Shubhankar Pathak has secured the 11th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2021. He is a native of Bihar. He cracked the UPSC Civil Services Examination in his very first attempt with Mathematics optional and also secured AIR 11th. During an interview he said, "My father is a civil servant from the 1995 batch. Having observed his career very closely, he knew about the positive and negative aspects of the services. To become an IAS Officer is my childhood dream".

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Shubhankar has completed his graduation with Electrical Engineering from IIT(ISM) Dhanbad. After that he also worked as a software developer in Cisco Systems for 6 months. He resigned from his job to prepare solely for the Civil Services Examination. He also joined online coaching, RAUs IAS institute. 

SHUBHANKAR PATHAK'S UPSC PREPARATION STRATEGY

IS COACHING NECESSARY? 

He believes that coaching is neither necessary nor sufficient to crack this exam. He said that he joined it because after reading NCERT books he couldn't grasp concepts. He advised the aspirants that self study is most important even after joining the coaching.

MAKE A SCHEDULE

Shubhankar said that time table will help you for an effective UPSC Exam preparation with proper time management for a routine life. Shubhankar said he used to study 4 to 5 hours when he was working but after quitting the job he used to study 8 to 10 hours daily with a proper schedule. A proper schedule increases your productivity. Since your studies are streamlined, confusion doesn’t prevail and your efficiency also improves.

HOW TO MAKE NOTES?

He advised the aspirants not to make notes on the first reading. When you have read any book at least 3 times then make a note. Try to make notes in your own language. In a book itself you can highlight or underline the important part. It can make your revision more efficient.

STRATEGY FOR  PRELIMS

He advised the aspirants for preliminary examination just note down one Read less and Revise as many times as you can. He also analyzed the PYQs thoroughly. It helped him a lot to clear the prelims exam. Try to solve the full length tests before the exam. 

CURRENT AFFAIRS

A current affair has emerged as a very important aspect of the UPSC Exam. He used to follow daily current affairs videos (Daily News Simplified videos on YouTube), monthly current affairs notes of RAUs IAS to exhaustively cover everything important for the exam. Apart from that I used to read the newspaper The Hindu and The Indian Express.

STRATEGY FOR ANSWER WRITING

He advised the aspirants to always make relevant flow-charts and diagrams in the answer. Always try to prepare model introduction and conclusions for topics that repeat often and static topics of UPSC syllabus. This will save a lot of time in the actual exam. Try to cover all the parts of the questions. 

At last Shubhankar advised the aspirants to be your own motivator. Tell yourself your strengths and record your progress.

Imagining yourself as an IAS Officer can work wonders if you are not feeling motivated. But please avoid daydreaming.

Shubhankar wishes you all the best.

© IASEXAMPORTAL