I was the 1st Graduate and now the 1st person to be in Bureaucracy, in my Family, says Vinoth, AIR 683, UPSC 2023

Tell some basic information about you.

I was born and brought up in Kanyakumari District. I did my schooling there. After completing my schooling, my graduation is in Coimbatore from Kumaraguru College of Technology. I pursued my bachelor’s in Aeronautical Engineering. So after this graduation, the desire to come to Civil Service started even as a school boy. But later, after graduation, I began the Civil Service examination preparation. At that time, it was a COVID time lockdown, so online was the only choice. At that time, I came to know about Forum IAS. They started the online CGP program, so I started with that. The journey ends with the All India rank 683.

What were you doing when the results came? 

Actually, in 2021 and 2022, whenever I see the results like ‘no matches found’, it really felt very sad because I was a topper in school and also in college. I was facing failure for the first time in UPSC preliminary examination in 2021.

I could not digest that thing, and for continuous 2 years, it’s a continuous failure.

But 2023 was a very lucky year, whatever my hard work went through, it reaped results in this third attempt. So in preliminary results, Mains result, and even in final, whenever I check my roll number, the name automatically comes with the orange light, Vinoth AR highlighted.

So I felt very happy and felt satisfied when my name was in the final list. So that’s my reaction.

Initially, I planned that when the result come, I need to enjoy, jump more, but after the result came, in the process of time, we have a lot of learnings and we mature enough to handle certain things. So I think that UPSC mentally trained us in a very good way.

You also cleared the forest cut-off right and gave the forest interview?

Yes. I gave the IFoS interview too.

What was the issue in prelims? Was it GS or was it CSAT?

The issue with me is because of CSAT.

I scored very well in GS. In 2022, I scored 124 in GS paper, but in CSAT, I secured only 55. So at that time, it struck me that whatever mark we scored in GS doesn’t matter if we didn’t clear in CSAT.

In 2021 first attempt, I didn’t take care well of CSAT. I was very confident in that, and in 2022 also, I did not give much focus to CSAT.

In 2023, I changed my strategy. I devised more time. I solved a lot of test papers and a lot of previous year questions, not only from UPSC Civil Service examination, I solved a lot of questions from CDS, CAPF, whatever examination conducted by UPSC. So it helped me in clearing the CSAT. Then everything happens.

What was your schedule when it comes to CSAT before prelims?

Even in GS, there are many subjects such as polity, history, economy, we will allocate one-one week for polity, economy, but we tend to ignore CSAT. We feel that one hour is enough for CSAT.

Even in each subject under single paper, we are allotting one week, but for an entire paper, separate paper, we are allotting only one hour daily. It’s not sufficient, I felt. I used to solve 2:30 to 4:30 daily. Apart from that, I used to devote a complete week for CSAT, like one week polity, one week economy, one week modern history. I allocated schedule for CSAT also, completely for CSAT. So the amount of time I invested did not go to waste. It’s obviously helpful in clearing that.

In the beginning, was it challenging to study anthropology considering you come from an engineering background?

Aeronautical Engineering is not in the optional list of the UPSC, so I had to choose another optional.
But at that time, I need to cope up with the GS also. So I went through three to four optional.

Initially, anthropology, sociology, PSIR, mathematics were on my list. So I went through the syllabus, I found relatively easy while seeing the syllabus of anthropology. And I thought that I can manage because for Anthropology, there are plenty of resources and it was doable. It’s a short syllabus, you can complete.

So with this strategy, I went with anthropology. Considering answer writing, even in MGP 2023, I didn’t skip any of the tests. I wrote all the tests of ForumIAS.

Even in SFG 2022, before that, when I was in a CBT program, I didn’t skip any test. I wrote all the tests. So that continuous answer writing helps me in this Mains exam.

What three things would you say are qualities that your answers have when it comes to MGP?

First, the quality of the answer because when I started at first, my answer was very bad. But gradually, because of the feedback given in each paper, I had to improve the certain format like introduction, body, conclusion part, I was very weak in forming the introduction, how to form the conclusion.

But gradually, it comes with practice like standard definitions, collecting more data.

So in my paper, I would say three things which are best are the quality of the paper, the value additions like data, examples, everything, and third, the consistency in all papers. It doesn’t feel like one paper is extremely good, next question is extremely bad. I try to maintain consistency in all questions.

Were you able to complete papers on time when writing MGP tests?

Initially, I was taking more time. I remember that when I wrote the first full-length test in CBT,

it took me around 4 hours 15 minutes instead of 3 hours. At that time, I thought that maybe I can’t qualify for the Mains examination itself.

But later I realized that at that time, I was starting the preparation. As time went on, the knowledge accumulated, and with practice, I could limit the time because we don’t need to think a lot. At the beginning, we need to think a lot.

After writing 3 to 4 tests, your hand will automatically write what you think in your mind as the practice goes on.

Which pen did you use for the exams?

When I started, I had no idea of using a different pen for this examination.

But after the preliminary examination, when I started, I realized how a pen can play a role in completing the papers on time. Then I tried two to three pens, then finalized Pilot V7 pen.

Do you have anyone in the bureaucracy from your family, or are you the first one?

No, I’m the first one and I’m the first graduate in my family.

My father is a laborer, my mother is a homemaker. So I dreamt of becoming the District Collector even in my fifth standard.

So finally, I was very happy that I was in the list and my parents are very much happy and satisfied. That makes me very happy.

Was there any sense of insecurity regarding other aspirants who might have family in the
bureaucracy?

I won’t say like that because this is an open platform, we can learn at any time. But I felt somewhat that after completing the 12th standard, if I had sufficient guidance and strategy, I would choose my graduation related to some of the optional or related to UPSC. But past is past. Now, I can guide fellow aspirants like me to avoid the same mistakes.

When you were sitting in the Dholpur House for the interview, what was going through your
mind?

Actually, what happened, two months before interview, I watched the movie “12th Fail”.  I thought it was like some other place they shoot, but it was the real one. I was exactly the same, as in the ground floor, I am waiting outside. But finally, I thought, okay Vinoth, this is what you dreamt of for these many years, and after the continuous failure of 2 years, you are here. This is your stage, so don’t show your anxiety before them. This is the finest opportunity because 5 lakh students appeared for the preliminary examination, only 14,000 qualified for Mains, after Mains only 2,000, and hereafter only 1,000 people are going for the final stage.

Less than 1 percent, you are one among them. So Vinoth, be confident, this is your stage, go and excel. Whatever happens, give your fullest. That thought arose when I was outside waiting to enter.

Was the family support there throughout your preparation? 

My parents did not know what the preliminary examination is, these many papers, they just know I’m studying for IAS, like he is going to be a District Collector.

Even after continuously failing for two times, they didn’t even ask me why you fail. They told me, you study well, we are with you. So I was very guilty and at the same time thankful to them because I saw many of my friends, their parents are well-educated, but also they pressurized them to clear. Why you didn’t clear, why you scored less marks in prelims, because obviously this UPSC is, apart from hard work, there are many factors that play a major role in this result.

But my parents didn’t even know what’s going on, they trusted me well. They know that my son will one day achieve this. So that kind of family support I get, thankful for that.

Any particular moment which you recall as the lowest point of your preparation?

I think the first preliminary result because I was the topper in school, even the gold medalist in college. I had a good CGPA in college, so I didn’t even see the failure. So I was on top in both school and college, performing well, and even didn’t clear the first stage in the preliminary examination itself. I wasn’t able to digest that thing.

I can’t, I didn’t even believe that how I failed this examination. That was the lowest point I feel, but that’s the great learning.

This UPSC preparation teaches me very well how to tackle it, how to get back from that, how we need to consistently prepare. That’s the great lesson I learned from there.

Read – Biography, Testimonials and Answer copies of Other toppers