Aspirants usually find it hard to crack the civil services exams even once. But this topper cracked the UP PCS exam thrice and also appeared for the Mains 6 times as he was not satisfied.
Kumar Gaurav did not just notch the 5th rank in his sixth attempt but also the topper among the men.
Currently posted as Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) in Shahjahanpur, Mr. Gaurav earlier was allotted Naib Tahsildar (2019) and Assistant Commandant in CRPF. The PhD scholar, who was busy preparing for exams, had to reject one of the government jobs.
Speaking with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Gaurav said, “All’s well that ends well and I am satisfied now. Yes, the journey was full of ups and downs. Many failures and some minor successes propelled me to do even better.”
SERIAL ACHIEVER
In 2016, the boy from Ambedkarnagar in Uttar Pradesh appeared for his first attempt in the UP PCS. He cracked the prelims, but could not give the Mains as dates overlapped with the UPSC CSE.
By 2018, the son of a retired Village Development Officer had reached the interview level thrice, but could not make it to the final list.
That is when he decided to change the medium from Hindi to English and the results were evident as he passed the UPPCS-2019 and got the ‘Naib Tehsildar’s post.
In PCS-2020, he got the BSA post. In 2021, he did not appear for the exams but next year, he is the topper among the Boys.
Mr Gaurav said, “My English writing is faster than that in Hindi and also much more study material was available, so it was the correct decision.”
EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVER
Mr. Gaurav holds a PhD from Delhi University. He has a postgraduate degree in ‘Hindi Literature’ from JNU. The Allahabad University graduate had taken his first steps from a village school so his achievements have been a joy and pride for his parents.
UPSC TO PCS
He had started his civil services preparation when he was in JNU. At first, he was only focussing on UPSC CSE. But that did not work out as destiny had a different plan. He decided to try his luck in the state civil services.
In 2018, UP PCS syllabus was changed. It was made almost UPSC-like, except for a few differences. It was around the same time when Mr. Gaurav started taking interest in the UP PCS.
Mr. Gaurav, who is now done with UPSC altogether after his failed attempt this year, said, “As the UPSC questions are more of analytical types as against the fact-based approach of PCS, so I needed a new strategy. Besides, UP PCS has more state-specific questions, at least 30 percent of total — all pre, mains and interview will be on UP.”
STRATEGY
Besides studying carefully and according to the syllabus, one must know what to study and what not, he said, adding that the aspirants should analyse the previous year’s papers. “Must pay attention to syllabus and FAQs,” he said.
As he was already working while appearing for the civil service exams, he did not have any fixed hours for studies.
“My basic preparation was done before the job landed, so in my last two attempts, I focussed on current affairs before Prelims and did a lot of writing practice before the exam for Mains,” he said.
Interviews were easier, he said, as he had received good exposure due to his employment, which also boosted his confidence.
LUCK STRUCK
Mr. Gaurav was lucky to come across questions related to his current posting as BSA and also some from Hindi literature.
He was asked about his take on the government spending crores on basic education and yet not achieving any major improvement.
Besides a question on corruption in the education department, he was also asked about the challenges for this department in the state.
“Then there were some real-life situational questions asked. For example, if the cook failed to deliver despite resources, whom will you fix the onus on?,” said Mr. Gaurav, who also had to recite a Hindi prayer often heard in state schools.
