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(Success Story) Topper's Strategy - The Story Of Himanshu Jain (AIR-4)

Himanshu Jain has secured the coveted all India rank 4 in UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2019. A native of Haryana, he has done his schooling till the 8th standard from in his hometown. For his 9th to 12th grades, he moved to Delhi. He did his graduation in Economics (Hons.) from Hansraj College in Delhi. Immediately after his graduation, he started pursuing his passion for public service. He took his first attempt at UPSC Civil Services Pre Exam in 2018. Unfortunately, he could not clear prelims. He started again, corrected his mistakes, and managed this astounding rank in his 2019 attempt.

Himanshu Jain, AIR-4, UPSC CSE 2019

His UPSC Strategy

Himanshu, like many upsc toppers before him, has some very basic but specific advice for aspirants.

Limited Resources, Indefinite Revisions

Himanshu calls this the mantra of his preparation. He kept his resources as limited as possible, studying only what is absolutely needed to cover the entire upsc syllabus. And he revised all of it as many times as he could. Only when you revise multiple times do you retain the information. And only by retaining the information can you pen it down on your answer scripts.

Mains Is The Key

The most effort of the UPSC preparation goes into preparing for the upsc mains exam as that is what will decide your ranks. Preparation for every subject and topic should be mains oriented as that would automatically cover all things prelims. Himanshu started his prelim specific preparation cum revision 50 days before the Preliminary Examination. He claims that is enough to cover all things prelims.

Basic Resources

Himanshu relied on government texts, namely NCERT books from standards 6 to 12, for developing the basic structure of his preparation. He recommends everyone should read them. Other than that, he picked up one book for each subject such as Laxmikanth for Polity, Spectrum for History, and all other standard books as suggested by toppers year after year.

Additional Resources

Himanshu heavily relied on texts and reports published on government websites such as PIB to get hold of his facts and actual figures. For current affairs, he preferred newspapers and these websites over monthly magazines. One must read newspapers consistently to develop analytical reasoning prowess.

Study Time

Himanshu believes 6 to 8 hours of study is good enough for him. However, he asks you to mold your strategy as per your ability and comfort. For Himanshu, studying 4-6 hours in the morning-noon time and perhaps another additional 2 hours in the evenings proved to be good enough.

General Studies

The first tip Himanshi has for General Studies Preparation is picking up each topic/phrase mentioned in the syllabus and note down all static and current information you find each day under the given topic. For example, Himanshu based his General Studies Paper-II (Polity) answer writing around debates on Rajya Sabha TV and the static information around it. Google is your friend. Note terms in the news and write down short notes on each.

Message To Students

Eat well, sleep well, stress less –

that’s the main message Himanshu has. Don’t listen to a million voices, listen to teachers or to people who have already taken this journey, and use their advice in a manner that fits your personality. Keep your personal affairs aside for now. They will resolve themselves once your target has been achieved.

best of luck!

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