A little bit about Manu-

Greetings everyone! I am Manu Garg and I have secured AIR 91 in UPSC civil services examination 2024. I am 23 years old and this was my 2nd attempt 2nd Mains and first interview at this exam. I am born and brought up by my single parent my mother in Jaipur Rajasthan. I have done my schooling from Saint Xaviers Sr.Sec. School Jaipur. During my school days, I was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease called as retinitis pigmentosa and nystagmus that degenerated my retina cells. I have been a topper through and through in my school life. Then, I got admitted to Hindu College, University of Delhi where in I was fortunate enough to get 2nd rank in B..A. Programme (History+ Political science) batch. Afterwards, I enrolled in Masters in politics with specialisation in International relations degree at jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. As a result of clearing the UGC net JRF exam with 99.1 percentile, I thought of pursuing my Ph.D. from Centre for South Asian Studies at School of International Studies, JNU Delhi.

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Shot at UPSC-

During the Covid 19 days, when isolation and quarantine became a new normal, thought of preparing for UPSC surfaced. Back then I was in my second year of college. I had read the entire syllabus from NCERTs and standard books till my third year of college but couldn’t sit for the examination as I was falling short of minimum age criteria of 21 years.

I appeared for UPSC in 2023 attempt where I was able to qualify Prelims stage. However, faced a major set back in the mains stage where I could only score 679 marks therefore being devoid of a interview call.In the subsequent time left before the next cycle, I had to rewire my strategy for mains.

In 2024 attempt, I was lucky enough to find my name in the holy pdf. This time my Mains score is 827, 148 marks higher than last mains. This was made possible only because of my scores in GS2 i.e. 134 and in PSIR Optionals i.e. 279 (135+144)

By the following blog, I would like to share my strategy which worked to inflate my GS2 scores from 99 to 134 since 2023 to 2024.

PICK THE PYQ

There is no better test series or practice question bank than the previous year questions of UPSC itself. It not just gives an idea about the topics that are asked but also helps to observe the context of the question being asked. UPSC questions tend to be cyclical in nature implying that they tend to repeat in some form of other. The underpinning themes remain constant. An effective way to start preparing would be going through the syllabus and analysing the PYQs.

ONE FOR THE ONE PAGERS

An instrumental strategy is to have one pagers prepared for all Mains syllabus topics. One pagers would essentially include ready made introductions and conclusions with data sets, causes, positives, negatives, way forward and certain schematic or visual representation. These can be prepared by several sources like model answers of test series, topper copies, newspapers and monthly magazines. One pagers prove out to be very handy during revision sessions and value additions. I drafted digital one pagers for Mains syllabus using different free apps like google Keep notes, One note and evernote.

A list of judgements and case laws can be compiled with at least 2 judgements from each topic of syllabus. UPSC is explicitly asking for case laws to be mentioned in answers since couple of years. Case laws provide value for not just when it is explicitly asked for but also for other argumentations. Similarly, government schemes can help to make general points under way forward or any other sub head, more specific. For indian polity and constitution questions, quoting articles, schedules and sections of acts of Parliament can act as examples for points under headings.

TRYST WITH TEST SERIES-

It would seem inconceivable to many that I have not written single test across my 2 attempts. I am of a firm opinion that self evaluation is the best evaluation if coupled with occasional advises from experienced people. For answer writing practice, i used to scribble down PYQs and question in topper copies. For evaluation, I used to draw parallels between my answer and toppers’ answer. You can access my written answers uploaded on my telegram channel.

BLURRING BORDERS WITH PSIR AND OTHER GS-

According to me, knowledge cannot be segregated into water tight compartments. Therefore, concepts, quotes and theories from PSIR optional can be used to substantiate answers in GS2 as well. By this I don’t mean to make the answer too much academic but value enriched. For instance, civil society organisation answer can be started by the intro that civil society organisation act as invisible empire. Additionally, panchayati Raj can be introduced by constitutionalisation of gandhian principle of oceanic circles of decentralisation of power and Gram Swaraj.

Moreover, governance transcends to GS4 where in values of ethical civil servant and citizen charter fall in common ground. Social justice topics like vulnerable sections can be prepared in tandum with society of GS1.

USE THE NEWS-

Newspapers specially the editorial section give a opinionated understanding about broader governance issues. Additionally, they also act as reservoirs of statements of dignitaries, data and quotes. Statements of Honorable Prime Minister and Honorable external affairs Minister can act as good intro and conclusions. Honorable PM’s statement that This is not era of war but this is also not era of terrorism can be used to tackle some IR questions revolving around Pakistan. Similarly, Honorable External Affairs Minister’s statement that India is no longer a balancing power but a leading power can conclude most questions related to Indian foreign policy.

The key terms and arguments extracted from newspapers can be supplemented by selective reading of monthly magazines of any institute. Magazine and compilations should be selectively read only for those topics that one misses during newspaper reading.

DEMAND AND KEY TERMS IS THE KEY-

Major difference across my 2 marks that I found out was deciphering the complex demand of questions. Considering the 20th question of GS2 2024 : Discuss the geopolitical and geostrategic importance of Maldives for India with a focus on global trade and energy flows. Further also discuss how this relationship affects india’s maritime security and regional stability amidst international competition. In such a question all the key words of the demand have to find place in the headings created in the answers. This would help the examiner to know that we have addressed the demand comprehensively. In my perspective, the examiner reads the copy vertically and not horizontally so all the demand should be well highlighted in front of him. This can be done with better usage of underlining, enclosed boxes and flow chart diagram.

For IR questions, drawing a map can have its utility in expressing a lot of information in a limited space. All the dimensions that are implicitly asked in the demand and not outrightly mentioned in the question, I made use of diagrams to express in lesser space.

As a future bureaucrat, one should never end a answer on a negative note mentioning the bottlenecks in policy implementation or negatives of indian polity. Whether asked or not, way forward should be stated with 2 or 3 points if not more.

IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH-

No one can deny the fact that UPSC is a long journey. It has its ups and downs. Therefore, in a such a quest, one should never ignore the impact inflicted on mental health. An functional peer group or support system can be installed to share anxieties and stress accompanied by this examination. If I am allowed to use an analogy of 10 balls in a bag. If a person is asked to pick any 5 out of them randomly. Then the 5 those did not get picked were not less competent. It is just the number of vacancies. Being inside or outside the holy pdf can be based on sheer luck many a times.