(Success Story) UPSC 2022 TOPPER, AIR- 12: ABHINAV SIWACH SUCCESS STORY AND TIPS

Abhinav Siwach has secured 12th rank in the UPSC Civil Services examination 2022. He is a native of Fatehabad but now residing in Hisar. Already he cleared a DMIS exam. He was appointed as a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in Delhi under the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu (Civil) Services (DANICS). He wants to be an IAS officer so he keeps preparing for the exam by balancing both a full day job and study.

Educational background

He completed his b.tech degree from Delhi Technological University & his MBA from Kolkata. He also worked in a commercial firm after MBA and was chosen for the Danika Service in 2020. He chose Sociology as his optional subject. Despite working full-time as SDM, he studied for seven to eight hours daily.

Abhinav's UPSC Preparation strategy

Strengthen your foundation

Abhinav advised the aspirants whatever your background is, it doesn't matter. you need to understand the basics of the demand of subjects of the UPSC exam syllabus. Firstly, read the NCERT textbooks At least read them at least twice before making notes. NCERT textbooks are very important for strengthening the basics. After reading NCERTs, expand your knowledge by reading the standard books.

Answer writing practice

Abhinav advised the aspirants practice the answer writing regularly because writing helps in internalising what you have read. He said while practising the answer writing, understand the question fully and correctly before writing an answer for it. He said, questions in the UPSC Mains examination come with directives like ‘discuss/ critically discuss’ etc. You should be able to grasp clearly what that particular directive is asking you to do.

Don't underestimate the importance of CSAT paper

Abhinav said, the CSAT Paper is very important, so don't underestimate it. UPSC CSAT is a qualifying paper Prelims Exam. However, it is important to score 66 plus marks out of 200 to ensure selection in Prelims. So never ignore it. Practice it as much as you can before the exam.

Make your own notes

Note making is a very important part of UPSC exam preparation. Abhinav advised the aspirants, always keep in mind whenever you make notes of any topic, try to write them in bullet form. Notes should be short points which are crisp and easy to understand. The way you write your notes is the way you also write in the exam. So always make sure that you write your jotting in the bullet format as this is the best way of writing answers in the exam as well.

At last Abhinav said,Carve out a unique strategy. Don't need to follow someone, just have a unique and your own strategy. work on it with consistency and dedication. There is no substitute for hard work in this examination.