Bermuda Triangle Secrets Revealed

IAS exam 2011Topper (3rd Rank) Prince Dhawan in an interview to Kunal Jha says that internet was a very crucial part of his exam preparation. He also talks about his hobbies, icons and what kept him motivated towards civil Services exam. The result of IAS exam 2011 was declared on 4 May 2012.
Jagranjosh.com: Please tell us something about you, your childhood and your education?

Prince Dhawan: I am Prince Dhawan. I did my 11th and 12th from Indore. Afterwards I did B Tech and M Tech as a dual degree from IIT Delhi in electrical engineering. I have always believed in bringing efficiency to whatever I do and I am enjoying it. My childhood has been spent in almost 7 to 8 cities across India since my father was in the revenue services. My schooling has been in different schools. I have enjoyed exposure to diverse crowds and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Jagranjosh.com: Why did you choose civil services as a career? When it happened?

Prince Dhawan: I have always felt there are many opportunities in life to serve the society in different ways and civil services was one of the many ways to do that. I always had an open mind. I was toying with the idea around graduation time.

Jagranjosh.com: What kept you motivated towards the Civil Services in the course of rigorous preparation for the exam?

Prince Dhawan: Civil Services is not just a exam, it’s a journey and I enjoyed this journey a lot.

Jagranjosh.com: Please tell us about your icons, hobbies and interests.

Prince Dhawan: My icons have been both my parents. My hobbies are teaching, debating and mentoring junior students at IIT Delhi.

Jagranjosh.com: How many attempts did it take for you to taste success?

Prince Dhawan: This was my first attempt.
Jagranjosh.com: Did you take the help of internet while preparing for the examination? How helpful did you find it?

Prince Dhawan: Given the fact, UPSC has become very dynamic and it requires a lot of awareness about your surroundings; Internet was a very crucial part of my preparation.

Jagranjosh.com: What do you think about jagranjosh.com?

Prince Dhawan: At times, I did visit jagranjosh.com and it was regularly updated.

IAS 2011 Ranker Rohit Shukla Shares Strategy for IAS Interview
IAS 2011 Ranker Rohit Shukla in an interview to jagranjosh.com shares strategy for IAS Interview. He says that one should be confident, to the point and relaxed for IAS Interview.

jagranjosh.com: How did you prepare for the interview?

Rohit Shukla: I prepared my biodata thoroughly and prepared for probable questions .

jagranjosh.com: Please share the details of the interview? What was its duration, strength of the interview panel and what kind of questions were asked?

Rohit Shukla: My interview lasted around 25 minutes. Since I am from technical background there were many questions on computer science. Then some on my home state, situational questions and others based on my hobbies and optional subjects.

jagranjosh.com: Were you confident or stressed in the interview hall?

Rohit Shukla: I was confident since stress reduces the efficiency when you think of answers to the questions.

jagranjosh.com: What is your opinion on the changes made by the UPSC in the Prelims exam? Do you think the exam is shifting towards application of knowledge? If yes, how?

Rohit Shukla: Yes, Questions in GS and optional subjects are becoming more current affair focussed and are framed in such a manner so as to test the understanding of the subject.

jagranjosh.com: What are the important things that one needs to keep in mind while facing the interview?

Rohit Shukla: Since it is test of one’s personality, one should be confident, to the point and relaxed. Careful listening is also essential.

jagranjosh.com: Do you think that good understanding of current affairs can play a significant role even in optional papers?

Rohit Shukla: Yes, in some optionals like public administration, one needs to have a sound current affair understanding to write good answers.

jagranjosh.com: How can someone apply day to day knowledge in the CSE?

Rohit Shukla: If one is regular in reading newspapers and thinks about important issues, this knowledge is effectively utilised in mains and interview.

jagranjosh.com: Any advice to Civil Services aspirants?

Rohit Shukla: Have faith in your ability. Be disciplined and consistent. Do not hesitate to work hard. Dont look at others.

jagranjosh.com: What is your goal in life and how will you now work towards it?

Rohit Shukla: I want to ensure clean and transparent administration. I will bring innovative changes so that efficiency of administration improves.

Since IIT is an exam which takes place in day time so it is advisable to everyone to shift his/her study routine from night to day at least two weeks before the final day. This will make you equally active in day as you are during night / morning and on the final day it will be easier for you to concentrate as it will be more like a daily routine. This article is particularly beneficial to the students who are used to study during day time. Since many of you have shown interest in my own day routine so here it is. I must warn you that what I am going to tell you is a suggestion and you should not enforce it upon yourself if you are not comfortable with the times / ideas mentioned.

Start of the day. It’s really very hard to get out of bed in morning especially for studying. So, how to switch on your day? If you simply rely on the alarm of your clock, you might cheat yourself. You must have some external factor to help like you may ask your mother to awake you. But I devised for myself a better way. I simply used to keep my alarm clock little bit away from my bed (set up at 6.30 am). So I had to walk down to it to shut it up. I also kept my toothbrush alongside the clock. So just after switching off the alarm (still half asleep) I used to pick my tooth brush and go to wash basin to wash my teeth. This simple routine solved my problem of waking up completely in morning. Afterwards I used to eat some very light stuff (usually dry fruits) and then I would sit to study for next two hours (7 am to 9 am). Since during this time period your mind works quite well, it’s advisable to read theory or any tough topic. At nine I would take a break from the study for a formal breakfast. From 9.40 am to 12 noon I again used to sit down and generally used to solve questions. At 12 I would take a break for bath and there after I would revise formulae / some important concepts from my notes 12.45 onwards to next 20-25 minutes. Then I used to take lunch and afterwards a peaceful nap. I would again wake up at 2.50 pm and get back to work by 3 pm to till it is 6 pm (5 pm for winter). Then at 6 I used to take an one and half hour break in which I did some sort of physical exercise (like playing, exercise or just going out for a stroll) for 45min to 1 hour and then rest time for relaxing (or getting a second shower in summers). Then at 7.30 pm (6.30pm in winter), I used to go back to my study table and be there till 9 pm. At nine I would do dinner and watch news. Then from 9.45-10pm onwards to till 12.30, I would study. Then I would spend 5-10 minutes to decide what subjects/topics to read next day and then I used to go to bed.

The time I mentioned may not be comfortable / feasible for some of you so you should accordingly adjust the timings. P.S.: If you are not comfortable to day time study then you should study during night only. But I advise you to follow a day routine at least for the last two weeks of the preparation.

IAS 2011 Ranker Rohit Shukla in an interview to jagranjosh.com shares strategy for IAS prelims. He focused more on the basics of all subjects and tried to relate and interlink newspaper topics with basics.

jagranjosh.com: What was your preparation strategy for the Preliminary examination?

Rohit Shukla: I focussed more on the basics of all subjects and less on remembering factual data.I Focussed on core text books more. I considered Revision most important. For aptitude paper I practiced using standard aptitude books to increase my speed.

jagranjosh.com: How much time do you think should be devoted by an aspirant to prepare for the exam?

Rohit Shukla: One should start serious preparation at least 6 months before the preliminary exam.

jagranjosh.com: General Studies is a very vast section. How did you prepare for it?

Rohit Shukla: I focussed on core text books first. For example NCERT books for economics, Bipan Chandra book for History, NCERT Geography and India Year Book for other topics. I daily read newspaper and analysed the important topics.I tried to relate and interlink newspaper topics with what I had read in the standard text books.

jagranjosh.com: What do you think on the changed trend of the UPSC Civil Services Exam? Is it good about the whole selection process now that there is no optional paper in the IAS Prelims?

Rohit Shukla: It is a step in the positive direction.Preliminary exam has become more indicative of the actual qualities needed in an ideal civil servant.Removal of Optional has, meant that all aspirants have nearly equal chance when they start.

jagranjosh.com: The new syllabus of preliminary examination has introduced CSAT in place of optional paper. Do you think that it will help in selecting civil servants with right aptitude?

Rohit Shukla: Definitely, CSAT questions on decision making, mathematical skills, comprehension etc will help in selecting the right candidates.

jagranjosh.com: What is your opinion about self study for prelims? Also tell us if you think that group discussion is helpful for the exam.

Rohit Shukla: Self study can be sufficient for prelims if one is dedicated and consistent over a period of time. I did not find group discussion very helpful at later stages of preparation although it can help during initial preparation.

jagranjosh.com: What is your advice for candidates who did not do well in prelims?

Rohit Shukla: It is very important to undertsand the nature of the paper. Questions these days are more analytical. Cramming is not effective and there should be more focus on key concepts to be studied from standard text books. There should be more focus on Science and Technology, Environment etc.

jagranjosh.com: Is the Prelims the toughest or the easiest part of the whole exam?

Rohit Shukla: No stage can be considered easy in this exam. Prelims is very important since it opens the door for further stages.

jagranjosh.com: Given the extensive nature of contents asked in the preliminary exam, did you apply any specific method for the preparation?

Rohit Shukla: Yes, considering the diversity of topics I used to make a mental map or summary of key topics and revised mentally to make sure I remembered.