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| Rank: 1 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Shubham Kumar | 878 | 176 | 1054 |
Background
Shubham had been aware of UPSC examinations from a young age. Shubham spent the starting 4 years of his school studies in his village and then moved to Patna for further studies. Shubham completed his B.Tech in civil engineering in 2014 from IIT Bombay. During his time at IIT Bombay, he was a very active student and used to play various sports. He was also the cultural secretary of his hostel. It was in the same institute that he finally, objectively decided to join Civil Services.
Path to Success
It took him 3 attempts to secure AIR 1 in UPSC examinations. What kept him going through the failures was the love & support of his family and friends.
Advice to Aspirants
- Shubham urged aspirants to maintain a good friend’s circle, which would work as a great center for support & motivation.
- Stay away from social media as much as possible, as it creates a lot of distractions.
- During UPSC preparation proper time management is the only most important thing.
Strategy
- In his 2019’s attempt, he took as many as 70-75 mock tests, and in 2020 prelims, he took 40-45 mock tests.
- During his mains preparation, he used to take 1-hour mock tests daily and a full-length 3-hour mock test every third day. He says mock tests are a great way for analyzing strong and weak areas and work on them.
- Speed is very crucial for cracking UPSC Mains Exam. You have approximately 10-11 mins for each question. Try to find which pen is comfortable for you.
- Try to keep your answers on point and very precise. Focus on conveying your ideas other than just filling pages. Talking about his subjects, he told he had Anthropology as his optional subject in Mains.
His Vision
- He wants to work for the holistic upliftment of Rural India, and improve the overall education & financial level of the people from such areas. He also wants to come up with a solution to manage the flood situation in Bihar.
| Rank: 2 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Jagruti Awasthi | 859 | 193 | 1052 |
Background
IAS Jagriti Awasthi’s age is 24 years as of 2021. Her marital status is unmarried. She is a confident and dedicated person. Jagriti Awasthi’s education has been completed at Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal. She was working in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) before starting her UPSC preparation.
Path to success
It took her 2 attempts to secure AIR 2 in UPSC examinations.
Strategy
- Initially, she studied for 8 to 10 hours. Eventually, she increased it to 10 to 12 hours, and about two months before the exam, she further pushed it to 12 to 14 hours.
- She has managed to work positively on the study plan and has succeeded in it.
- She prepared online study material and read the newspapers daily. She emphasized the optional subject which is sociology to gain maximum knowledge and high scores.
| Rank: 3 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Ankita Jain | 839 | 212 | 1051 |
Background
Ankita Jain was born and brought up in Delhi. She did her B. Tech in Computer Science from Delhi Technological University. After completing her studies, she worked in Qualcomm Private Limited, Bangalore for 14 months. Later, she joined Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as a scientist through her GATE score. Afterward, Ankita Jain was posted at one of the prestigious posts of UPSC, Audit and Accounts Services in Mumbai, after securing a rank in the second attempt. She is married to Abhinav Tyagi who is an IPS officer. Her sister Vaishali Jain has also scored AIR 21 in the civil services examination 2020.
Path to success
Ankita’s success came in the fourth attempt. On the second attempt, she passed the exam. However, she didn’t get the desired rank. She joined the Indian Account Service and continued to prepare for the UPSC exam.
Advice to aspirants
Ankita says that before appearing for the exam, it’s crucial that one is familiar with the syllabus and has the basics clear. Ankita said that the failed attempts had helped her in understanding the exam pattern better.
Strategy
- Her optional subject was philosophy.
- She consistently studied at least 6 hours a day and studying NCERTs books till the 12th standard helped her in building the base knowledge.
- She prepared with her sister, Vaishali Jain who scored AIR 21. Both the sisters claim to have shared notes and helped each other stay motivated throughout their journey.
| Rank: 4 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Yash Jaluka | 851 | 195 | 1046 |
Background
Born in 1995 in Jharia, Jharkhand, Yash Jaluka at the age of 26 years cracked the civil services exam in the first attempt. He completed his initial schooling until class 8th from Jharia, and then shifted to Odisha, where he studied until the completion of class 10th. Yash did his 11th and 12th from Delhi Public School, Bokaro, Jharkhand. He then moved to Delhi and completed his bachelor’s in Economics from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and got his Master’s degree from the Delhi School of Economics. Yash started his UPSC preparation right after completing his Masters’ course in 2019 and did not join any coaching. He took Economics optional for the UPSC CSE Main
Path to success
Juluka at the age of 26 years cracked the civil services exam on the first attempt.
Strategy
- The preparation strategy followed by Yash allowed him to indulge in a minimum of 8 hours of preparation every day.
- As a part of his strategy, he spent approximately 3-4 hours reading the newspaper diligently and ensuring that every single part of daily news was covered and notes based on the same were made instantly.
- He also maintained proper notes on each topic, along with its historical background, and referred to one book for each subject.
- Apart from this, the journals and monthly editorials in newspapers and current affairs magazines are the key sources that he considered during the course of his preparation.
- Given below is a list of a few important UPSC books and sources that Yash referred to for prelims and mains preparation.
- R.S Sharma’s Old NCERT for Ancient History
- Class XI & XII NCERT
- History of Medival India by Satish Chandra
- A.L Basham – The Wonder that was India (for Buddhism and Jainism)
- Indian Polity by Laxmikanth
- How India sees the World by Shyam Saran (for static International Relations information)
| Rank: 5 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Mamta Yadav | 855 | 187 | 1042 |
Background
Mamta Yadav was born in Basai, India, in 1996. She is an Indian Administrative Service officer by profession. She completed her education in a local Delhi school before enrolling at Delhi University’s Hindu College.
Path to success
This was her second attempt at UPSC Civil Services Examination. She took this exam for the first time in 2020 and received a Rank of 556. She began training for the Indian Railway Personnel Service after being selected.
Advice to aspirants
The most important thing would be that your optional subject should be something you love reading. If the subject does not appeal to you, it will be tough to maintain your excitement across numerous efforts. Because you’ve already spent 3 or 4 years studying it, choosing an optional from your graduation stream can assist.
Strategy
- Mamta opted for Physics as the optional subject as she did her BSc in Physics Honours. She did self-study for the optional paper.
- Learn to debunk all of the Civil Service preparation myths and misconceptions.
- Not just gaining conceptual clarity but also being able to link it with the present scene is becoming increasingly important.
- Begin with devising a comprehensive and integrated plan for the UPSC civil services prelims and mains examinations. Divide the year into 12 months by designating months to subjects that have a clear strategy.
- Lastly, figure out how the test questions are phrased. This procedure necessitates a thorough examination of all prior years’ questions, with a keen eye on what has been asked and why.
- Attempt as many questions as possible, then evaluate why your questions were incorrect and how you may have done better.
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| Rank: 6 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Meera K | 835 | 206 | 1041 |
Background
Meera completed her B Tech in Mechanical Engineering from Government Engineering College, Thrissur in 2016.She got a job in Bengaluru through campus selection. However, she had an inclination towards public service. She gave her first attempt in UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2017 without much preparation. The result was as expected – didn’t qualify. She quit her well-paying job and went back to Kerala to start her UPSC journey.
Path to success
In her second attempt, she qualified Prelims and Mains. Still, luck was not completely on her side. She missed the final selection by a narrow margin of 12 marks. Bad luck continued her in the third attempt too. This time she missed Prelims by just one mark. In her fourth attempt, she qualified Prelims, Mains, and Interview and landed as a UPSC Topper by securing All-India Rank 6!
Advice to aspirants
Meera says, “don’t blindly follow or copy any strategy. Know your strengths and weakness and prepare your own personalized study plan”.
Strategy
- Meera believes in the importance of self-notes for success in the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
- For each topic mentioned in UPSC Syllabus, Meera prepared her own notes using pen and paper.
| Rank: 7 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Praveen Kumar | 848 | 193 | 1041 |
Background
He hails from Jamui in Bihar and belongs to a simple middle-class family. Praveen studied from Jamui in Bihar and wished to qualify for the Engineering Entrance Exam and become an engineer. He cleared JEE Main and went on to study in IIT Kanpur. However after he completed his B.Tech from such a prestigious institution, he did not wish to sit for job interviews but study for Civil Services Exam.
Path to success
He succeeded in his third attempt at UPSC which was in 2020.
Advice to aspirants
He found the problem in the first two attempts to be him following the strategy set by someone else. It was not working for him. He suggests that everyone should follow their own strategy depending on own capabilities and mental caliber.
Strategy
- He followed a few books but read them thoroughly and made a separate strategy for Prelims, Mains and Interview.
- He emphasizes reading newspapers and magazines to get connected with the entire globe at the same time.
- He also suggests the candidates prepare separately for Prelims, Mains & Personality Test of UPSC CSE.
| Rank: 8 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Jivani Kartik Nagjibhai | 858 | 182 | 1040 |
Background
After completing Class 12, Kartik cracked the JEE examination and landed admission in the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai in the Mechanical Engineering field. In his fourth year in college, Kartik Jivani decided to pursue a career as a civil servant and started preparing for the UPSC exam in 2016.
Path to success
He failed in his first attempt in 2017. However, after grinding it out for three years, Kartik was successfully able to crack the UPSC exam in his second attempt. He obtained a rank of AIR 94, thereby securing selection as an IPS officer. He reappeared the next year and climbed ten places to AIR 84.
Advice to Aspirants
He mentioned that reading for many sources won’t help you. You should pick one newspaper and one current affair from a coaching institute.
Strategy
- To crack his exam, Kartik Jivani a 10-hour study regimen and did most of his UPSC preparation during at night.
- Kartik has stated in the past that he chose smart work over hard work. He took guidance from several places and books.
- He took Geography as his optional subject. He summarized his entire notes in around 50 pages.
- Practice the elimination technique in the exam hall. To get better in this technique, solve a lot of mock tests before the exam day.
| Rank: 9 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Apala Mishra | 816 | 215 | 1031 |
Background
Apala Mishra was born in the Uttar Pradesh district of Ghaziabad. Mishra attended school in Dehradun until the tenth grade, then moved to Delhi for grades eleven and twelve. She then graduated from the Army College of Dental Sciences in Hyderabad with a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery and went on to work as a dentist. Apala claimed that by the time she was in her final year of dentistry, she was leaning toward civil service because it provides a lot of work opportunities. Anthropology was her optional subject. She intends to work in the field of health, with a focus on women’s health.
Path to success
This was her third attempt at UPSC Examination. She could not clear prelims in her first two attempts.
Advice to Aspirants
She then devised a study schedule of 7-8 hours per day. She believes that coaching centres can help them, but they must study by themselves at the end of the date. “Balance your emotional and mental health because this exam will put your patience to the test. Have faith in yourself that you can succeed,” she says.
Strategy
- She says that one should revise the basic books as many times as possible.
- Practice a lot of MCQs & PYQs, and write as many mock exams as possible. When you don’t get a question, then make the answer a part of your notes, so that you don’t forget it.
- One should go beyond the static portion, in the mains examination.
- She studied for 7 to 8 hours every day and used a timer to keep track of how much time she spent on each topic.
- She used the basic books as well during her preparation. Apart from that, she used Google and Youtube to find online study materials to help her understand topics that were not covered in the basic books.
| Rank: 10 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Satyam Gandhi | 827 | 201 | 1028 |
Background
Satyam Gandhi was born in 1999 in the Samastipur district of Bihar. He completed his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya. He was an intelligent student from childhood. He was even topper in his 10th and 12th with a science background. Then for his graduation, he moved to Delhi. There he pursued Political Science at Dayal Singh College, Delhi University. In the third year of his graduation, he started his UPSC preparation. He worked on his subject and hence took Political Science International Relations as his optional subject.
Path to success
In the very first attempt, he secured 10th rank all over India.
Advice for aspirants
Satyam Gandhi does not believe in any single or set plan to clear UPSC. He believes that everyone should follow his or her plan. But before making a plan they should analyze the pattern for UPSC well. Remember to make shorter goals to accomplish.
Strategy
- He emphasizes the importance of Economics, Polity, and Economics for the prelims preparation.
- He took regular mock tests and test series to track your performance and amend your strategy.
- He planned his time well. He divided his time into months, weeks, and daily targets to accomplish goals.
- Moreover, he prepared a concise list of books for UPSC preparation. He evaluated his strengths and weaknesses.
- He gave more time to weaker subjects like History and Ethics. He spends hours memorizing dates and events of historical background.
| Rank: 11 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Devyani Yadav | 842 | 182 | 1024 |
Background
In 2014, Devyani graduated in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering from the Goa Campus of BITS Pilani. Thereafter she took up a job in the private sector.
Path to success
Devyani Yadav, who secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 11 in 2020, attempted the exam four times before she was successful. She attempted the UPSC CSE for the first time in 2015 and again in 2016, however in both these attempts she was unable to clear the prelims. In 2017, she made progress and reached the interview stage but did not find her name in the final list. In 2018, her fourth attempt, she secured an AIR of 222 and was allotted to the Central Audit Department.
Advice to aspirants
“Being 100 percent honest with yourself while preparing is very important. No matter how many attempts you have given, approach each exam with a clear mindset. Overconfidence and under confidence should both be kept away from you,” says Devyani.
Strategy
- Focus on limited resources while ensuring that you spend maximum time in revision.
- Mock tests are a great way of self-evaluation. Devyani recommends solving a minimum of 40 tests before attempting the exam.
- Striking a good balance between answering questions you are unsure about and completely unaware of is an important aspect. “I would attempt between 85 to 90 questions”, she says.
- Various online portals are useful for aspirants.
- Pick the last 10 years’ prelims paper and ensure that you go through them with a fine-tooth comb.
- As much as content is important, remember that presentation is also a key aspect.
- Make comprehensive notes in your own words. Optional paper requires extensive reading and making notes for that is prudent. However, content for general studies is readily available in note format, so you can skip it,” says Devyani.
| Rank: 12 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Mithun Premraj | 845 | 179215 | 1024 |
Background
Mithun Premraj was a diligent student since childhood. After class 12, he studied medicine at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry. He then received a diploma in public health from the Indian Institute of Public Health, New Delhi.
Path to success
He took the exam for the first time in 2016 after a year of preparation, but he failed. Three times, he also advanced to the interview round but failed. Finally, in the fifth attempt, he succeeded in 2020 and became an IAS officer by securing All India Rank 12.
Advice to aspirants
He says, “be confident, calm, and positive. If you find the topics difficult to understand you should join coaching.”
Strategy
- He created a certain interest in the subject of Geography and thought of opting for it as an optional subject.
- He motivated himself so that he doesn’t lack motivation in the middle of the preparation.
- It is important to be in a stable position during the exam as when you rush in you make mistakes.
- He Started from easy topics and gradually proceeded towards harder topics, made notes after completing each topic for understanding better, and revised and took practice tests to check his preparation.
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| Rank: 13 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Gaurav Budania | 850 | 173 | 1023 |
Background
He was born and brought up in Churu, Rajasthan. He completed his high school in the small district of Rajasthan, Churu. Later on, he went to college at BHU where completed his graduation in Mining Engineering and after that, he completed his Master’s in Sociology. He secured All India Rank 80 in the GATE exam. Gaurav Budania’s medium was Hindi. He gave his written exam in English and during the interview, he chose the option of Hindi language to answer.
Path to success
Gaurav is one of the lucky candidates who cleared the UPSC exam in the first attempt.
Advice for aspirants
According to him, hard work, the right strategy, maximum revision, making notes, practice answer writing, and a positive attitude are very important for success. Gaurav says that always keep the sources of your preparation limited and follow the strategy completely.
Strategy
- Budania chose Anthropology as his optional subject.
- He shared a special tip on how to choose the best optional subject, you just need to pay attention to your strengths and weaknesses, in that way you will be able to find out which subject you are good at.
- According to Gaurav, he first saw the syllabus and then decided to go ahead with limited books.
- For Mains, make notes and revise as many as you can.
- According to him, by working hard in the right direction, you can get success in this exam on the very first attempt.
| Rank: 14 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Karishma Nair | 834 | 187 | 1021 |
Background
Karishma Nair hails from the Palakkad district of Kerala. She has lived in Mumbai for the past 20 years, where she finished her education. She earned a B.Sc. in forensic science and spent a year in Delhi studying for the UPSC.
Path to success
This was her second attempt. She had made it to the interview round in her first attempt but couldn’t make it to the final list.
Advice to aspirants
Karishma believes in hard work, proper strategy, limited books, maximum revision, answer writing practice, and a positive attitude to clear the UPSC CSE exam. And do not stick to NCERT only, visit government websites also, and do value addition to your preparation,” she advised.
Strategy
- She focused on reading newspapers daily, watched TV news channels, and studied the syllabus pattern thoroughly.
- Karishma’s optional subject was Public Administration. According to her, one must choose their optional subject after analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.
- She had a separate notebook in which she jotted down the significant themes from the sample papers that were vital for the examination and concentrated on them.
- She advises that the final 2 months before the examination be spent taking as many fake exams as possible in order to assess one’s own performance.
- Too many exams should not be taken before you are well-prepared, as low scores might lead to a loss of confidence.
| Rank: 15 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Ria Dabi | 859 | 162 | 1021 |
Background
Ria Dabi who resides in Delhi has completed her Graduation in Political Science from Lady Sri Ram College, New Delhi.
Path to success
She cracked the UPSC Civil Service Exam 2020 in her first attempt and secured an all-India rank of 15.
Advice to aspirants
Ria Added that most aspirants make the mistake of collecting too many resources for the study which makes their preparation more confusing. So it’s always better to stick to the syllabus.
Strategy
- She admits that she used to devote 10 hours per day and she started preparing for this exam just after she completed her graduation.
- According to Ria, the key to success in the UPSC Exam is consistency in studies. The other things that are required for UPSC IAS Exam preparation are discipline, dedication, and patience.
- Ria said she used to study fiction and do a painting to lower her stress.
- She started her day by reading the newspaper. She took approx. 1.5 hours to read it. Special attention needs to be given to the editorial as this offers great material while writing the essay answers at a later stage.
- If there is news about a specific event or occurrence, she tries to make a note of it and tries to find relevant information related to that event and collect them in her folder. This helps her in retaining information about that news.
- And most importantly, she revisits the notes every few days so that it remains fresh in her mind.
- The news articles that Ria usually cut and pastes in her folder are articles that include Newly launched government schemes, information about any summit or conference being held, articles about the environmental condition in the country and international relations, etc.
| Rank: 16 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Arth Jain | 853 | 168 | 1021 |
Background
His hometown is Jabalpur where he was born and raised. He currently resides in the capital city, Delhi. Arth Jain completed his schooling at Sanskriti School, New Delhi. After this, he did Mechanical Engineering from IIT-Delhi. In the second year of his graduation, he decided to prepare for UPSC. He kept his optional subject mathematics.
Path to success
In 2019, he gave his first attempt at CSE. In this attempt, he was not even able to clear prelims. Rather than getting disappointed, he reflects on where he went wrong.
Advice to aspirants
“On exam day you should relax and have faith in yourself. You should not be busy revising your notes. Rather you should smile and say clearly yes I can do it”, he says.
Strategy
- Arth Jain emphasizes the importance of revision. He says that everyone should at least revise each book three times rather than reading nine books at one time.
- Every candidate should read the syllabus at least three times and then divide their time accordingly. They should give more importance to weaker subjects. Moreover, special importance should be given to optional subjects. One should give at least 50% of his time to his optional subject preparation.
- According to Arth Jain, candidates should opt for the subject that is more scoring and which they find interesting.
- Arth Jian divided the syllabus into different smaller goals. He set his daily and weekly targets. This gave him a clear roadmap.
- You should also read answer sheets of previous year’s successful candidates. This will give you a clear idea of how to structure your answers
- According to Arth Jain, everyone should give attention to this scoring subject. They should practice writing one to two essays daily.
- For the interview, candidates should be ready for questions related to their DAF.
| Rank: 17 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Sarthak Agrawal | 822 | 195 | 1017 |
Background
Sarthak was born in Old Delhi and after spending a few years, moved to Gurugram, Haryana. He completed his schooling at Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj, and had scored 99.6% marks in class XII, and emerged as the CBSE topper for that year. He did BA (Hons) Economics from Sri Ram College of College (SRCC) Sarthak completed his master’s and did M Phil in Economics from Oxford University. At the time of his selection for UPSC, he was working at the World Bank as a Researcher in the Poverty and Equity Global Unit.
Path to success
He cracked the exam in his very first attempt with barely 5-6 months of preparation.
Advice to aspirants
“The strategy worked for me, but it may not for someone else. The idea should be to absorb insights from a variety of sources and use them to arrive at what makes the most sense for you”, he says. Finally, he would suggest not going with any preconceived notions in the ethics paper. It is one of the easiest papers to write, but the hardest to prepare. “Instead, if one spends plenty of time thinking deeply about the ethical issues that confront civil servants in India and develops an independent and innovative perspective on them, they should do well”, he says.
Strategy
- He did not enroll in any coaching classes but referred to the study material that was available online on various reliable portals.
- His strategy did not comprise making too many notes as that could have been a time taking procedure for him. He rather relied on reading things again and again to get a better understanding of them.
- For prelims, he focused on reading newspapers more than reading any particular book. As for mains, he worked on his answer writing skills.
- For prelims, he used a combination of common-sense, elimination, and intelligent guessing.
- He consulted some free resources regularly — Live History India, Down to Earth, IndiaSpend, The Diplomat, PRS Legislative Research, and ORF publications.
- Sarthak took many mock interviews to get a better understanding of how to present oneself and answer questions in front of the esteemed panelists.
- He enrolled in a General Studies and essay test series 40 days before the Mains and ended up writing over 25 full-length exams. I received good feedback, some of which I incorporated.
- He believes his approach to his optional subject Economics was different from those of others. He looked over undergraduate textbooks because he only had three months to study for the mains and a lot to cover. For his second Economics paper, he read academic literature on the economy and what is going on in various sectors.
| Rank: 18 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Radhika Gupta | 838 | 179 | 1017 |
Background
She is a resident of Alirajpur, in Madhya Pradesh. Radhika completed her schooling in her hometown only and did B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from GSITS, Indore. After the completion of her graduation, she started working with Honda Motors for a year. Later, she decided to quit her job in order to prepare for UPSC. She wants to work for the upliftment of tribal and women’s education.
Path to success
In the year 2019, Radhika appeared in the Civil Service exam for the first time. She got selected for the IRPS services. This was her second attempt.
Advice to aspirants
She stated, “If we rigorously study for 8 to 10 hours each day, that preparation is as fruitful as spending 14-15 hours. I have an interest in sports, hence I shell out a fixed amount of time to play table tennis every day. It helped me keep my mind rejuvenated during the preparation and also killed the monotony.”
Strategy
- Radhika used to study for 9-10 hours and follow a timetable. She made sure she had time for her hobbies. However, she kept herself away from social media sites.
- Radhika followed general books including Laxmikant for Indian Polity, Spectrum for Indian History, NCERTs for all subjects, and some online platforms.
- For other main subjects, she relied on self-study. She chose Anthropology as an optional subject.
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| Rank: 19 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Shashwat Tripurari | 852 | 165 | 1017 |
Background
Shashwat Tripurari from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, secured an all-India rank of 19 in UPSC Civil Services Examination 2020. Shashwat is an alumnus of IIT Delhi and passed out from the institute in 2018. He immediately started his preparation.
Path to success
This was his second attempt at UPSC Examination. Previously, he had cracked UPSC Civil Services 2019 in his very first attempt with an all-India rank of 78.
Advice to aspirants
He insists every aspirant should read the news daily, instead of just relying on monthly magazines.
Strategy
- When Shashwat initially started his preparation, he started with the previous year’s question papers. This gave him a clear idea of which angles of a topic he must pay more attention to.
- He followed this up by looking through the syllabus thoroughly. This allowed him to only study topics that UPSC mentions in its syllabus, instead of getting lost in a vast array of information. Stick to standard books only and keep your sources as limited as possible.
- Initially, Shashwat had joined a coaching institute, but he soon realized self-study was the way to go for him. Since his initial year’s rank was quite good, he realized his strategy was favorable and made tweaks to his original plan to improve on the few areas where his marks could improve.
- The first step he took was to work harder on his Anthropology Optional, which helped him pull his rank up.
- Shashwat puts a lot of emphasis on reading the daily newspaper as the UPSC Civil Services Examination has gradually become very dynamic, including in the Preliminary Stage.
| Rank: 20 | Mains | PI | Total |
| P Srija | 831 | 184 | 1015 |
Background
P Srija is a resident of Hyderabad who originally hails from Warangal. She is a graduate of the Osmania Medical College. As a medical professional, she had selected medical sciences as her optional.
Path to success
She cleared the exam on her first attempt.
Advice to aspirants
Her advice to aspirants is “don’t be too hard on yourself. Be practical and have a plan B”.
Strategy
- She began by deciding on short-term and long-term timelines for her preparation. She started with her optional preparation first as the weightage is very high.
- Along with her optional, she completed ethics too as the rest of the subjects are common to prelims and mains.
- She emphasized the importance of economics and polity for prelims and mains both. These subjects also help us understand current issues better.
- After she completed the main subjects including history and geography, she prepared the other minor ones.
- She started practicing mocks four months before prelims by writing 1 mock every three to four days. Not just this, analyzing the scores on these tests is also very important.
- For mains, answering writing can be started once we complete half of the syllabus. She also wrote answers to mains questions once in three to four days and timed herself.
- For current affairs, she combined newspapers with insights IAS daily current affairs and monthly current affairs magazine.
| Rank: 21 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Vaishali Jain | 835 6 | 177 | 1012 |
Background
Vaishali Jain has pursued her B. Tech from Delhi Technological University. There she was a gold medalist. She did her post-graduation in M. Tech from IIT Delhi. She was again a gold medalist there. Her optional was mechanical engineering.
Path to success
After M. Tech, she started preparing for UPSC. In 2019 she gave her first attempt. Unfortunately, she was not able to clear even prelims back then. This was her second attempt.
Advice to aspirants
“Your environment affects your thought process. If you live in an inspiring and motivating environment you can think and work better”, she says.
Strategy
- According to Vaishali Jain, time management is crucial for your preparation. She gave her preparation an engineering thinking, she writes down how many hours is the demand and what is the supply for it.
- She gave around 11-12 hours daily for preparation. According to her, if she set a higher time limit she would easily study for at least 9 hours efficiently.
- According to Vaishali Jain, she has solved different papers to understand the exam pattern and question type nicely.
- She said that she divided her syllabus into smaller targets. Hence she was able to achieve those small goals that combined and gave her big success.
- She also emphasized the importance of exercise and yoga.
| Rank: 22 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Nitesh Kumar Jain | 805 | 206 | 1011 |
Background
Nitish Kumar Jain belongs to Bihar. He holds a B.COM degree from the University of Calcutta, West Bengal. He had opted for commerce and accountancy as an optional subject in CSE 2019.
Path to success
He started his preparation in 2019. This was his second attempt.
Advice to aspirants
The key to success in this examination is to have faith in yourself and maintaining a positive attitude.
Strategy
- He emphasized the importance of current affairs and reading newspapers.
- He kept his sources limited and revised them multiple times.
- He formed his preparation strategy around the UPSC syllabus and referred to it again and again.
- Answer writing plays a crucial role in the Mains exam so he emphasized practicing mocks.
- It is very important to remain conscious of your physical and mental health. He recommends spending some time with family and friends to reduce stress and regular exercise for maintaining health.
| Rank: 23 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Sadaf Choudhary | 804 | 206 | 1010 |
Background
Sadaf, a native of Joya, a small town in the district along the National Highway, graduated from LSA Amroha with an Intermediate diploma. With a 10 CGPA on the board high school examination CBSE year 2010, she was the district’s top student. In 2012, she received a 91 percent on the CBSE Board Intermediate Exam. Following that, she passed the JEE Mains exam. She was accepted into NIT Jalandhar. From here, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. In 2016, she started working for an American bank and remained in Delhi until 2018. In the year 2018, she left her job. She began her preparation for the IAS on her own, without any coaching.
Path to success
She cleared the UPSC exam on her second attempt.
Advice to aspirants
She advises the candidates to also pick the subject of their own interests, which will add them a benefit. She asks aspirants to Remove all negative thoughts from their minds and focus on the task at hand.
Strategy
- Sadaf’s optional subject was Political Science. She was always interested in the subject and that was a game-changer for her.
- Separate files or notebooks can be kept for different subjects. Many people prefer files because they make it easier to add notes to a topic. This is especially useful when adding current-events-related news to a specific topic.
- She admits when taking an exam as difficult as the UPSC, revision formed a crucial strategy of her preparation.
| Rank: 24 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Krishan Kumar Singh | 801 | 209 | 1010 |
Background
IPS Krishan Former Manager in Reserve Bank of India, RBI. He graduated in Computer engineering. He has studied at Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology. Krishan belongs to Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Path to success
He cracked the UPSC CSE examination initially in 2018 with AIR 181 and then in 2020.
Advice to aspirants
He says, “If you have the potential and trust towards something, don’t quit even after failing, rather put more effort and prove your dedication and skills”.
Strategy
- He chose Public administration & IR as his optional. The reasons being, “my comfort and compatibility with the subject, easy availability of material, and its scoring nature.”
- Mr. Krishan said that the answer-writing is the most important section. The candidates must practice answer-writing for their Mains exam.
- According to him, the 10 markers can be prepared at the end but the 15 and 20 markets require a lot of analysis and proper structure, so these should be prepared properly by giving adequate time.
- He said that while writing the answers, one should write in paragraphs where each paragraph should represent a different cause, argument, or motive. It helps define the topic concisely and precisely.
- You should include theoretical aspects in the applied papers i.e. section B of both the question papers. It balances your answer well.
| Rank: 25 | Mains | PI | Total |
| Vaibhav Rawat | 814 | 195 | 1009 |
Background
Vaibhav Rawat is a native of Rajasthan and a graduate of the Institute of Technology – BHU (IT-BHU). He held the 7th rank in the All India Science Olympiad. He worked at Samsung R&D before attempting the UPSC Exams.
Path to success
This was his second attempt where he acquired the 25th rank.
Vaibhav Rawat opted for the Indian Foreign Services (IFS) as it was a passion to represent India on the world stage.
Advice to aspirants
Along with being well prepared for the exam, one must also focus on their own attitude. It is not enough to be well prepared with the subject knowledge at hand but also to be mentally prepared for the UPSC exams which will help immensely in the final interview.
Strategy
- Understanding the requirements of the UPSC Syllabus is a key step. That way candidates can have an idea of what they can expect in the exams themselves.
- In the UPSC Mains, mastering the art of answer writing is crucial as some of your characteristics will be assessed on the quality of the answers you will write.
- It is highly recommended not to wait for the UPSC Prelims results in order to start preparing for the mains because the time gap between the two stages is not enough to practice answer writing. One must practice the same at the very beginning of the UPSC preparation.
- One must remain motivated despite any setback that may come about, by giving their best no matter what. This way the candidates will be clear-headed and focused on their goals and that will help them immensely.
