Himanshu Jain of  Haryana has illuminated the name of the district along with his family by getting the fourth position in the UPSC-CSE examination of 2019.

Himanshu got this success in the second attempt.

In the first attempt, Himanshu’s pre was also not qualified but he did not lose courage and tried again, not only did he correct his mistakes, next time not only he succeeded but also became a topper.

• Interviewer: Tell us something about your educational background.

Himanshu: I  had done my schooling from (9th to 12th ) Lovely Public School, Delhi, and secured 10 CGPA in 10th and 96.4% in 12th.

I graduated from Hansraj College ( BA in economics honors)(2017 pass out), Delhi University, and secured 84% marks.

• Interviewer: How did you start your preparations?

Himanshu: When I was in class 10, I saw a dream of becoming an IAS officer, as I grew up, my dream of becoming IAS officer grew with me.

Started preparing seriously for this exam after my graduation.

I did coaching for general studies in 2018 to get my basics correct, but after 4-5 months I left the coaching and started preparing all by myself.

In 2018  I attempted 67 questions in prelims for the first time and scored around 79 marks.

The only mistake while attempting 2018 prelims was I attempted fewer questions, which I improved in my 2019’s attempt.

• Interviewer: What was your strategy for the mains examination?

Himanshu: I would say that the preparation for UPSC should be mainly,  mains exam-oriented.

IAS Aspirants should give 50 to 60 days to prepare for preliminary exams.

The preparation for the Mains exam needs to be strong, especially for the optional subject.

NCERT Books from class 6 to 12th, Laxmikanth ( for politics ), and Spectrum ( for history ).

I kept himself updated with government websites, government information channels, PIB, publications, and annual reports.

This helped me have clarity on the actual and factual information.

I consistently read newspapers and followed government websites to stay updated with Current affairs.

I would say that aspirants should focus on the syllabus for GS.

For general studies, I prefer to open the terms of the syllabus and find current affairs related to the terms as much as you can, only from the authentic sources.

My own practice was solely based on the Rajya Sabha TV debates and as well as the static portion I found himself.

The paper is entirely based on current affairs.

I also made answers to structures for every topic.

Gave 7-8 mocks for mains examination.

• Interviewer: Did you refer to the online sources?

Himanshu: Yes  a lot,  for one particular topic I would search diversified online sources.

• Interviewer: What was your optional?

Himanshu: My optional was economics my graduation subject  I wrote the topics present in the syllabus and created my own notes for it

• Interviewer: How did you manage answer writing?

Himanshu: I used to write my answers in points rather than in paragraphs.

Paragraphs deliver less info than the answers written in points.

I used charts and diagrams in my answer writing.

Gs 4 ethics paper I  picked up the syllabus, prepared answer structure for every topic present in the syllabus with examples and quotes included.

After giving my first prelims and getting fail in it, I started writing answer writing.

• Interviewer: How was your interview?

Himanshu: Gave 10 mock interviews earlier but the real-time interview experience was different.

Calmness and balance was always within me

The interview went from 30-45 minutes.

Many questions were economics-based, budget was released at my time of the interview, so many questions were asked from it.

• Interviewer: What were your key takeaways from your preparation?

Himanshu :

• Believe in yourself
• Enjoy your subjects
• Confidence in yourself
• Follow government sites/blogs more.
• Limited Resources
• Indefinite Revision
• When the book is complete, give mock tests and practice answer writing.

Interviewer: What is your take on whether one should prepare from home or other cities?

Himanshu: At home, one can find family support, I give my success credit to them.