K.N.Chandana Jahnavi (CSE-23 AIR-50) Comprehensive and Sociology Strategy
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DecodeCIVILS – Mudit Jain
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Hello,
I am K.N.Chandana Jahnavi and I hail from Hyderabad in Telangana. I am fortunate to have secured AIR 50 in UPSC CSE 2023 and this was my 3rd attempt.
UPSC Journey:
I began preparation on May 31st, 2019, and this is a journey of 5 long years, 3 attempts, 3 selections and 3 different services. I consider this extreme fortune to have been selected all the three times and this was one of gradual progression.
In my 1st attempt (CSE 2020), I was recommended to Indian Corporate Law Service with Reserve List- 01 where I underwent training for 21 months and in my 2nd attempt (CSE 2022), I was recommended to Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) with AIR 313.
I gave 2020 with mindset of one attempt and out and did not even apply for 2021. But the result humbled me where I got exact cutoff marks of 944 and still did not make it to the main list. I remember crying my heart out for 1-1.5 months blaming my luck and it took me that time till June 2022 to come back stronger and, in a way, it prepared me for anything inevitable.
Today, I see it as fortune that I at least made it to the list and so many more hard-working people never see light at the end of the tunnel. In my second attempt, I got AIR 313 and even then, I had extreme fortune to have been the closing rank for IRS- Income Tax and today I am glad I got a third chance to do my absolute best and manage a top 50 rank. Providing my marksheets in all the three attempts and how I have seen gradual improvement:
Education Background:
I finished my bachelor’s in chemical engineering from BIT Mesra (2013-17) and master’s in business administration from IIM Indore (2017-19). I had the option to choose from scholarship for Masters in University of Arizona (Tuscan), Campus Placement as GET in Reliance, Jamnagar, admission to IIM Indore and IIM Lucknow (Agribusiness Management). The final decision here was taken as a “Plan-B” as both my parents as postgraduates felt there was a need for strong backup, if in case I ever wrote the civil services examination, which was to go to IIM Indore.
Post MBA, I worked with Deloitte for 14 months and this is where I did my initial preparation before resigning in July 2021, which was 2 months to Prelims of 2020.
Timetable and Challenges-Preparation with a Job:
I would study morning 5-9 AM and then in my transit of almost 2 hours and lunch time while in Deloitte. After making it to ICLS, I made it 5-9 AM and 5-9 PM and sometimes even late nights. I have the app Yeolpumta which helped me track time I was studying and breakdown for each subject. I recommend such apps that help you stay motivated.
60% of my preparation was when I was employed- either in Deloitte or as an ICLS. I would like to recommend a few tips here:
While working, I used to start my day as early as possible (4:45 AM precisely) and used to start with studying from a book.
I used my transit of 1 hour each of to and fro to revise my notes.
Lunch time of 1 hour, I would religiously bring a book to office that did not look like a textbook or notes along with reading editorials in newspaper (India after Gandhi for example)
Every 1-2 hours I used to come out of work desk and look for current affairs snippets of coaching centres and I would play their free daily quizzes of the week (I did 10 question tests of vajiram multiple times)
I watched 270 hours of sociology videos for optional of IAS Gurukul when in Office and this was normally in some unrelated seminar/ some non-important meeting/ any possible free times and sometimes skipping lunch (I finished it in 3 months of office)
While in training, I used to use my time even in tea breaks by coming back to classroom within 5-10 minutes and keeping a target to finish before next class started
Bottom Line is extremely meticulous while studying with working. You need your mind to be able to effortlessly switch while you do justice to your job which is paying you. It takes time to adapt between both modes, but it is possible and will make one a great multi-tasker on a long run.
Showing my August 2023 Yeolpumta average studying hours:
All three attempts in sociology, I maintained my score which was 280 (2020), 278 (2022) and 283 (2023) and I improved on my styles all three times which tells you that there is no one way to score marks and Individuality along with creativity of expression is highly rewarded in Sociology. Just a few pointers:
I finished online course of IAS Gurukul, and those notes were my foundation for 3 attempts.
My strategy was relying on topper copies of Srishti Deshmukh Ma’am, Neha Bhonsle Ma’am, Gunjita Agarwal ma’am- I took names of scholars, sociology books or articles, data points and terms from their answer papers to add to my notes. Srishti Ma’am’s copies also helped me make good diagrams and mind maps.
I depended on notes of Dhatri Reddy ma’am and Neha Bhonsle Ma’am
All three attempts, I gave 6 mocks for both papers combined, and these were my main pillar: Vision IAS in 2020, IAS Gurukul in 2022 and Forum IAS in 2023. After test, kindly see topper copies of test and take content from them to improve your presentation. Spend more time on value addition post-test (Already uploaded on my channel)
In my 3rd attempt, I enrolled for Forum ATS+ which had value addition. But, just to mention my scores did not change.
I made short notes in the very end and revised those multiple times. I will upload them on my telegram channel soon.
GS Strategy:
My score in General Studies improved from 376 (2020) to 416 (2022) to 427 (2023). This is based on seeing General Studies copies of Anudeep Durishetty sir & Goldi Gupta sir (457 in 2022) and building on it
First step is memorizing each word in the syllabus and seeing it daily for 4-5 times a day for 100 days leading to mains examination. (Put it on your study desk and keep marking what part of syllabus is over)
My writing style is based on Vishaka Ma’am’s presentation style which suited me. I sticked to it in all three attempts. (Find a style of presentation that you can naturally merge with your way of writing)
Relying heavily on tests- All three attempts, I gave around 30 odd mocks of 4 General Studies and Essay combined. Give a test as per UPSC time, take the topper copies uploaded- see their presentation and content and keep adding to your notes which should be exact syllabus wise.
Every attempt, make crisp notes for last minute revision and it should be after multiple revisions and what you believe can be reproduced in any paper.
To enjoy my notes and not get bored, I would use colour pens and assorted colours for each revision to mark or circle words.
A dashboard of tests per paper must be in front of us before going in for our mains examination which is a source of enormous confidence. Attaching my photo of mains tests board of this year:
I have uploaded my process of reading and note making on my telegram channel and I will state out 2 major things in making notes:
I made it in a way that I enjoyed reading multiple times with colour pens, markings in highlighters and even sometimes, on flashcards.
20 days to mains, I redid my short notes to be accurately reflecting my revision and condensing my notes. Short notes must always be person specific and reflect what you are not able to remember or what you are sure can be reproduced in any GS Paper.
Just a photo collage of some pictures of my notes to understand the process:
Language Paper Strategy:
I wrote Sanskrit in all three attempts even if I had Reading, Writing and Speaking proficiency in Hindi and Telugu and it was just because I love taking a challenge and I do not recommend it to people per se. This is a general strategy for any language paper and to anyone looking for Sanskrit paper advice:
1. Get past 5-year papers solved by someone and read the essay written due to the paucity of time. Most sentences can be reproduced.
2. I got GS syllabus words written in Sanskrit to use in my essay and comprehension.
3. Precis writing must be done in a way of combining sentences, removing adjectives, and merging lines.
3. I always started with Grammar and these notes must be revised and practice writing in the script starting from Monday- give 1 hour every day for 5 days leading to the exam.
4. Attempt the whole paper- focus on filling all pages with neat handwriting.
I will upload my notes for the same on my telegram channel
Final Message:
“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”
This quote from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho sums up what I feel at the end of this exam journey. Even if I never cleared the exam, I would have been happy that I tried, I worked hard and I have no regrets at the end of the day- that is my greatest treasure. Hakuna Matata!
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