Shreyansh Tiwari Topper – Bihar Civil Services Examination 63rd (1st Rank)

Persistance and immersing in deep study with patience are the secrets of my success.

“Pratiyogita Darpan” arranged an exclusive interview with Shri Shreyansh Tiwari who has been selected in Bihar Civil Services Examination. He deserves high admiration and our heartiest congratulations on his glorious achievement. This important, thought provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.

PD—Achieving top slot in the CS Examination is no small feat; accept our heartiest congratulations on your splendid success.

Shri Shreyansh—Thank you.

PD—Were you confident of your success in this examination and how did you react to this news ?

Shri Shreyansh—No one expects to get rank 1st in such a prestigious exam. But both my mains and inter view went well, so I was confident enough.

PD—What preference in services have you opted for and any particular reason for that priority ?

Shri Shreyansh—Bihar Administrative services it provides an opportunity to work in diverse backgrounds and have diversity of jobs with challenging tasks. Nature and scope of the job provides greater job satisfaction. Alongwith with that here I can make an impact in the life of people and society.

PD—What was your optional subject ?

Shri Shreyansh—History.

PD—In how many attempts have you achieved this success ?

Shri Shreyansh—1st attempt for BPSC.

PD—You must have read IAS toppers’ interviews in newspapers/ magazines; what inspired you the most ? Any particular success story which influenced your journey to this result ?

Shri Shreyansh—Success story of Ira Singhal, Rank 1, UPSC 2014 impressed me the most. She was Divyang and still left behind all other aspirants by standing 1st in the toughest exam in India.

PD—What was your approach towards Paper 1 (General Studies) and Paper II (Aptitude Test) during Prelims preparation ? How long time and how much effort did you divide for each ?

Shri Shreyansh—BPSC Prelims has only GS 1 paper.

PD—The first step is the most difficult; how to prepare ? Which optional subjects to pickup ? 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 Shreyansh—My first teacher in this field was Rahul Sharma Sir who constantly guided me during my initial preparation. Toppers’ Talk of PD and other medium plus self analysis of previous years’ papers and syllabus also helped in making right decision. I picked optional based on my liking.

PD—You achieved the desired success in this attempt; how do you visualize your previous attempts ?

Shri Shreyansh—I achieved this in very first attempt but I have seen many failures in other exams like UPSC, UPPSC, MPPSC. They all were stepping stones towards this success.

PD—While making final choice for optional subject, what’s important and what’s not ?

Shri Shreyansh—Most impo rtant factor is your liking of the subject, then its overlapping with G.S. syllabus and resource and guidance availability. One shouldn’t pick an optional on the basis of its past per formance as it can change the score every next year.

PD—How did you prepare yourself for interview ? When and which Board did you face ? How did your interview go on, how long did it last and what were the ques tions asked during the interview ?

Shri Shreyansh—I attended a mock interview in Drishti IAS. I am a serious reader and used to read Hindu, Indian Express, the Print etc. daily. Alongwith this I watched debates on RSTV which helped me.

PD—Were you preparing for other career opportunities as well while preparing for your ultimate goal i.e. Career in Civil Services ?

Shri Shreyansh—At the begin ning of the journey, I was PO in Syndicate Bank But I resigned and dedicated myself full time to Civil Service.

PD—While the changing econo mic environment offers immense lucrative career opportunities in various sectors, still what kept you motivated towards Civil Services ?

Shri Shreyansh—It was my childhood dream and also the dream of my deceased father. This along with an opportunity to serve the masses kept me going.

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 for Civil Services Examinations ?

Shri Shreyansh—During gradua tion one should start serious con templation about CSE. Every one has different intellectual level, so time needed depends upon person’s educational, financial and socio economic background.

PD—What shift did you adopt in your strategy for MAINS (Written) ?

Shri Shreyansh—Completion of all 3 papers with the best, possible quality was my prime goal. So I practiced answer writing in 3 hours window.

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 ?

Shri Shreyansh—By practicing several mock papers, I was able to complete mains papers in time. Also 3R strategy of Read, Revise, Repeat helped with quality content.

PD—What is your opinion regarding the general view that Science subjects have better chance to score than Humanities ?

Shri Shreyansh—It is an open debate with no right or wrong answers. I personally believe that science optionals are better due to their higher scoring edge.

PD—What is the importance of medium of examination for exams like CSE ?

Shri Shreyansh—Quality content and source material in any language is good enough to crack the exam.

PD—Can you recall the exact moment when you realized the importance of Civil Services ?

Shri Shreyansh—In 11st standard when I saw our SDM leading the anti encroachment drive.

PD—Finally, at what point of time did you make up your mind to make career in ‘Civil Services’ ?

Shri Shreyansh—From 11th standard only.

PD—Did you keep in mind some time frame for the examination pre paration and number of attempts ?

Shri Shreyansh—No, I always hoped for best but kept myself mentally prepared for worst, No surrender was my motto i.e., as long as I had age. I will try.

PD—Was CSE your planned decision or your parents’ wish ?

Shri Shreyansh—My personal decision.

PD—Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation ?

Shri Shreyansh—They have a huge impact.

PD—In your opinion what role do the Competition Magazines play when you are preparing for an examination like Civil Services.

Shri Shreyansh—They mostly help in Current Affairs.Toppers’ interviews also help a lot.

PD—How do you find Prati yogita Darpan ? Do you find it close to your expectations ?

Shri Shreyansh—I mostly enjoyed reading Economy special of P.D. and found it useful in mains also for data and statistics.

PD—Please give your comments on the PD Extra Issues Series on ‘General Studies’ and a few Optional Subjects ?

Shri Shreyansh—Extra Issue Series are extremely exam oriented and fill knowledge gap of aspirants.

PD—What is the secret of your success ?

Shri  Shreyansh—Patience, Peasistence and Perseverance along with relentless pursuit of the goal were my secrets.

PD—To whom would you like to give the credit for your success ?

Shri Shreyansh—To my depar ted father, my mother, my immedeate family, friends and teachers like Rahul Sharma Sir, Baliyan Sir, Sarvesh Sir, Rajneesh Sir who guided me.

PD—Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants.

Shri Shreyansh—Use Social Media/Internet as a medium of progress and don’t kill time in it Work hard as competition is cut throat.

PD—Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for a bright future.

Shri Shreyansh—Thank you.