National Association of Civil Servants (NACS), the hand that scripted the success of UPSC toppers like AIR 1 Shubham Kumar, organised a seminar named ‘Topper’s Talk’, where this year’s successful candidates who were part of NACS shared their preparation strategies with aspirants.

The main objective of the program was to directly connect UPSC aspirants with successful candidates to help them in their preparation. Along with topper Shubham Kumar, this year’s successful candidates Praveen Kumar AIR 7, Uttkarsh Kumar AIR 55, Ashish AIR 226, Amit Ranjan AIR 431, Jaya Sneh AIR 527 and Rahul Kumar AIR 688 also briefly shared their experiences with the aspirants.

DETAILED PLAN FOR PREPARATION LEADS TO SUCCESS: SHUBHAM KUMAR

Shubham shared his experiences and strategies with the aspirants in a detailed manner. He said he received a constant support from his family members and friends. “My family always supported me during my preparation. I faced many ups and downs in my journey, but I was motivated and inspired to work harder,” says Shubham Kumar.

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He advised aspirants to “make a detailed plan for prelims, mains and interview round, read the newspapers daily, and practice previous years question papers right from the beginning of preparation.”

During the seminar, Shubham focused more on answer writing practice. He says, “It is very crucial to practice answer writing daily and give mock test of three hours. This will help you in your final exams as you have to finish the exam in three hours.”

Along with self-studies, Shubham informed that he prepared with friends for UPSC: “I had a group of three people who were serious towards preparation. We used to distribute the topics amongst us and then discuss them. This helped me to understand the topics in a much better way.”

Shubham also revealed that soon he will share his detailed preparation strategy on his Telegram channel.

WANT TO WORK FOR SENIOR CITIZENS: PRAVEEN KUMAR

Hailing from Jamui, Bihar, Praveen Kumar aced rank 7 in his second attempt. He graduated from IIT Kanpur in the year 2017. Before attempting UPSC, Praveen cleared many other competitive exams like GATE and Engineering Service examination.

“I always wanted a life where I could work for the senior citizens of our country. I am always concerned that they should not face any kind of challenge or discrimination. This motivated me to clear UPSC so that I can work for them,” said an emotional Praveen.

According to him, it is important that aspirants do not copy the toppers, instead they should just listen to their suggestions. He says, “Plan your preparation strategy according to your strength and weakness. Listen to the toppers’ suggestions and work on yourself. Along with it, make the syllabus and previous years question papers your base.”

COACHING GIVES DIRECTION ONLY: ASHISH

Ashish who bagged rank 226 in UPSC CSE 2020 is a graduate from NIT Bhopal. He cracked UPSC without any help of coaching.

Ashish believes that coaching institutes give directions only and one can crack UPSC if they are self-motivated. “I never attended any coaching during my preparation days. I believe that one can crack UPSC if they are self-motivated and crystal clear towards their goals,” said Ashish.

According to him, there are three things that can lead you to success without any coaching guidance – limiting your resources, making notes, and the art of resourcing syllabus from newspapers and Internet.

UPSC GIVES AN EQUAL PLATFORM: JAYA SNEH

Hailing from Jharkhand, Jaya Sneh cracked UPSC with AIR 527. She completed her graduation through a distance course from IGNOU. She started preparing for UPSC simultaneously with her graduation.

She believes that UPSC gives an equal platform to every aspirant. According to her, “It does not really matter from which institute you have graduated. What matters is how you are preparing, what are your strategies, and how confident you are towards the exam.” 

MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE BEFORE LEAVING YOUR WELL-EARNED JOB FOR UPSC: UTTKARSH KUMAR

Uttkarsh Kumar, AIR 55, a graduate in Computer Science from IIT Mumbai, left his well-earned job to work for the nation. He cracked UPSC in his second attempt.

While sharing his experiences, Uttkarsh says, “I was working for American clients, when I thought, ‘if I am giving my precious time to American clients, then why should I not devote this time to my countrymen and for the development of my nation.”

According to Uttkarsh, it is crucial that aspirants who are already working for a company should have an informed choice. They should consult with their well-wishers before taking any step. “It is a long journey, and it can only be fruitful if you take an informed decision,” Uttkarsh cautions.