Interviewing the Toppers: Ghanshyam Thori.

Name: Ghanshyam Thori.

Age/DOB: 2^nd December 1984.

Educational Background (with passing year):

Qualification	Institute	Board/University	Year	CGPA / %
MBA	NMIMS, Mumbai	NMIMS	2006	3.17/4
BA (Geography hons.)	KM College, Delhi	Delhi University	2004	78 %
XII	GHKP School, Sriganganagar	CBSE	2001	90 %
X	GHKP School, Raisinghnagar	CBSE	1999	87 %

Exam: CSE 2008.

Roll number: 003101.

All India Rank: 277.

Category: General.

Service Allocated (probable): Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax).

Service Preference (top 5): IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS (IT), IRS (Custom & Excise)

Number of Attempts: 2^nd Attempt.

Prelims Score: -.

Score (for previous attempt - 2006): Essay: 110, GS: 230, Optional 1- Geography: 266, Optional 2- Psychology: 323.

Score (for 2008):

• Essay: 115.
• GS: 291.
• Optional 1 (Geography): 323.
• Optional 2 (Psychology): 296.
• Total: 1025.
• Interview: 186 (KK Paul’s Board).
• Grand Total: 1211.

Q: Did you start early, since when you were motivated to be an IAS officer?

A: I wanted to become an IAS officer since school time. But I started serious preparation only during final year of my MBA at Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.

Q: Is there any significant event that motivated you to join civil services?

A: Nothing very specific. I used to read about the functions, an IAS officer performs in the local Hindi newspaper in my town (a tehsil basically). The range of areas in which an IAS officer gets exposure & the power to improve the lives of the most unprivileged motivated me to join civil services.

Q: Please tell us about your family background?

A: My Father is a Grain Merchant & my mother is a housewife. I have two elder sisters & both of them are married. The eldest sister is working as a lecturer in dental college & the other one is a homemaker.

Q: For how many years you have been preparing for this examination?

A: This was my third year of preparation.

Q: How did you choose you optionals?

A: I was a Geography (Hons.) graduate from Kirori Mal College; therefore choosing geography was obvious. I chose Psychology as I had studied biology till 12^th & felt comfortable with the subject after going through NCERT textbooks.

Q: What was your strategy for prelims?

A: Total reliance on self made notes from standard textbooks.

Q: What was your strategy for Mains?

A: I basically relied on standard textbooks in case of Geography. For Psychology I relied on Pathak Sir’s notes though I never took any classroom coaching for any subject for prelims or mains. I had put maximum emphasis on General Studies preparation especially two markers.

Q: What is your view on Coaching Institutes? Did you join any or referred to their notes? Please tell us about the role of coaching institutes in your success. Why should one join them and how did you make your decision?

A: As I was working with Kotak Life Insurance for last 3 years post my MBA, I could not join any coaching institute. I referred Pathak Sir’s notes for Psychology & Vajiram’s Notes for General Studies. Geography was mostly prepared through standard textbooks though I partially referred Direction’s Notes. Therefore the role of coaching institutes in my success is marginal.

I would recommend students can also rely on self study provided they have access to coaching institutes material as standard textbooks are not written keeping UPSC in mind. Following standard books is a rewarding but also time consuming.

Q: Any specific suggestions for the optionals and GS, for the Main exam?

A: Practice Mocks especially for GS. Attempt Stats in the last 30-40 minutes in Paper II of GS. Focus on two markers as you cannot beat around the bush in such questions.

Q: How did you prepare for Interview? Role of Coaching, Mock Interviews, Internet, Orkut, etc. in it.

A: Interview preparation was based on mixture of self study & mock interviews. I took mock interviews at Vajiram, Sriram’s IAS & Ramaswamy’s IAS Academy. I went to join Samkalp but their slow processes put me off. In self study I prepared on my subjects, home state, biodata & current national issues. Internet came in pretty handy for getting information especially Wikipedia.

Q: Any interesting question or happening from your interview.

A: The very first question came on my date of birth i.e. 2^nd December 1984. I was asked by the board to explain about the disaster that occurred on this date. I was aware of the fact that Bhopal Gas Tragedy happened in 1984 but was not sure of the date. I took the guess & the chairman nodded in support. Once he confirmed, I was able to tackle the question well. My full interview can be accessed at http://ghanshyamthori.blogspot.com

Q: How did failure affect you? How you coped with the negative emotions and got yourself moving? What’s the best strategy to overcome failure?

A: The failure in first attempt did not impact me much as I was already working with Kotak Life Insurance & was well placed within the company. Moreover I had missed interview call only by a margin of around 45 marks approximately. Therefore this gave me enough confidence to clear the exam in future attempts.

Q: What was your backup plan in case you failed?

A: I am an MBA & I am still working, so backup was already in place before I logged on to the UPSC bandwagon.

Q: What’s the most crucial aspect of your prep that you think have made the difference (between 2006 and 2008)?

A: I had given a lot of time to analysis of previous year question papers so as to figure out the prevailing trend. I joined test series for General Studies mains which proved to be effective especially in time management which is very crucial in GS paper.

Q: Did you appear for any State PSCs as well? If, yes, of which states? Please tell us about your experience with the State PSCs. Is this option a good backup in case you fail in CSE?

A: I appeared for RAS (Rajasthan PCS) prelims & cleared it but didn’t appear for mains as I could not secure leave from my company as two months leave was already granted by them for my UPSC mains.

Q: What is your opinion about necessity of going to Delhi for CSE preparation?

A: Delhi is must if you don’t have access to coaching material. Once you secure study material then one can rely on self study also.

Q: Tell us about the books you referred for 1) GS, 2) Geography and 3) Psychology.

A: General Studies: Vajiram’s Class Notes, Spectrum for History, Shriram’s Notes for Current Affairs & Economy.

Geography: Physical Geography – Savindra Singh, Geographical Thought – Sudipta Adhikari, Comprehensive Geography of India – Khullar, Direction’s Class Notes & Self Made Notes.

Q: Many newcomers have doubt whether one needs to read all the books cover to cover or have to read selectively?

A: Selective reading is the key to success. Reading books extensively will just lead one to unmanageable information. Moreover one has limited time during mains preparation. Therefore focused reading is a must.

Q: Tell us about the magazines and newspapers your read and how much time did you devote for it daily.

A: News & Events and Chronicle (both for prelims only). No magazine for Mains. I used to read “Times of India” but that too irregularly. In my opinion the role of magazines & newspapers in the success of a candidate is over-hyped. Preparing through such sources is a very time consuming process. It might be a successful part of someone’s strategy but not mine.

Q: How did you manage time during preparation? Can you give a glimpse of your daily and monthly schedule? For how many hours did you study?

A: I used to study 4-5 hours daily when I was working. After taking 2 months leave I prepared for about 8-10 hours daily. Going beyond 10 hours is beyond my stamina. According to me, 8-10 hours of regular study is more than sufficient. Regularity is more important than putting rigorous but irregular efforts.

Q: Tell us about your hobbies and how were you able to integrate them to your preparation.

A: My hobbies were 1) Travelling 2) Computers & Internet. Since both are my genuine hobbies I was not pressurized to devote special time to them for preparation. I have traveled quite extensively in India & have also visited Thailand & Malaysia. I am also an internet freak & have my own portal too (www.iasguru.com).

Q: Some Opinion-based questions:

a. Criticism of UPSC for unnecessary secrecy about cut-off marks, scaling and model answer sheets, your view?

A: I am not satisfied with the scaling process. Many subjects are favoured during a particular year while others are ignored. All regional languages (e.g. Urdu, Punjabi, Kannada etc) are doing better than popular optionals. This year among popular optionals, Public Administration & History have done far better than other optionals. Scaling need to be more sensitive to such issues where the average marks should not fluctuate beyond a particular range. I doubt whether an effective scaling system is in place.

b. Is the reservation system up to the mark, is it serving its purpose?

A: Reservation serves purpose if given to the needy but when sons & daughters of existing IAS officers get reservation to compete in competitive exams it is totally unjustified. Moreover there should be quota community wise within the existing reservation.

c. What reforms do you want in CSE or What reforms would have helped you much during your preparation?

A: Some weightage should be given to prelims marks also. More effective scaling should be in place for both mains & interview marks.

d. A debate arose after this years result, first-timers vs. veterans, questions are being raised about evaluation procedure of UPSC, what’s your say? Is CSE a subjective and unpredictable exam? Did you get the marks you expected?

A: Overall I am satisfied with the marks but there are aberrations if I consider the marks subjectwise. Overall I am totally unsatisfied with the scaling system. Science subjects did really bad this year especially subjects like Physics, Maths, etc.

e. (On Interview) some say be neutral at all cost, don't criticize the govt., some say be tactful, criticize intelligently, what's your say?

A: Constructive criticism is the key in my opinion. India faces plethora of problems & all the government plans post independence have only been able to partially address them. Therefore some sort of analysis leading to future improvement based on lacunae in the present system should be pointed out. However one should refrain from making sweeping statements & over criticism. There is no harm in constructive criticism acknowledging the limitations of the government.

f. Science versus Arts debate, are science subjects penalized in CSE?

A: The current trends reveal that science subjects are being penalized. Even IITians are opting for humanities subjects to circumvent this. Even within Humanities subjects like Pub Ad & History did better than other arts subject.

Q: Sum up your tryst with UPSC in a couple of lines.

A: Hard work & passion is the key. Mains exam is very subjective & therefore one should keep on trying as one might get through due to favorable evaluation of his/her subjects during that particular year despite mediocre performance.

Q: Give a small motivational message to the community especially the newcomers?

A: Life is not about “I could or I couldn’t” but life is just about “I tried”.

Q: What is your opinion about this initiative? Is something lacking or are there some areas where we can improve to make these interviews more informative and useful? Would you like say something else which we might have missed?

A: The interview is pretty comprehensive in my opinion.

(Thank you very much Ghanshyam for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us. We wish you all the very best for your future.)