Practicality, Simplicity and Success: IAS Anu Kumari’s Road to UPSC

January 22, 2024

4 Minutes

Introduction

In the current era of exam preparation, many candidates find themselves grappling with an avalanche of information and resources, which overcomplicate their studies and overwhelm them.  Anu Kumari, who cleared the UPSC examination in the year 2017 with AIR 2 is a testament to the fact that simplicity, practicality, and a focused mindset can pave the way for success. Her success story is a source of inspiration for aspiring candidates, due to her straightforward approach to cracking this exam. 

Define Your Motivation

You must have heard of TVF’s Aspirants series in which there is a well-known line, “UPSC exam not only drains you physically but mentally as well.” This is indeed true because this exam is truly a demanding and gruelling journey. So before plunging full throttle into the studies for UPSC, one should have a clear understanding of why they want to go for this examination. 

Getting in the Right Mindset

Anu had been working in the corporate sector for nine years and gradually a lot of dissatisfaction had crept in. Once she decided to appear for the exam, even she had to mentally prepare herself. Here are some pieces of advice that Anu recommends for aspirants.

Prelims and Mains

The preparation for both these papers is to be done together, not individually. Planning should be done backwards, which means that preparation should be started at least one year before the Prelims. Work out your timetable in such a manner that by the time you have to sit for the Prelims, you have revised all your books at least 10-12 times. Focus on minimalism while creating your booklist, do not refer to multiple sources, and do thorough research on toppers’ booklist. It's true that the more books one reads, the better it is, but there is a limited amount of time for this examination. Start with NCERT books because they are the basic foundational books.  

An Elaborate Reading Strategy

The first reading of a book can be a leisure reading where you get an idea of the contents of the book. The second reading is where the focus is on memorising and learning. Before the third reading, attempt any question bank of the previous 10-12 years and analyse how much you have retained from the studying that you did, along with getting a feel of the pattern of the questions. 

Keeping Things Short and Sweet

Talking about Anu’s experience, she appeared for her first attempt with a month’s preparation. One month is nowhere near enough to clear the Prelims, but because Anu kept her booklist short and had revised everything multiple times, she was able to reach very close to the cut-off for the Prelims that year.

Timelines

If the preparation is started exactly one year before the Prelims, then Anu recommends completing the General Studies syllabus within the first four months. When it comes to current affairs, a certain amount of time should be devoted to this aspect every day from the day you start your preparation to the day of the personality test. The next four months should be dedicated to your Optional subject. To choose your Optional subject, there are two important factors: your aptitude or interest in the subject, which can be evaluated by going over the previous years’ papers and basic books of the subject, and the guidance available for the subject, which can be checked by analysing whether test series, books, and other study materials are available or not.

While preparing for Optionals, don’t lose touch with your GS paper and start answer writing practice. The first few days of answer writing might be hard because you won’t have any idea on how to structure a question, but always prioritise using statistics, inferences from current affairs, practicality, diagrams, and flowcharts. 

Interview Stage

Do not get stressed or demotivated after watching mock interviews of other toppers. In the process of preparing for the Prelims and Mains, you also prepare for the interview simultaneously. A practical tip that Anu followed herself and recommends for other aspirants is the "buddy system", which implies pairing up with a friend or a fellow aspirant and cross-questioning and questioning each other daily. Practise multiple mock interviews so that you’re already familiarised with an interview setting and keep in mind that the interview seeks to test your personality, not your knowledge, since the latter has already been tested in the previous papers. The interview panel will always consist of experienced people, so candidates should be honest instead of trying to bluff in their answers. 

Creating a Customised Plan

Above all this, Anu wants all aspirants to keep moving forward even if they’re unsure of themselves. Try to draw bits and pieces from others’ strategies, but ultimately create a plan that works out the best for you.

Conclusion

Anu presents a refreshingly practical approach to the preparation for the UPSC examination as opposed to the usual conventional methods that overwhelm aspirants. As a mentor, Anu shares not only her knowledge but also her mindset. Her story is a source of motivation for those navigating the challenging path to crack UPSC.

Click here to know more about Anu's journey to success.