Every year around 9 to 10 lakh youth appear for the UPSC Civil Services Exam with the dream of becoming IAS, IPS, IRS and IFS officers, but only around 15 thousand of them are able to qualify for the main examination.Many do not even crack Prelims even after giving several attempts.Whereas there are many candidates who fail in Prelims despite reaching Interview and Mains in previous attempts.IRS officer Anjani Kumar Pandey has tried to solve the confusion of such candidates who are repeatedly failing in their initial attempts.Anjani Kumar became an IRS officer by securing 314th rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2009. IRS officer Anjani Kumar shared a post on social media platform X and said, ‘I had failed in my first attempt because I did not give my best.I failed in my second attempt even though I had studied very well.I had failed in my third attempt also though I was expecting a rank in the exam.After learning something from my previous three attempts, I succeeded in the fourth attempt.It is okay to fail in UPSC or any exam of life.Most of the candidates who are finally selected fail in the first attempt or in any of their attempts.In fact, more than 50 percent take 3 to 4 attempts to clear UPSC.
The question is what to do after failing…
1. Analysis of Marks – Marks in UPSC inform you about your status and progress.Analyze the marks obtained in the previous attempt and focus on the areas in which you got less marks.For example, I was getting low marks/average score in General Studies, so I worked on General Studies.I always got good marks in essay with less effort, so I thought of scoring more marks in essay as it was my strong area.Focus on all those strong areas where you can score a lot of points with very little effort.I scored very well on the history optional and the essay, so I aimed to score the highest in my strongest areas
2. Mains Exam Series and Answer Practice – A good test series is essential for Mains to understand your actual progress.A right checking guru and test copy with right feedback is very important so that one can really work honestly on their answers and improve the answers.So, practice well and write well before appearing in the mains exam.There is no point in just studying when you cannot repeat it in the actual exam.
3. Presentation of your answers – Whatever you write in the main examination should be presented well.In UPAC you not only have to cover all the points well but also see that you present all the points well.Even if you write general answers it is good to cover all the points.Presenting the answers in groups or points or paragraphs or diagrams can enrich the quality of the answers.An examiner should be able to clearly see that the answer covers all the points.
4. Keep in mind that fortune favors the brave – UPSC exam is like a gamble.I personally believe that there is hardly any difference between a topper and a person who appeared for Mains or Interview but failed to make it to the final list.
The luck factor matters a lot because of subjectivity.But it is also true that efforts are many and if one keeps working hard, usually one day one gets selected or gets success in some other field of life.
UPSC is just like any other exam, and let it be that way.Life is bigger than UPSC.If you don’t make UPSC then something better is waiting for you
…If winter comes, may spring be far behind…
In another tweet, the IRS officer wrote, ‘UPSC exam can never be cleared in 3/6/9 months….
1. This exam requires at least 2 to 3 years, even for the brightest minds on the planet to crack this exam.
2. Many toppers, in the desire of publicity and attention, say that “I studied only 6 months ago.”After selection, sometimes toppers say such things in excitement which is a human nature, do not believe such things at all.
3. It is a highly competitive examination.There is no substitute for hard work here or anywhere in life.Never assume that just 5-6 hours of study will help you clear UPSC.One will have to study for 8-10 hours a day from June to February, 10-12 hours a day from March till the preliminary exam, and 12-14 hours a day till the main exam.
