Abhijeet Sinha 19th Rank in his 2nd attempt in Civil Service Examination, 2017
“Focused hard work and perseverance are the keys to my success “
-Abhijeet Sinha
‘Pratiyogita Darpan’ arranged an exclusive interview with Shri Abhijeet Sinha who has been selected in Civil Services Examination 2017, conducted by UPSC. He deserves high admiration and our heartiest congratulations on his splendid success. This important, thought-provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.
PD—Achieving top slot in the coveted Civil Services Examination is no small feat; accept our heartiest congratulations on your splendid success.
Shri Abhijeet—Thanks a lot.
PD—Medium for writing in the examination.
Shri Abhijeet—English.
PD—Medium for Personality Test.
Shri Abhijeet—English.
PD—In how many attempts have you achieved this success ?
Shri Abhijeet—This was my 2nd attempt.
PD—You achieved the desired success in this attempt, how do you visualize your previous attempts?
Shri Abhijeet—Last year, I went to the interview stage, but couldn’t clear it finally, because of poor score in my optional. That attempt thus became a learning curve. I learnt the importance of hard work. Secondly, this time I devoted more time to my optional .
PD—What was your optional subject ?
Shri Abhijeet—Optional Subject : Economics.
PD—While making final choice for optional subject, what’s important and what’s not?
Shri Abhijeet—For me, my interest was the most important factor. That is why, I took it even though I did not have a background in it. But, one should also look whether adequate materials are available or not and one should choose an optional based on his/her own strength and weaknesses.
PD—What preference in services have you opted for and any particular reason for that priority ?
Shri Abhijeet—IAS was my 1st preference, then came other services like IFS. The main reason was that I wanted to serve the country by living in India.
PD—‘Success is sweet’—were you confident of your success with top ranks and how did you react to this news?
Shri Abhijeet—I was hoping for a rank. But, with UPSC, one can never be certain. There was always a fear that just like last year, I could again miss out. Hence, for me and for my entire family’s reaction to the news was a very happy one.
PD—Today, IAS Toppers are icons and lots of media coverage makes them popular. Before your success, what was your opinion about these toppers ? Any particular success story which influenced your journey to this result ?
Shri Abhijeet—I too used to get a lot of motivation from the toppers. And, I would try and emulate their strategies and refer to their notes. All these were instrumental in my success.
I was particularly inspired by Govind Jaiswal sir, who came from a very humble background, yet he did wonders in this exam. His story provided me with a hope, increased my grit and pushed me to work harder than ever.
PD—Can you recall the exact moment when you realized the importance of Civil Services ?
Shri Abhijeet—It wasn’t a one off moment. The roots of our family are in villages, where the role of civil servants and IAS in particular is extremely important. They are the harbingers of hope. That is why I had known the importance since my childhood.
PD—Finally, at what point of time did you make up your mind to make career in ‘Civil Services’?
Shri Abhijeet—I made up my mind in a resolute way after the 3rd year of my graduation, after consulting various alumni who were working in different professions.
PD—Was CSE your planned decision or your parents’ wish ?
Shri Abhijeet—It was a planned decision that was also supported by my parents.
PD—Did you keep in mind some time-frame for the examination preparation and number of attempts ?
Shri Abhijeet—I was willing to give everything and did not have any time frame as such.
PD—‘Time-Management’ is a key factor while making preparations as well as in writing examination papers, be it Prelims or Main Examination. How did you manage things?
| Bio-data |
| Name—Abhijeet Sinha
Father’s Name—Dr. Shashi Bhushan Prasad Sinha Mother’s Name—Mrs. Archana Sinha Educational Qualifications— 10th—2010, CBSE, JVM Shyamali, Ranchi (9·8/10) 12th—2012, CBSE, JVM Shyamali, Ranchi (93·6%) B.Tech—2016, IIT Kanpur, Electrical Engineering (7·9). |
Shri Abhijeet—I improved my time-management skill by more practice. In particular, in mains, I used to keep a watch on the desk while writing, and would explicitly count the time taken for every answer and would ensure that it was less than 7 minutes for a 10 marker and less than 11 minutes for 15 marker.
PD—The first step is the most difficult. How to prepare ? Which optional subjects to pick ? What to read ? How much to read ? Many such questions come to your mind when you really get serious about Civil Services Examination ? From where did you get the right advice ?
Shri Abhijeet—I consulted my seniors who were preparing and those already in the service. Plus, some websites and magazines like Pratiyogita Darpan were always there to advise regarding this.
PD—What was your approach towards Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Aptitude Test) during Preliminary Examination preparation? How long time and effort did you divide for each ?
Shri Abhijeet—For GS Paper I (General Studies). My approach was more to eliminate the wrong options and to logically work out the right options. For that, I used various approaches like rules of extreme, etymology, test of consistency, etc.
For GS Paper II (Aptitude Test). Fortunately, I was relatively good at it. And I just practised past 2-3 years’ papers before the exam.
PD—Was there any change in plan for General Studies Paper II (Aptitude Test) being qualifying in Preliminary Examination ?
Shri Abhijeet—Not really. But, it increased the importance of Paper I.
PD—How did you manage to tackle the ‘Negative Marking’ in Prelims ?
Shri Abhijeet—I used to read the questions multiple times, and all the options properly before attempting. Plus, with more practice of the approaches I talked about, my accuracy increased.
PD—What shift did you adopt in your strategy for Main Examination (Written) ?
Shri Abhijeet—As compared to last time I adopted the following changes : 1. I devoted more time to my optional especially on solving past years’ papers. 2. For GS, I made my preparation syllabus centric and I ensured that I covered each and every word/phrase used in the syllabus. 3. I practised answer writing more.
4. I made my notes more organised, especially for the static parts of the syllabus.
| Personal Qualities |
| Favourite Person—Both my mother and my father. I have never seen a person making more sacrifices than my mother. I have never seen a nicer person than my father.
Strong Point—I think logically and I can be really focused when it matters. Weak Point—Essay was my weak point in the preparation Hobbies—Watching football and meditation |
PD—Was there any special effort for effective preparation for Essay Paper ? Which topic did you pick up this time and why did you choose this particular topic ?
Shri Abhijeet—I tried to diversify the points, while ensuring good flow. But, since, my marks in essay are not high, I won’t be the best person to comment on it.
Topic I. Has the No-Alignment Movement(NAM) lost its relevance in a multipolar world.
Topic II. Social media is inher-ently a selfish medium.
PD—How did you prepare yourself for Interview (Personality Test) ? When and which Board did you face? How did your interview go on, how long did it last and what were the questions asked during the Interview ?
Shri Abhijeet—I joined mock interviews, used to watch Rajya Sabha TV discussions and I would try to emulate the best speakers like Vivek Katju and I would practise speaking in front of my laptop and video recorded it.
I faced Air Marshal Bhonsle’s Board. The interview lasted for about 25 minutes. The questions were centered around my DAF and questions on IITs, Kanpur city, football, etc. were present. On top of this, I was asked about case studies.
PD—Were you preparing for other career opportunities as well while preparing for your ultimate goal i.e., Career in Civil Services ?
Shri Abhijeet—No, I was focussed towards Civil Services only.
PD—While the changing economic environment offers immense lucrative career opportunities in various sectors, still what kept you motivated towards Civil Services ?
Shri Abhijeet—Money never motivated me, but honour did. And I think, the civil services allow an opportunity to earn honour by working for the people, helping the under-privileged and engaging in nation building.
PD—In your opinion at which Educational Level should one start preparing for Civil Services and what should be the minimum period of time required to prepare.
Shri Abhijeet—According to me, one should start thinking during graduation, because, after that, one gets busy with job and has limited time to think. Before graduation, excessive focus on civil services exam can be counter productive. At least one can of rigorous preparation is required to ace in this exam.
PD—What is your opinion regarding the general view that Science subjects have better chance to score than Humanities ?
Shri Abhijeet—I personally disagree with the view. In my understanding, civil services require generalist and not a specialised knowledge and any person irrespective of the background can do very well in this exam provided he works hard and get the basics right.
PD—What is the importance of medium of examination for exams like CSE ?
Shri Abhijeet—In my understanding it does not matter a lot. And many of my friends have aced in this exam even by taking their mother tongue as the medium of examination. But, yes, some working knowledge of English is preferred.
PD—Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation ?
Shri Abhijeet—No. Internet is a medium that anyone can access. And most of the preparation is done online these days, and hence background becomes irrelevant. Similarly, magazines like Pratiyogita Darpan, are a wonderful source, yet very cheap and very simply designed.
PD—In your opinion what role do the Competition Magazines play when you are preparing for an examination like Civil Services ?
Shri Abhijeet—They are very valuable especially for people like me, who have not joined expensive classroom coaching programs. They provide more articulated analysis and have expansive coverage as well.
PD—How do you find Pratiyogita Darpan ? Do you find it close to your expectations ?
Shri Abhijeet—I find Pratiyogita Darpan as an invaluable source of support in the civil preparation, more so because it focusses more on civil services preparation. It helped to clarify concepts, made me aware about recent happenings and motivated me. Yes, I find it close to my expectations of an ideal mentor.
PD—What is the secret of your success ?
Shri Abhijeet—Focused hard work, plus love and blessings of my parents.
PD—To whom would you like to give the credit for your success ?
Shri Abhijeet—My parents. No word can completely describe what they have done for me. Without them, I can’t even imagine this success.
PD—Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants.
Shri Abhijeet—I would advise the dear aspirants to focus on 3 Ds of success – Determination, Discipline and Dedication. They can provide the push to work really hard. At the same time, wherever possible, aspirants must also work smartly. My best wishes are always with you.
PD—Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for your future endeavours.