Subject: Trivia

Hello,

It is very heartening to see your students attempt the 3 case questions put forward on this platform. I have to admit many of you have been very meticulous in your answers and even I learnt a thing or two reading them. However, I feel that I should lay forward some basic guidelines on answer writing format which will help you secure most marks in solving Ethics Case Studies for IAS Mains.

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#1. Make use of value based terminologies as much as possible

It will make your answer subject specific i.e. ethics, integrity & aptitude based rather than merely a generalist or public administration heavy opinion. Remember that your optionals might help you to get a feel of the question but your answer has to be relevant to the Ethics paper at hand.

e.g: professional integrity, conscience, Nishkam Karma, ethical competencies, ethical reasoning, ethical illiteracy, obligations, intellectual integrity, empathy, compassion & tolerance, dignity of an individual, etc.

#2. Understand basic difference between ethical decision and legal decision

Majority of the Public servants/ Managers world over suffer from “ethical illiteracy” i.e. they consider that their legal decision is ethical decision. But if it indeed were so then what is the need to talk about ethical decision. (just ponder!!!)

But that does not mean that one has to become a lawbreaker. Yet one has to come out with some “out of box” solution. However, if you do then you have to face ire of your seniors. But that’s invariable part of ethical decision. Hence, be ready for dire personal consequences !!!( food for thought)

#3. Make use of ethical reasoning/ moral imagination

Immediately sketch whole of case as a movie in your mind placing yourself as one of the character.

#4. Based on ethical reasoning/moral imagination raise questions

#4.1. Are there any ethical issues?

#4.2. If yes , what are they? Enumerate them. For example – 

In the Case 1 of our first problem statement on Ethics, ethical concerns involved are : ” breach of professional integrity , trust, conflict of interest, health hazard, image of organization, appearance of unethical act,leadership, emotional competencies, etc.”

#4.3. What to do next? Explore different alternatives/options available:

• This is very significant stage in solving problem. More you explore options better will be your decision.
• For each option think of probable consequences – negative as well as positive.
• Never give alternatives without exploring probable consequences.

For example, in the first case –

1. Stop her to see Raj
   1. She might resign
   2. Work progress might get delayed
   3. I might lose very competent & honest team member so maybe transfer her?
2. Transfer her
   1. She might take it as punishment
   2. A wrong message of “lack of trust” might demoralise others
   3. Delaying Work
3. Trust her to do her job 
   1. If later on your boss discovers or leaked to media then you will be blamed
      Informing your boss
4. Informing your boss
   1. He might take a biased decision
5. Transfer & Promote her
   1. Recently this is what happened with Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria in Mumbai. It was taken as a punishment in spite of a promotion!

#4.4. Choose best option according to you and justify your stand

Yes, it also had negative consequences but make an attempt to minimise. Ethical decision is not cake walk. It carries with itself dire consequences for oneself. Be ready for that! At this step , to justify your decision you can take help of moral philosophers, moral principles like justice, rights, common good, ethical approaches like duty based , virtue based or utilitarianism.

Best decision is that which enhances your self esteem, that which makes you to look directly into your eyes when you see yourself in the mirror and finally that which gives you sound sleep!

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Hope this helped you in getting a better hang at solving Ethics Case studies. I will try to put in more in the coming weeks.

We are starting a bi-weekly “7 question format a day” series to augment your IAS Prelims 2016 Prep. While we don’t really think you need to give full fledged Prelims mock tests for the CSE 2016, we believe that solving ~14 questions a week can easily fit in your weekly schedule!

Prelims 2015 had questions which were not only concept-based but a good number were fact-based. We shall follow the similar trend and frame question based on factual information as well which were more or less absent from 2011 to 2014.

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#1. The term ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contributions’ appears in the news frequently in the context of the affairs of the

(a) World Trade Organization

(b) United Nations Environment Programme

(c) Food and Agriculture Organization

(d) United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change

#2. Which of the following statements regarding the proposed Sustainable Development Goals is/are correct?

1. They are intended to be universal, applying to all the countries.

2. They include specific goals on economic indicators for the first time.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

#3. Consider the following pairs:

Ancient City          Located on

1.  Ujjain          :         Saryu

2.  Amravati     :        Krishna

3.  Nashik         :         Godavari

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

(a) 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

#4. Consider the following statements:

1. Disinflation refers to a period where the inflation has been slowing.

2. Deflation is always accompanied with significant economic contraction.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

#5. Greenpeace is

(a) an agency of the United Nations to help refugees of civil wars

(b) a inter-governmental agency to cater to medical emergencies in war-torn regions

(c) a non-governmental environmental organization

(d) a global movement to protect the child rights

#6. With reference to the ‘Better Than Cash Alliance”, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is global partnership of governments, companies and international organizations.

2. It accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

#7. Palmyra, an ancient city which was in news recently, is in

(a) Syria

(b) Jordan

(c) Israel

(d) Lebanon

Answer Key:

#1. (d)

#2. (c)

#3. (b)

#4. (a)

#5. (c)

#6. (c)

#7. (a)

Explanations shall follow in comment section!

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#1. Consider you are a director of a regulatory agency that is charged with monitoring the probable harmful effects of commercial chemicals. Your junior officer Ms. Smriti is responsible for monitoring the use and probable effect of chemicals. She has been assigned to determine whether such chemicals should be removed from market.

In one of the official meetings Ms. Smriti met a person named Mr. Raj who is representative of some chemical company. In due course of time Ms. Smriti got into relationship with Mr. Raj.Ms. Smriti wanted to pursue the relationship while maintaining professional integrity.

Q1. Explore various options available to you.

Q2. What will you do?

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#2. You are first lieutenant in a military organisation. You report to captain who in turn reports to Major. You share positive working relation with both.

In your office there arises vacancy of a supervisor. In this regard both of your officers encourage you to appoint a particular person from other department. However you are not impressed with that person and found that person unsuitable for the post. In-spite of this you decided to trust your seniors and appoint him.

After one month it is clear to you that your judgement was correct that this person is not competitive enough. Although given time he can improve and develop his skills.

However very soon situation has become very complicated New supervisor has developed misunderstanding with the Captain and now the Major and the Captain are sending conflicting signals. Captain suggests that you immediately transfer supervisor during his probation period while Major urged you to write an early highly positive evaluation for him even before prescribed three months.

Q1. Examine the major issues involved.

Q2. Trace your course of action.

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#3. Shantanu has been appointed as the chief sanitary officer at district level. Recently, a village under his district has been awarded Nirmal Gram Puruskar for achieving the status of “Open Defecation Free Area”. This was possible due to the state sponsored scheme where each house was provided with a separate toilet and various initiatives which were taken at the Panchayat level.

However, Shantanu notice that after few months, many villagers have started using the toilets as storerooms and are now defecating in open. Despite of huge investments, nothing has changed.

What shall Shantanu do in such situation? Explore various options.

#1. ‘Sendai Framework’, which has been in news, is

(a) a strategy to combat sea level rise in Pacific Island nations, an outcome of a  summit of the Pacific Island nations

(b) a plan of action for disaster risk reduction, an outcome of conference convened by  the United Nations

(c) a strategy to combat organised crime, an outcome of a resolution adopted by the ASEAN countries

(d) an agenda for countering the use of cyber space by the militant organisations, an outcome of a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly

#2. ASTROSAT, is the latest instance of the revolution in X-ray astronomy. X-ray astronomy cannot be done using ground-based instruments primarily because

(a) gravity distorts the incoming X-rays

(b) X-rays from terrestrial sources interfere with observations

(c) incoming X-rays get contaminated with extraneous waves

(d) incoming X-rays get absorbed by the atoms in the atmosphere

#3. “To secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India” is a provision in the

(a) Preamble of the Constitution

(b) Fundamental Rights

(c) Directive Principles of State Policy

(d) Fundamental Duties

#4. Outside the North and South Poles, which of the following region stores  more freshwater in the form of glaciers than any other region on Earth?

(a) Eastern Himalayas

(b) Greenland

(c) Andes Range

(d) Tibetan Plateau

#5. Complete the statement:

‘India Gate was built by the British as the All India War Memorial to commemorate the sacrifices of soldiers who died in World War I and the _________.”

(a) Third Anglo-Afghan War

(b) Second Anglo-Afghan War

(c) Third Anglo-Maratha War

(d) Second Anglo-Maratha War

#6. In which of the following activities are Geostationary satellites used?

1. Telecommunication

2. Mineral Exploration

3. Weather Forecasting

Select the correct answer u sing the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

#7. Consider the following statements:

1. Global Competitive Index is brought out by International Monetary Fund(IMF).

2. Global Forest Resources Assessment report is brought out by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

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Go ahead! give this a shot.

Answer Key:

#1. (b)

#2. (d)

#3. (c)

#4. (d)

#5. (a)

#6. (a)

#7. (b)

Explanations and sources shall follow in comment sections.

Hope you enjoyed writing on the first installment of IAS Mains Mini quiz. If you were late to the party, we have a set of model answers for you in the comment section.

Here are some thoughts about how we wish to take this going forward:

#1. Each Monday, we will release a set of questions on one particular GS Paper. They won’t be many but we make sure that our mentors do their research before putting them for you. This is an attempt to read into UPSC’s patterns and a refined way to present choicest questions to you.

The next day, we will provide model answers along with some suggestions.

#2. Every Saturday and Wednesday, we will have a prelims corner – 7 questions a day. These pop quizzes are to wriggle your head and reinforce the material that you study. Answers with explanations will be provided the next day.

#3. Most Thursdays, we plan to introduce GS Paper 4: Ethics Case Studies. Not just this, we intend to bring in mentors from reputed coaching classes give you questions and model answers on them. That means, starting this thursday – we will have 2-3 full blown case studies which will help you reverse engineer your preparation for GS Paper 4.

Reverse engineering, also called back engineering, is the processes of extracting knowledge or design information working backwards!

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For the first session – we will be inviting Mitra Sir to share a few case questions with us.

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Hope you guys had fun attempting the MCQ Maze series. We have some important observations to make regarding the IAS Prelims trends, which we are bringing forth in this very short piece.

Here are the 7 fundas for IAS Prelims 2016 Preparation:

Funda #1: No one could ever attempt all the 100 questions in GS Pre because they are designed that way. And you shall be no exception.

Funda #2: Prepare the topics where you can be sure first (like Polity) before you venture into things like Environment and Biodiversity for Prelims.

Funda #3: The paper has always been designed in a way that a candidate who studied well could be sure of the correct choice for at least 45-50 percent of the answers. Rest come from the tools we use to break the Pre like elimination and the stuff.

Funda #4: There are things which are asked for which you cannot really prepare like list of wildlife which is endangered or naturally found until and unless it was in news. So prepare them, of course, but don’t go overboard.

Funda #5: Follow the news carefully. A change always attracts an examiner to frame a question. For example, if you can write a 200 words write-up on UIDAI but did not notice that it is under MoIT now instead of NITI then you should be faulted for getting it wrong and not the examiner for framing a difficult question.

Funda #6: When something high-profile comes like SDG, an examiner is always tempted to ask something from it. But the examiner knows that every candidate must have mugged up the goals but examiner shall be interested in knowing which candidate knows who shall monitor its implementation, a fact that might have been ignored by the candidates.

Funda #7: Examiner always tries if he/she can frame questions even from static subjects like History and Culture from current affairs. Be very careful about such news items.

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PS: If you are a beginner and wants to get things right, read CD’s Guide to IAS Prep: From Aspirant to IAS Officer.

PPS: We hope you are enjoying every moment of reading with Civilsdaily’s Android App. Please do take a fraction of that moment to rate us at the Playstore. Nothing motivates us more than an aspirant’s heartfelt comment!

 

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All news and no questions make a candidate weary and confused!

We are starting a bi-weekly “7 question format a day” series to augment your Prelims Prep. While we don’t really think you need to give full fledged Prelims mock tests for the CSE 2016, we believe that solving ~14 questions a week can easily fit in your weekly schedule!

Prelims 2015 had questions which were not only concept-based but a good number were fact-based. We shall follow the similar trend and frame question based on factual information as well which were more or less absent from 2011 to 2014.

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#1. Located on the bank of river Tungabhadra, this temple has been granted the tag of ‘Adarsh Smarak’ by the Ministry of Culture. Free WiFi facility has also been introduced in this temple complex under the Digital India Programme. Identify the temple complex.

(a) Badami Cave Temples

(b) Meenakshi Temple

(c) Mookambika Temple

(d) Virupaksha Temple

#2. With reference to Indian culture what is Kalarippayattu?

(a) It is a style of wall painting prevalent in Western India

(b) It is a martial art form popular in Southern India

(c) It is a popular theatre form of Central India

(d) It is ancient tradition of oral rendition of folklore in Eastern India

#3. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) works under the administrative control of

(a) NITI Aayog

(b) Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

(c) Prime Minister’s Office

(d) Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

#4. Pattiseema Project, India’s first river linking project has been accomplished by linking which of the following rivers?

(a) Godavari and Krishna

(b) Mahanadi and Brahmani

(c) Palar and Cauvery (Kaveri)

(d) Damodar and Subarnarekha

#5. ‘Aerobic’ rice cultivation is a new method of rice cultivation which is becoming popular compared to the traditional method because

1. It increases the water use efficiency

2. It reduces the labour usage

3. It prevents the weed growth

4. It gives a yield which is almost double that obtained in traditional method

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1, 2 and 4 only

(c) 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

#6. Which of the following countries is not a member of a grouping popularly known as G4?

(a) Japan

(b) Germany

(c) Brazil

(d) South Africa

#7. Which of the following has been entrusted with the task monitoring the progress made on the implementation of proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

(a) NITI Aayog

(b) Ministry of Rural Development

(c) Prime Minister’s Office

(d) Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

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PS: Official answers by Sunday evening.

Continuing with our series to guide you from being an aspirant to an officer, here is our take on the selection of the optional for IAS Preparation.

And unless your answer resonates with Alia Bhatt’s, you should stick with us and bear with this long-ish post of ours 😉

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CSE syllabus and pattern underwent a sea change in 2013 when UPSC introduced a paper on Ethics, did away with one optional and scattered GS across three papers while still keeping the Essay paper. A candidate is to choose an optional from the list of the available 25 + 1 (Literature) subjects at the time of applying for the examination and the subject so chosen cannot be changed while filling up the DAF (earlier the change was allowed).

The optional subjects were a big deciding factors in a candidate’s success till 2012, when they carried a weight of 1200 out of a total of 2000 in the Mains. From 2013, the optional carries a weight of 500 marks out of 1750. On the face of it, the utility of optional as a deciding factor in the selection appears diminished, however, nothing can be farther from the truth.

Optional subject still play a crucial a crucial role in the final selection of the aspirants. Why? Because the marks obtained by the aspirants in GS and Essay papers have not varied drastically (very few could cross 110-120, in fact few toppers even got marks in 90s especially in Ethics paper) but the double digit rankers scored really well in their optional. And, therefore, choosing an optional is a decision which should be based on sound logic and nothing else. Be Wise, Be Safe should be the guiding principle while selecting the optional.

It can be safely asserted that the number and variety of criterion for preferring one optional over others varies directly with the number of candidates making the selection. However, let us see if we can settle down on some common criterion which can guide an aspirant through the final choice.

#Factors-For, which should guide your selection of the optional:

1. Your interest in the subject. In fact, it should be the paramount criterion. The reason behind this factor to be paramount is simple enough. If you are interested in a subject, you shall not get bored easily, you shall ponder over it more and in general you would not mind spending more hours to it compared to a subject that you have to study with no inherent interest in it.
2. Familiarity with the subject. Candidates do look for a subject that they might have studied at graduation level for they are already familiar the syllabus, the books and with what it takes to be at it for a long time.
3. Overlap with the GS syllabus. If the optional selected by you can also supplement your preparation for certain portions of the GS, nothing like it!
4. Availability of a reliable coaching institute if you have decided to go for classroom coaching.
5. Availability of study material (This particular criterion has been rendered redundant  in certain cases with the advent of internet but still for certain other optional, the material available on internet may not suffice from the exam point of view).
6. The topics in the syllabus to be covered is a natural concern for the aspirants. But generally it helps when you are already familiar with the subject and therefore with the topics.
7. Few candidates also look for the type of questions that are being asked in the paper but, here, we shall suggest you to be cautious as no-one and nothing prevents UPSC from changing the type of questions. (One year they might ask fact-based questions in a subject making it appear easy but next year might make it entirely opinion/analysis based and difficult to handle)

To be practical, none of the above criterion can be used in isolation while choosing an optional but an approach guided by using above points together can certainly be beneficial in making you pick-up the right optional.

#Factors-Against, which must not guide your selection of the optional:

1. Do not choose an optional because a friend or a family member suggested it. None of them shall own responsibility in case the choice does not work out well. They shall simply say, they only made a suggestion and you decided.
2. Because it is the most common optional (Believe it or not many serious candidates fall prey to this and waste attempts before they even realize it and still many realize it after exhausting their attempts). Time and again I hear candidates choosing an optional because it has high ‘success-rate’. I could never comprehend this terminology because I believe, it is the candidates who become successful in this exam and not the subjects.
3. Because it is more scoring. Candidates have cleared this exam with almost every optional in the list and not just with the so called scoring optional. In UPSC there is no high scoring-low scoring optional but only a paper, an innocent examinee and a ruthless examiner. High scoring-Low scoring optional is a myth.
4. Don’t let your judgment be guided by the optional chosen by the previous year toppers. Probably they topped the examination because they did not base their choice of options on the subjects chosen by still past toppers. I have not seen any ranker exhorting any candidate to choose an optional selected by them simply because they topped with it.

#So how should we go about this process?

1. First go through the list of all the optional subjects available before you.
2. Then take a pen and strike off the optional that you shall certainly not choose. For example a computer engineer shall immediately strike off subjects like Literature or may be subjects like Zoology and Biology. Medical students may strike off subjects like History or Geography or Law. Clear?
3. Now go back to your school/college days and try to recollect the subject that interested you the most. The subject for which you never bunked the classes. The subject for which you were all ears in the class and that made you learn more and more about it.
4. Go back to the list of remaining subjects.
5. Now use the Factors-For and Factors-Against to choose the optional from the remaining list.

In the end, go with the optional take strikes a chord with you and not the one which is most successful or most popular. Happy Selection!

 

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We continue our series on guiding the candidates from being “An aspirant to an IAS officer” in the most objective fashion without taking sides and coloring their opinions and judgments.

As a newcomer IAS aspirant, there are several questions that cloud your mind including whether to join a coaching institute or to rely on self studies for IAS? Which institute to join? What books to refer to? Whether to join a test series or not? When to start preparing exclusively for Prelims? et al.

We shall take them up one by one. At this point, with all the objectivity we can bring to the board, let us try to find out whether an IAS aspirant should necessarily seek classroom coaching or rely on self-study?

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#1. Self-Study Vs Classroom Coaching – Comparison before Internet became common

If you could afford and move to a Metro and attend a coaching centre, you could interact with like-minded people, understand their perspectives, take tips from their learning styles, improve your knowledge and be abreast with latest updates.

The competitive environment would keep up your motivation levels. Inputs from faculty would help grasp more knowledge within limited period of time. Taking tests that they conduct regularly would help you improve your speed and ability to handle different types of questions.

On the other hand, several aspirants could crack the examination in a single attempt without taking any coaching because of their confidence, determination and persistence.

So, if you had a track record of achieving your goals without much external support, you took the Civil Services Examination without any coaching.

If you were preparing on your own, you would have the privilege to study at a time and place+pace convenient to you. You could schedule your preparation according to your priorities.

You could avoid losing time and energy in travelling from one coaching institute to another and then further to home/college.

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#2. Self-Study Vs Traditional Coaching – Contemporary Comparison

The advent and reach of Internet has changed the whole debate about Self-Study and Classroom Coaching. It had the most profound and visible impact on self-study. Some of the benefits that it offered are as under:

1. Pooling of information from various sources at one place.
2. Stories/issues explained in the most lucid and palatable fashion.
3. Opinions of multitude of fellow aspirants/administrators/coaches available to firm up your views and add different dimensions to it.
4. Facility to read anywhere and anytime. At home or on the move. Day or night.
5. Obviates any need of spending lakhs of Rupees as fees to the coaching institutes, in relocation and sustenance through a metro.
6. You can request the administrators to take up particular issues/stories.
7. Test series are available where you get reviews not from the administrators but from the fellow aspirants from across the country.
8. Most of the information available is free.
9. No exhaustion of travelling and no homesickness due to relocation.
10. No need to subscribe to multiple magazines/newspapers and prepare notes.
11. Follows wherever you go.

All the benefits that were traditionally associated with classroom coaching have become available at the click of a mouse.

It is a secret of Polichinelle (aka an open secret) that a sort of undeclared war is under-way  between UPSC and the coaching factories with each side trying to outsmart the other. Coaching institutes wait till few days before Prelims/Mains to come out with their ‘digests’ hoping UPSC must have already framed the papers and can do little to change them and the institutes can claim victory by announcing that questions appeared from their ‘digests’.

UPSC on the other hand has adopted, in my opinion a rather pleasant, stance wherein they frame questions which are largely based on the current events and from hitherto neglected topics, obviating any need to attend any coaching if a candidate is regularly following the news stories and the issues facing the nation.

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Now some of you might still prefer traditional coaching over self-study then here are few suggestions from our side:

1. Do not join a coaching because someone advised you to. Join it if you feel the need of it.
2. Before you join any coaching institute, get in touch with the aspirants who are reliable, been there and seek their feedback.
3. Do not join it because you would get a chance to spend time ‘friends’.
4. Do not join an institute based on the claims made by it in the ads. Verify them.
5. Ring them up and have a talk with the faculty.
6. Check on their post-batch support they provide to their past students.
7. Attend a few classes, if allowed, before you decide to join a particular institute.

That is all on coaching vs. self-study from our side. Whatever mode you wish to choose, just ensure you are doing it for all the rights reasons and what you are doing is your own decision. Happy learning!

 

Ah, so finally the results are out! The UPSC’s Official pdf for “IAS Prelims 2015 results” is hosted at this post – click here

Thought of having a small word with all of you before I come back again in more detail.

What if you cleared it?

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First of all congratulations! So UPSC has given you the ticket to enter the ring. Now you to capitalize on it. Abhi bas ticket mili hai dost, picture abhi baki hai. You have a little over 60 days with you. And that’s all you have. No point in lamenting what you could have covered by now. Cover whatever you can now. Remember I stand by my assertion that about 50 percent of those who have cleared the Prelims might actually be the one who have not prepared anything at all waiting for result to be out. So your competition is only with the remaining half. Plan each day ahead, and I really mean each day, meticulously.

If at all, only a small fraction of the syllabus might be left for you to cover at least once. Finish it off as soon as possible and in any case by this month end.  Start revising what you have already covered and practice writing if you have not started already. Focus on the areas where you are most comfortable, revise them and strike it off from the syllabus list. It takes the burden off your head if you see the list of remaining topics go short. Do not leave any topic. If you cannot cover it in detail just have enough points to write at least 50 words on it. It might sound cliché but please start practicing writing.

One more thing, don’t wait for the last day to fill the DAF. Fill it very carefully. Read the instructions given to fill it. Fill the cadre and state preferences as you want them and not because some earlier topper suggested a particular order. You are the one who will get the service and state, not them. Be it your own choice as per your liking and preferences.

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What if you did not clear it?

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If you gave it for any reason other than for actually making it, then just party!

But if you really prepared for it and still could not make it, then don’t get disheartened (I understand it’s easier said than done). Whatever I might say here, tonight and a day or two ahead are going to be tough especially answering sadists that surround us. Be prepared to hear “Ye banenge IAS?” , “Ban gaye collector?”…It’s ok. It hurts. Really really hurts. But then it is for you to decide whether to want to get overwhelmed with such negative criticism or take it in your stride. You will get a chance to respond, you just need to reinvent your strategy.

Tonight just sleep over it. You might wish to cry. Do it. It unburdens your heart and clears your mind. Especially for guys, it is ok to cry.

Ok. So what next. See if you could not make it through then it means that there must be some inadequacy. And by this time you might already have known where you could have done better. Work over it. We shall come back to Prelims strategy pretty soon. Right now you can even take a break. Then keep preparing for Mains in the same momentum. Yes, I meant Mains only. That’s what we all prepare for. Prelims will be taken care of next time by you and us, together. We shall come with the strategy soon.