Sample eEsays on 2 topics by Sh Kantesh Mishra - AIR 103, UPSC CSE

UPSC Prelims 2018 Answer Keys

Meet him - Learn and Un-learn from him

Trademark IAS caught up with this gem of a gentleman - Shri Shekhar Kumar Chaudhary - ever smiling and forever humble.

Folks, you'd remember that he joined IPS last year.

This year too he took the UPSC Civil Services Exam and came out with All India Rank 216

Naturally, he's expecting IAS.

What a journey for this man - after having lost his father at a very young age - this man has been an apostle of perseverance, grit, determination and of course talent. 

From a First Class 2nd position in Calcutta University in Physics Hons from Presidency College to an
M Tech from IIT Delhi and finally landing into the labyrinth of bureaucracy  by qualifying UPSC Civil Services twice in a row - Shri Shekhar has seen all and most important, achieved all.

Mr Chaudhary had been our member since long - and it was a pleasure for us indeed. 

Here, we go !



T
Q1: With AIR 216 this time, which service are you expecting?

Ans:  IAS.

Q2. Would you continue with IPS in case you do not get IAS?

Ans: Yes

Q3. As an IAS officer, what role do you perceive?

Ans: IAS officers have a major developmental role to play for the society at large at every stage of their career.

  

They have to shoulder a plethora of responsibilities ranging from effective implementation of govt. policies at initial stage of their career to formulation of policies at the later stage. However,it would be prudent for me to decide upon my focus area only after commencing to work in the field. 

   

Q4. Though you have done this a number of times in the past, yet today we would request you to please advise the aspirants from Trademark IAS about the way of preparation toward UPSC.

Ans: There is no unique way of preparation for UPSC. A lot depends on the individual's capacity,capability and the stage of career in which he/she is. For example, the way of preparation is very different for a working individual compared to one who is able to give the whole day for the exam.

However the common advice for all the aspirants from Trademark would be:

1.Understand the syllabus for the exam very carefully by referring to the UPSC notification. It's very important for the Mains exam.  Try to first complete the syllabus but don't be  in a hurry. Take your time and understand the concepts. 

2. Don't try to cover everything under the sun specially for the Mains exam. Adhere to the syllabus. It is tempting to get carried away.

3. Don't try to take shortcuts. Invest time in reading standard books on subjects.

4. Practice as many MCQs as possible for prelims exam, specially previous year questions. 

5. Don't take GS 2/CSAT loosely even if you are from Science/Engg background. Do solve previous year papers in a time bound manner. I have seen people failing in CSAT paper even after getting very good marks in GS paper in prelims. 

5. Always remember, the most important stage of this exam is the MAINS. 

Try to score maximum marks in it as you can never rely on interview. 

For that, practice answer writing as much as possible. 

I used to write Advanced Mains Test Series at Trademark before mains and it helped me a lot. 

The  presentation of an answer plays an equally important role compared to the content of an answer. Practice completing Mains papers in time.

6. Use internet effectively. Now a lot of content is freely available on it.

7. Lastly,have confidence, patience and firm belief. Don't get disheartened if you fail in your attempts. Always do a realistic and true assessment of yourself after your failure. 

You will very well get to know whether UPSC is your cup of tea or not. If it seems that you can crack it or you are very close to the cut-offs then don't allow negativity to creep in at all, work wholeheartedly to achieve your dream. 

Finally, do remember that UPSC is not everything in life !

8. For those who are not working,don't rely only on UPSC CSE alone. Take multiple exams.Your selection in one of the exams will  motivate you and make you more confident for UPSC. Especially take State Civil Service Exams, whose syllabus is a sub-set of the UPSC Civil Services Exam.

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UPSC 2019 Training commences from 10 th June

Purnava Ganguly - UPSC Personality Test

My board was of Retd Air Marshall Sh Bhonsle. Apart from the Chairman there were 4 other members with one lady member.

1. Tell me 3 differences about Canon and Concor

2. If you are posted as DM of your district what will be your plan of action

3. Benefits of bitcoin. How it will help in logistics sector

4. Tell me 5 famous people having surname ‘Ganguly’ 

5. Do you think India is slow in reacting to international developments ?

6. How has immigration changed West Bengal and what are the negative consequences ?

7. A member asked me about Indo Pak war of 1971

8. In coming 15 years which will be the top 3 countries according to you.

My interview was over within 20 mins. Initial 2/3 discussions was about my profile and my experience in both private and public sectors, but no questions were asked during this time.

Over all, the board was very cordial.

Bravo, Purnava Ganguly, UPSC 2017 Civil Service Success Story

Meet Mr Purnava Ganguly, an engineer from Jadavpur University and having a masters from Delhi School of Economics. He 'cool-ly' qualified UPSC Civil Services with an All India Rank of 498. He is expecting IA&AS or IRS. 

A suave individual - his power flew from his pen - through his efficient and cogent answers.

He had qualified WBCS & also wrote UPSC Mains previously - just to miss the Personality Test Call by a hairline margin. 

Presently he is at Jharsuguda, Odisha on official mission. 

He was with us for the last 3 years. 

Q1.       When did you start preparing for Civil Services?

I started preparation seriously from 2015 onwards. 

Q2. Please state your educational background.

I did my entire schooling from Patha Bhavan kolkata and graduation in civil engineering from Jadavpur University. Post that I did masters in International Business from Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.

Q3. Why did you want to become a civil servant over other career options? 

At the professional level civil service provides a wide platform and diverse roles which no other career path provides. At the same time the impact of work at a macro and micro level is enormous which gives a lot of personal satisfaction and a sense of pride in contributing to the national growth story. 

Q4. What was your optional and why?

I chose management. Though very few people even from management background take this optional, the reason was optimum utilisation of my existing knowledge and time at hand. As i was already working i did not have enough time to devote for an entirely new subject. Moreover i was already in a mangerial role in my organization which helped me connect with the concepts even better.

Q5. You went through State Civil Services & also you were in a job in PSU. In that context, can you elaborate your study routine? This will help other aspirants.

Time management and prioritization is the key. I tried to be regular even it meant only 1 hour. For working people one has to analyse which part of the day is most suitable and try to utilise it to the maximum. In my case it was in the morning and tried to be consistent in it. 


Q6. What needs to be the style of answer writing in Mains?

Bullet form is convenient for examiners at the same time presentable. 

Q7. Did you practice answer writing? Did it help? Did you appear in any Test Series for Mains?

Answer writing practice is important. For that I joined Trademark Ias Advance Test Series for practice and evaluation which was very helpful. 

Q8. What should be the approach towards Prelims in the age of –ve marking & now with total stress back on GS I?    

      

Revision and mock practice should be the approach. 

Q9. What is your opinion regarding the change in the MAINS Syllabus through incorporation of Ethics paper. Also, what about the pattern of questions being 20-25 questions, with 10/15 marks in a span of 3 hrs?


Ethics paper adds a new layer to UPSC preparation. Such changes in question pattern brings an element of surprise which I believe is healthy

Q10. Was going through this journey a lone fight or did you find people around you?

In this journey one always needs support and motivation. I was very lucky to get the support of my parents and guidance from Trademark Ias. 

The classroom environment was very motivating and easy access to faculty members were a great help.





Thank You Shri Ganguly ! We wish you a satisfying career ahead. 

UPSC Civil Services 2017 Results

Dear All

We are extremely glad to share that 2 of our members/aspirants have qualified the UPSC CSE as under:

1. Shekhar Kumar Chaudhary - AIR 216 - will get IAS

2. Purnava Ganguly - AIR 498 - expected IA&AS or IRS

Both of them belong to Kolkata. 

We congratulate them & wish them a great career in civil services. 

Both of them went for Interview & they qualified - in that way, our success % at Interview is 100% for consecutive 2 years. 

On this occasion, we remember our Founder-Director who was a messiah of optimism and had blessed the two aspirants for success at Interview