Clearing UPSC CSE remains a dream for many, but, then again, there are ones who clear it multiple times. How and why do they do it, we may wonder. Let’s find out from wonder boy Amrit Jain, who cleared this exam not once or twice, but four times consecutively! He is an IPS officer now, currently serving as ASP (Training) in Pratapgarh, UP.
He gave his first serious attempt in 2017 but could get through Prelims with just 0.66 marks. However, that was it! He never turned back from there and gave all his efforts in UPSC 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. While in 2018, he was in reserve list and got Indian Defence Accounts Services, in 2019, 2020 and 2021 he secured AIR 321, AIR 96 and AIR 179 respectively.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, he said that he has now realized that his achievement is not very common as CSE is full of uncertainty. But, when he was in that phase, he didn’t see it that way. He just kept on doing the same thing, with little improvement.
COULDN’T STOP AT PRELIMS
After completing his Electrical Engineering from NIT Warangal and Czech Technical University, he took up a high paying job in SEC Industries Private Limited in Hyderabad. Everything was settled, but he decided to try for UPSC CSE and give himself only two serious attempts. Coming from a very humble background, he couldn’t afford more. Looking back, he said, “In 2016, I gave my first attempt without much preparation and in over-confidence. I was in that zone, like what is it, just multiple-choice questions which we are doing since childhood (laughs). Then, in 2017, I prepared fully but missed it with less than one mark.”
It was then that he decided that he shouldn’t stop at that stage. He went all in, with a goal to be much ahead than the cut off. “I wanted to score more than 130 or be stopped at 70-80. So, that I don’t have any confusion,” he said. And, that’s what happened! In all his attempts after that, he scored between 134-137 in Prelims.
WITH ABSOLUTELY NO COACHING
He did all his preparation from Jaipur and took no help of coaching. When he missed Prelims with minimal margin, he changed his strategy. “I started consulting multiple sources for static portion. Its unusual, but it worked for me. UPSC CSE is continuously changing its pattern, and for that, one needs to be fully attentive and informed.”
Besides this, he gave 140 mock tests in the time limit of 1 to 1.5 hour. This gave him an edge in the examination hall and due to that practice, he could read the questions at least three times. “I was calm and composed. Plus, I had time and reading the question multiple times helped my guessing capacity,” he said.
CHOOSING OPTIONAL
While he could have taken Electrical Engineering as his optional, instead, he went for Political Science and International relations. He always had an interest in international news but choosing this subject was a well intentioned decision. “After 10th, there was a vacuum in reading social sciences. I wanted to read that subject not just because humanities is a major part of the syllabus but also because it is related to our work. When we think about things in technical way, then we are objective, but for this job, we need a holistic approach,” he explained.
NO REGRETS ON NOT GETTING IAS
Even though he cleared CSE four times with fairly good ranks, still he couldn’t get IAS, which was his dream. However, he doesn’t regret it. He said, “IAS is a dream for everyone who prepares for CSE but everyone doesn’t get it. Working in IDAS gave me interesting opportunities to contribute in India’s defence and strategic sector. Similarly in IPS, detection and prevention of various crimes in society fills you with immense job satisfaction.” He recently led a team which busted a cheque fraud gang across India.
Commenting on missing IAS as service by just couple of marks he says that there isnt any end to dissatisfaction whether it is rank, service or cadre. One must try to give their best to whatever role they have been assigned in the society and must enrich it with their hobbies and family life. One can make an impact in any field, it’s just the outlook and approach towards life that matters in the end, he summed up
