying optional only between prelims and mains. I did not require any coaching for the subject either. However, other candidates can strategize as per the need of the subject and their comfort with the subject matter.

C.S.C. : Books and Strategy Prepration of Ethics Paper-IV

Abhishek Saraf : Read Lexicon cover to cover to develop familiarity with basic topics and used G Subba Rao’s book for reference. Ethics paper, it is more about application and less about theory. Not more than 20% of the answer should be composed of theory and 80% should discuss real life application of ethical principles. Examples from one’s own life and life other accomplished people can be used. Answers have to be diversified by invoking various topics and keywords mentioned in the syllabus in each answer. For eg. aptitude, attitude, emotional intelligence, personal ethics, public ethics etc.

C.S.C. : What was your style of writing in the exam? How was it distinct from the general writing style? How did you develop this writing style?

Abhishek Saraf : I wrote all answers in points.

I used data liberally. I tended to write 14-15 points in 10 mark questions and 20-22 points in 15 mark questions.

I could develop this style by making my own notes. It helped me internalise the data and other content better. This helped me reproduce the content better in the exam. I did intense writing practice in my CSE 2017 attempt. Based on a strong foundation, I could progressively make do with less and lesser answer writing practice in the next attempt.

C.S.C. : How did you prepare for interview? Which type of questions were asked in interview? Did you answer all? Was there any specific area they emphasised upon?

Abhishek Saraf : My approach for interview preparation is reading extensively about the topics in my DAF. My mantra is during the interview as far as the question on DAF are concerned you should be able to present something new that the board members might not be aware of. That will instantly move the level of conversation to another orbit and make the board feel positively about you. Preparation should be such that there is a consistency between how you represent yourself on paper (DAF) and how to come across helps in interview. UPSC is looking for an honest, rational and humble person. These traits have to be implicitly presented in your answers. Inconsistency in the answers in the interview shows dishonesty. Mugged up answers shows lack of rationality and are best avoided. Genuineness and humility in accepting shortcomings honestly will help you a lot.

Questions were on my patent application, research in India and abroad, IT sector and competition therein, tourism, Kashmiri Pandit issue, and world history. I could not answer some factual questions on world history. Most of the focus of the interview was on DAF.

C.S.C. : Importance of coaching in the preparation of exam.

Abhishek Saraf : Coachings are not at all necessary for GS. At best coachings can cover the static background in GS subjects. They can help streamline the preparation and provide a good foundation. But these things can very well be done using online sources. Candidates can streamline their preparation by reviewing the answer copies of previous years toppers and getting guidance from peers. I would advise candidates to liberally use online sources as well as recommended material from various coaching classes rather than the classes themselves. I follow insightsonindia, civilsdaily and IASbaba sincerely.

Even in test series, candidates can use coaching’s question papers and get them reviewed by peers and selected candidates. I would recommend against getting copies checked in coaching classes as the quality of feedback is unreliable at best and destructive and misleading at worst.Candidates may go for coaching for optional subjects.

C.S.C. : What is your source of Preparation. Which books, magazines, News papers and online Sources were used by you during your preparation !

Booklist mentioned below

Newspapers

• The Hindu and Indian Express for prelims and mains
• The Hindu, Indian Express and Times of India for Interview.

Websites

• Civilsdaily- daily current affairs, editorial summaries, pib notes and daily quiz
• InsightsonIndia- daily current affairs, answer writing practice, daily quiz, insights into editorial, RSTV summaries
• IASbaba- daily current affairs, editorial summaries, quizes, TLP for answer writing, 60 day plan for prelims, RSTV summaries, AIR summaries.
• Downtoearth- for starting 2 years of my preparation
• IDSA- for starting 2 years of my preparation

C.S.C. : Suggested Book list for Prelims, GS & CSAT and Mains Paper 1 to 4 and Essay

Preliminary Examination Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Aptitude Test): No preparation done

Main Examination

General Studies: IAS Mains Paper 1

• Ancient History by R.S Sharma (Old NCERT)
• Medieval History by Satish Chandra (Old NCERT)- relevant chapters only
• Art and Culture by Nitin Singhania Hand written notes
• The spectrum of modern India by Rajiv Ahir
• Politics in India since Independence (NCERT)
• India since Independence by Bipin Chandra (Old NCERT)
• World History NCERT by Arjun Dev (Old NCERT)
• Fundamentals of Physical Geography (NCERT)
• Fundamentals of Human Geography (NCERT)
• India: Physical Environment (NCERT)
• India People and Economy (NCERT)
• GC Leong
• NCERT on Society
• Newspaper for Environment, Disaster, Impact of globalisation, role of women + google searches

General Studies: IAS Mains Paper 2

• Indian Constitution at Work (NCERT)
• Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
• Contemporary World Politics (NCERT)
• Current affairs notes made by self all year round from Newspaper + InsightsonIndia, IASbaba, Civildaily
• Internet searches for international bodies and other topics
• ARC report + Punchhi Commission reports

General Studies: IAS Mains Paper 3

• Indian Economy NCERTs of class 11th and 12th
• Indian Economy for Civil Services Exam by Ramesh Singh
• Economic Survey and Budget
• India People and Economy (NCERT)
• ARC Report on Disaster Management
• Science and Technology- news and Vision IAS notes
• Challenges to Internal security of India by Mr. Ashok Kumar
• Current affairs notes made by self all year round from Newspaper + InsightsonIndia, IASbaba, Civildaily

General Studies: IAS Mains Paper 4

• Justice Harvard - By Michael Sandel
• Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Examination by G. Subba Rao (just for selective reference)
• Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude for IAS General Studies (main text)
• Administrative Reforms Commission Report on Ethics

C.S.C. : Suggested Book list for Optionals paper 1 & 2.

Abhishek Saraf : Distance Learning Programme material of IES Master and PYQ Solution books for ESE and CSE by Made Easy and Next IAS.