For Naveen Kumar Chandra, UPSC was not the last option. He was always sure about getting into civil services, and had decided earlier on not to go for job placements so that he could devote all his time to preparing for the CSE exam.
Indian Masterminds spoke to Mr. Chandra, who is currently posted as SDM, Murshidabad, West Bengal, to know about his UPSC journey and his tips for aspirants.
WHY CIVIL SERVICES
Coming from a lower middle class family, Mr. Chandra graduated from IIT-Roorkee in 2015. From a very young age, he had decided that civil services was the best platform for him as it would give him a chance to work for society, have a decent life, and also derive satisfaction out of helping as many people as possible.
“During my college days, I experimented with almost every sector, from interning in private sector and taking up research projects to bringing up a startup. I tried and tested everything, and finally I decided to prepare for the most prestigious examination of all, UPSC CSE,” Mr. Chandra said.
UPSC IS NOT TOUGH
He doesn’t consider UPSC CSE as actually tough. What he actually thinks is that it is a proper conventional competition, with very few seats and lots of candidates. “The exam itself is not tough. The content that you have to prepare is not tough. It’s just that you will have to be able to answer those questions. It is possible. The only thing that you need to do is constantly practice, so that you can outscore others. Consistency is the key in this exam.”
He also feels that UPSC gives everyone a level platform, and the aspirants need to get some basic things in order, like having a good robust timetable, knowing the exam pattern very well, and not trying to be a perfectionist all the time. “A good timetable is very important, where you cover everything from day 1 – from reading GS, optional, revising things, solving some mocks to practicing answer writing. Everything should be taken cared of right from the beginning. It will hardly take 7-8 hours of daily studying for 6 months.”
AVOID TOO MANY SOURCES
Bringing up the topic of distraction from social media Mr. Chandra said that earlier aspirants had a single source for one subject, but, today, every other topper and candidate has their own blog, YouTube channel, telegram channel, and everyone is sharing so much information that aspirants get confused as to who to follow and what to read.
“If you know how to manage all these things, then half of the work is already done. Decide your sources, make a good timetable and stick to it for 6 months. That’s it!”
IS COACHING NECESSARY
Mr. Chandra had joined a coaching institute but went for just a month or so. However, later on he used to sit in their library and study on his own. “Coaching is not necessary, but if anybody needs extra help, they should go for it. Some people need help in the sense that they are very smart but at times they feel directionless and need someone to supervise them.”
MESSAGE TO ASPIRANTS
For the aspirants, Mr. Chandra has this bit of advice. “Don’t get carried away with so much information available on the internet. Try to rationalize it. And, never every try to sort out problems in your mind before you even start preparing. First start, and then solve the problems as you face them.”
