Search results for: “”

---

This is a mail, I had written soon after prelims but did not want it to be sent then. Yesterday the Pre results have come and I am in. So I think this mail, should definitely reach you.

---

I hope this mail reaches all of you.

I want to thank you for everything you had been doing to help us get an edge over others in this world of competition. Saying is one thing, doing is another and helping us in doing things is yet another thing. What makes CD different is CD helps us in doing things, rather than just saying out facts. Dr.V’s tikdam, titbit, Solutions to Previous questions assert this fact. I am very new to CD, may be less than two months. But a major share of my preparation time in last month was spent in using CD and doing FLTs.

I am getting a fair score, which I personally believe should make me sail through Prelims. It might go other way round too. In or Out, thinking about it is an intentional waste of time. Time is the only limited resource we have at disposal, when materials are available in plentiful.

I am writing this mail particularly to emphasize how tikdams have helped me score over questions I had absolutely no clue. There are questions where tikdams have failed in my case. But those I would owe only to my fault of judgment which was not so well refined, due to paucity of time.

The magical one to me is this question about “Doctors beyond Borders”. I had no idea what this thing is. But only thing I remember is Dr.V’s statement that ” such fancy things are only done by non governmental organizations”. This point gave me solid confidence to check all other options (WHO, UN and EU) thus leaving behind an NGO.

2. The question on Pacific Rim was also answered using the technique of Red Flag. All, Only are red flags in that question.

3. ITER is another question which required red flags and tikdam. This is how I solved it.

(a) It can use thorium in place of uranium for power generation.

The question asks for “immediate advantage”. I think that’s the key word. This Op can be eliminated because, we still can’t use Thorium immediately. We have been focusing all the while on Uranium.

(b)    It can attain a global role in satellite navigation.

Like Dr. V says this Op is rubbish.

(c)    It can drastically improve the efficiency of its fission reactors in power generation

Again, ” drastically” is a red flag. So what’s left is D. 🙂 I have the last laugh. :D.

3. Helped me in eliminating Options in the question of Astrosat. 2000kilo is way too heavy to be space lifted for us in the current context. Just a simple thought was sufficient here.

4. Elimination worked again with Mangalyaan question. I was not sure if it was only India and US that orbited Mars. But we never heard of any other country in the context of Mars. So, Option 3 was simply to be ticked because there was no 1 and 2 only as an option.

5. The Curious Case of Rastriya Garima Abhiyan. Never heard of it. But tikdams helped me.

This is how I cracked it.

Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’ is a national campaign to

(a) rehabilitate the homeless and destitute persons and provide then with suitable sources of livelihood.

Eliminated- for the words “suitable sources of livelihood”, yet stood as a tough competitor to Op (c).

(b) release the sex workers from the practice and provide them with alternative sources of livelihood.

Eliminated-  I remember a program UJJAWALA in the similar context.

Plus, it is not practical to “Release” sex workers from the practice.

(c) eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and rehabilitate the manual scavenger

Chose this over (a) because Eradication of Manual Scavenging is most spoken by Government and by all means this did look to have an upper hand over Option a.

(d) release the bonded labourers free their bondage and rehabilitate them.

Again, how is Government going to Release them? Eliminated!

6. APY question was tricky. But why limit pension to one person in a household? This is usually Dr. V’s way of questioning the Options before hanging them to death.

7. EU Stability Mechanism. Never heard of it though I had read a lot on EU. Stability was the key word. What stability would EU, the politico economic body be concerned about. Definitely not – Refugees (a), trade stability (c), and also not the conflict resolution (d). None goes best with Stability. So answer was obviously Financial assistance.

8. I did not know of OPCW. How it worked out was by eliminating Option a which was seen in three options. Option a says of NATO, WHO and EU tie up :D. Why I eliminated? In one of Dr. V’s write up I remember him eliminating an Option GEF is a collaboration between WB, UNEP, ADB etc. He said how can multiple banks come together. Used the same logic.

9. In the case of UNCCD, this is how I eliminated options.

It aims to promote effective action through innovative national programmes and supportive inter-national partnerships.

It has a special/particular focus on South Asia and North Africa regions, and its secretariat facilitates the allocation of major portion of financial resources to these regions.

Eliminated – because it sounded unfair for a global body to focus only on South Asia and North Africa when even Central Asia has deserts. Plus we all know how badly UN struggles with words when it comes to paisa.

It is committed to bottom-up approach, encouraging the participation of local people in combating the desertification.

Chose this because this Option sounded rational, logical and good in terms of progressive governance models.

So 2 out and 3 in. Did not think about 1 because Options helped.

10. Elimination helped in Important regions and Hills question. Knew Nasik was in Maharashtra. That was sufficient.

Some areas where the idea failed.

1. The question on Millets program.

I eliminated Option 2 – Poor, small, marginal and tribal farmers have larger stake in this scheme.

I thought, how could Poor and SMF farmers be placed with Tribal farmers as needs and demands would be different. Plus tribals are always considered separate by giving special protection by the Government. Crash landed! Because three Op had this.

2. FSSAI question!

I had carried a dairy milk with me for the exam. Sad, I must say. It had everything from Ingredients to Additives to Energy content to Veg/ Non veg to Allergens. Deeply confused i had to choose between Veg/Non Veg and Allergens. I thought in 2011 anyways I did not hear about green and Red symbols in packets. Moreover health was important therefore allergens has to be mentioned. Landed by nosekissing. Too much of thinking kills original thoughts.

These are some of the moments as it happened in the exam hall. 

Thank you so much Cd. and hope to receive the same guidance through Mains preparation. 

---

This post was an email from a reader. Has been kept anonymous for his comfort. If you wish to write to us about your good/ bad days or something good – email us at hello[at]civilsdaily.com

---

IMP: Civilsdaily IAS Prelims Test Series – Click here

I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe. Or you can try to find meaning. These past thirty days, I have spent many of my moments lost in that void. And I know that many future moments will be consumed by the vast emptiness as well.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO at Facebook

This post was written on 3rd June, 2015. Dave Goldberg (her husband) died on 1st May, 2015. Judaism calls for a period of intense mourning after your loved one is buried to acknowledge and accept your loss before you regain your strength to march on in life.

---

Now, admittedly your IAS Prelims 2016 loss cannot be compared to her loss but we also can’t deny that it did not hit you hard. It did. It was not just another objective exam written to get just another government job. NO. It was not yet another half hearted attempt without much planning. NO. We as community moderators have seen the amount of efforts you guys put in Target Mains Initiative and that speaks volumes about your sincerity. If there were any doubts, then you should read the comments that CD community poured in for those few consistent members who unfortunately got caught this IAS Pre fiasco.

---

This is the point where you start questioning yourself

• Where did I go wrong?
• Why didn’t my results come out as I had thought they would?
• Am I even good enough to continue?

And this is your struggle. This is the point when everyone starts doubting your abilities and you start to think that may be right. This is the point when self doubt becomes self hatred. You cringe deep inside for leaving the safe shores and taking this path and you wonder if it was just an unjustified rebellious streak, a half baked childhood dream? The struggle is when you want the pain to stop but it won’t. When you think of taking a timeout for some fresh air but everything just stifles you.

You are in the land of broken promises and crushed dreams. But what next?

---

We did not want to write just another inspirational blog to give you a 2 minute inspiration noodle which you read and then close and go back to mourning. You cannot afford 30 days of extended mourning. Your 48 hours are up. That’s all you can afford. Wipe off your tears and read ahead.

Resilience can be learned. Here’s how:

#1. Realise that it is not your fault – 

Ban the word “sorry”. Tell yourself over and over that it isn’t your fault. Shit happens. Remember Satish Reddy? (AIR 97, CSE 2014) – He was with us and helped build the platform at the early days. He missed the IAS by 1 rank. IAS allotment closed at 96. He got IRS. Gave another attempt. Couldn’t clear Mains. Can you imagine his plight? Not clearing Prelims looks like manageable now, right? But he marched ahead and made peace with his selection. There will be many such cases, instances where even with a proven test record, you won’t always get what you want. So don’t feel sorry. 

#2. Permanence: Nothing last forever –

The good thing about having an active & mature community is that we have students from all walks of life coming in and pouring their life’s wisdom. Nitin Pant wrote about his struggle days – how he still feels the sting of not clearing IFoS even though he cleared CSE Prelims and how patience has its own rewards.

“The Struggle is not failure, but it causes failure. Especially if you are weak. Always if you are weak.”

Most people are not strong enough. Some will drop out of this race now. But you know you are not ‘most people’

#3. Don’t let your failures be pervasive – 

Compartmentalise your life. Don’t screw up the healthy relations, healthy habits, answer writing practice just coz this unexpected event happened. Your days of mourning are over. Get back on your feet. This struggle sucks.

But the struggle is where greatness comes from! So, what next?

---

#1. Join the Flagship/ Advanced Prelims Series – 

If you have been our student in 2016, come back. We will make sure that this year is even more empowering for our students to scale the wall and cross all hurdles. Tikdams and Tidbits will find their due place in explanations. We are also working out the concept of a current affairs video/ webinar which helps in covering last week’s portions in a brisk manner + gives you enough reading material to keep you occupied. Read this LIVE exam commentary on how Tikdams helped someone sail through Prelims.

Pick the course which suits you best. The next pitstop is June 2017 and you can’t relax –

1. Flagship Prelims Course – Click here (TS1 already released)
2. Advanced Prelims Course – Click here (First test on 26th sept)
3. Current Affairs only Course – Click here (First test on 26th sept)

#2. Stick to Target Mains Modules daily – 

Motivation is hard to maintain because we’ve pushed our goals too far into the future. Prelims is in June, Mains would be much later. Our fixation with the final outcome thwarts us from doing the very work needed to make it real. We miss out on baby steps – we don’t track daily progress.

Not only are long-term plans inaccurate, they’re demotivating. Rarely do they instill the purpose needed to get out of bed. So, commit to daily greatness! You have 2 things – 

1. Target Mains – Click here
2. Prelims TS after every 10 day or so – Click here

Enough With The Theory, Let’s Get Practical

#3. Don’t feel like sitting home and studying the whole day? Work with us!

This one is simple. We know who you are (well, most of you) and how you write/ how you structure your thoughts and we would love to do amazing work in this content space. Drop in an email to hello[at]civilsdaily.com and let us know that you are interested (and why?)

That’s it. That’s all from our side.

Obsess Yourself With Your ONE Thing. That one thing for you is a double digit rank at IAS.