Today, Indian Masterminds brings to you the success story of IAS officer Mandar Patki who cleared UPSC CSE 2019 with AIR 22 in his very first attempt. He is currently posted as Assistant Collector, Amravati, Maharashtra.
FIRST ATTEMPT
Born in Maharashtra, Mr. Mandar Patki cleared UPSC CSE 2019 with AIR 22 in his first attempt. He never took the help of any coaching institute and prepared on his own to crack the most prestigious and difficult examination of the country.
He had pursued a Polytechnic diploma from Government Polytechnic College, Pune, followed by a B.Tech degree from Vishwakarma University. He took a year off to prepare for UPSC and managed to crack CSE in his very first attempt.
While talking with the media, Mr. Patki gave many interview tips for the aspirants. He said that if aspirants have the zeal to work hard and they study diligently, then they can easily pass this exam with full confidence and enthusiasm.
PLANNING AND LIMITED RESOURCES
He further said that aspirants should always study with proper planning and time-table as this will help them to segregate their time accordingly. Apart from this, he said that they should choose the right guidance and the right resource. “If we do these two things, then preparing for the exam becomes very easy,” he said.
He further advised that it is very important to have limited resources and do multiple revisions during the preparation. This is the reason why he was able to clear this exam in the very first attempt.
He did not emphasise much on reading a number of different books. Instead, he said that they should choose limited sources and read and revise them again and again. Apart from this, he used to make notes of whatever he felt necessary.
Mr. Patki is a firm believer of minimum resources and giving maximum time to revision. He himself stuck to his go-to books – NCERT books of class 6-12, Laxmikanth for Polity, Spectrum for Modern History and The Hindu for current affairs. He also read current affairs and news daily to keep himself up to date.
DAILY NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS
Mr. Patki emphasised much on reading newspapers, NCERT books and current affairs on a daily basis, as this will enhance the general knowledge of the aspirants. He also asks the aspirants to revise their whole syllabus one month before the examination.
ANTHROPOLOGY AS OPTIONAL
He took Anthropology as his optional subject. According to him, this subject has a crisp syllabus with numerous online and offline resources available. He added, “Anthropology has also had a very scoring trend over the past few years of UPSC. It also happens to be interesting. I was able to complete the whole syllabus in 3 to 4 months.”
TIPS FOR ASPIRANTS
He advices aspirants to keep trying their best without taking much stress and never give up. Apart from this, he also advices to take small breaks in between their studies which will help them to start afresh.
“The day you prepare yourself for hard work, the avenues open automatically. So, keep trying,” he says.
