Started June 2020 with GS- took online coaching from Byjus online classes. Optional – In November 2020 I started sociology optional took coaching from IAS gurukul by pranay Aggarwal sir (online mode).
Answer Writing- GS- did it but not very often at byjus platform. For socio- I joined socio mentor (upsc) group on telegram. Did extensive answer writing after prelims on byjus mains answer writing workshop (online) taken by 2020 selected officers.
Study hours- during coaching 10hrs/day. After coaching- 8.5hrs/day.
Test series– prelims- took byjus test series and vision abhyass 2021. Mains- Shankar IAS for GS. And Vision IAS for sociology.
Newspaper- read The Hindu and made notes everyday and watched daily newspaper analysis of Byjus. During interview stage read Indian express and The times of India.
Booklist of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
Sources- 1) Polity- Laxmikanth + 11th New NCERT. 2) Economy- Byjus class notes+ YouTube weekly sessions (economy this week- byjus), budget and economic survey. 3) Geography- 11th New NCERT + GC Leong for chapters related to climate type. 4) Environment- byjus static ppt notes. 5) Art and culture- byjus ppt notes. 6) Modern history- spectrum 7) ancient, medieval – chetan Bharat learning YouTube channel by Bharat sir 8) Essay classes by Byjus and read book by Anudeep Durishetty sir. 9) Governance- byjus ppt notes 10) Internal security- Byjus ppt notes 11) International relations: Byjus ppt notes + current affairs (Prashant Dhawan sir) 12) social issues and social justice- byjus ppt notes and current affairs+ sociology optional knowledge. 13) Disaster management- Byjus ppt notes. 14) S&T- byjus ppt notes, current affairs 15) Ethics- Byjus classes+ DK Balaji sir book + toppers notes.
All these subjects were supplemented extensively by extra test series knowledge that was not available in my notes.
Revision strategy- Next day revision strategy, weekly revision and then monthly revision. Sometimes not able to do it but managed it before forgetting the whole subject.
Newspaper notes making- I personally made it as I followed startegy of Sh. Akshat jain( AIR-2 , CSE-19). One can skip this part but reading newspaper is a good practise rather than relying on magazines.
Mock interview joined by Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
Few Tips- Trust whatever you are doing, and trust one of the institute, in my case I followed byjus extensively, it helped me covering various aspects. Don’t try to follow each and every topper and institutions. Stick to one strategy and implement it as long as it proves to be successful. Revision is important and the most important key, don’t run behind completing syllabus and expanding data base rather revise it again and again.
stick to minimum resources possible, you might encounter various sources for single topic don’t be overwhelmed by them.
again keep the strategy simple.
Most important part is to be positive and be consistent in studying.
I personally went for trips, watched TV, series, movies, YouTube but in a limit, so just be consistent don’t overdo other things but don’t equally leave it as it helps as a great stress buster.
I will share more such things in future, all the very best for Prelims 2022.
Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper Biography
My background-
Born and brought up- Chandigarh Diploma- Indo Swiss training centre, Chandigarh
Degree- B.Tech (mechanical) from Chandigarh engineering college, Landran (MOHALI).
Job- 9 months at Saint gobain glass India (Hyderabad).
Medium – English
Interview transcript of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
Antriksh jain (21-04-22), 4th slot – forenoon session Board – RN Choubey sir 1st attempt Sociology Home state- Punjab, Chandigarh Hobbies- palmistry, abstract painting, badminton. Work exp- 9 months (Saint Gobain glass India) . Duration-35 mins Marks- 195
Chairman- remove mask, going to be friendly chat, nothing like police inquiry, don’t worry.
1) introduce yourself in 1 minute special emphasis on education and work experience. 2) Does saint Gobain manufacture sound proof glasses? 3) your role in Saint Gobain . 4) Do you know about DBT, state some schemes. 5) why FCI giving MSP and can’t we move on to DBT. 6) smart cities concept and give example.
Member 1- 1) Do we need more UT’s? Considering better infra in UT 2) why Punjab, haryana are against migrants coming in their states and taking up jobs? 3) what is concept of green buildings and which agencies give certification? 4) which is more popular IGBC or GRIHA?
Member 2- 1) Is russia’s power increasing due to invasion of Ukraine? 2) If nato expands and get Belarus and Ukraine under it, what would be implications for russia? 3) Tell about covid-19 philosophically? 4) why Buddhism declined in India? 5) Is palmistry an exact science?
Member 3- 1) Tell about India’s space sector initiatives (name related) 2) Impact of sanctions by USA on USA itself? 3) what is double glass which is used to cut sound ? 4) how A/C bills come down by usage of different glasses? 5) is Germany tacitly supporting Russia in war?
Member 4- 1) why branded meds if generic meds are there. 2) why undertrial prisoners in prisons? 3) Do you believe in life after death? 4) Significance of Saint Gobain bridge logo?
Chairman- We have asked many questions, now do you want to share with us something?
Prelims Tips by Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
For aspirants appearing in this prelims 2022.
Few Tips- 1) be very calm and confident. Understand no one knows more than 45 questions in exam. 2) After that people take educated guesses and try to solve 85-90 questions. 3) one must focus on eliminating options rather than looking for right statement directly. 4) be very aware of extreme looking statements ( only, no, none, maximum, minimum) etc. 5) This is not the time to panic at all, trust yourself and your preparation, don’t overthink and don’t try to overdo stuff. 6) In coming 5 days one can focus on economy and environment current affairs along with various indexes, reports and organisations. (Avoid modern history and polity as already sufficient time has been given to them previously). 7) I used to attempt 83-88 questions, one must look for their optimum attempts based on mock tests. 8) Don’t give anymore mock test. Rather revise tests given earlier. 9) I used to bubble simultaneously after reaching at answer, it saves a lot of time. Don’t wait until last , I personally witnessed a candidate not able to fill OMR sheet. 10) At last prelims is all about knowledge and mental strength, be calm and composed and you will get questions right and will not commit silly mistakes. Try to control your nerves in examination hall, practise deep breathing, it helped me also.
CSAT Preparation Strategy by Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
1) Engineering students must focus first on maths and logical. Try doing as many questions as possible and then comprehension. 2) others not very good at Maths can do a mix of both comprehension and maths. 3) in CSAT , comprehensions are getting tougher and inference based questions requires a lot of practise. 4) in inference based questions seemingly explicit options are not correct, so be very aware of marking those options.
Good luck everyone👍 I’ll share detailed prelims strategy after prelims 2022.
Prelims Mock test series scores of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
One of the common query I got related to prelims mock marks.
In vision abhyaas test series of 2021, I scored 56, 58, 72 in abhyaas 1,2,3 respectively. Even this year I scored just 61 marks in Forum IAS simulator test 4. I was even considering leaving preparation, but my friends and family helped me a lot.
I again advise everyone to trust yourself and your preparation, coaching institutes prepare >15 tests a year thus quality is not upto the mark as compared to UPSC who frames a very balanced single question paper.
Upsc pre question paper will consist of a balance of easy, medium, hard questions as against monotonous test series.
Be confident, don’t lose it as you are getting less score, just master the skill of option elimination. I assure with this positive mindset and little practise you can clear prelims . Noone told me this during my preparation but I assure you knowledge along with positive mindset can do wonders.
Again be calm and very confident.
Sociology Optional Notes and Strategy of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
My sociology strategy in detail:
I scored 265 in sociology with paper 2- 143 marks.
Sources- Paper 1- pranay sir class notes + nitin sangwan sir book + harlambos blue book selectively for chapter 2, chapter 3 research method and thinker chapter.
Paper 2- pranay Aggarwal sir notes + Nitin Sangwan sir book + Mohapatra notes for few topics not covered by pranay sir.
Strategy – started socio paper 1 in nov 2020. -completed it by December -joined socio mentor test series in January for paper 1 for improvement of answer writing structure.
Started paper 2 classes in March 2021. Joined socio mentor test series in June 2021 for paper 2 again for purpose of improving structure.
During classes I simultaneously read Nitin sangwan sir book for topics being covered in class.
revised 2-3 times paper 1 nd paper 2 before prelims.
After prelims- joined vision ias test series for same.
Newspaper for sociology- tried to find out examples related to topics and for paper 2 I also read pranay Aggarwal sir current affairs notes specifically from sociological perspective.
Overall take-
optional needs extensive understanding, choose any teacher , all socio teachers are equally good.
revise as many times as possible, link it with current affairs as much as possible.
Answer writing is very important along with structuring.
subject is very easy and scoring but again requires in depth understanding.
If I missed out on anything dm me I’ll include it here .
Give it your all on exam day. Don’t fear about anything, the almighty is with you, but he’ll only help if you are courageous enough and confident. You are no less than anyone and don’t let this thought creep in your mind that xyz is scoring more in mocks and xyz studies for 12-15 hrs and you won’t be able to clear this exam. It is a fact that sometimes we tend to lose our momentum by looking at other people, don’t let this happen with you.
Focus on your own preparation, and believe in yourself. Bhut hi calm mind se sochke options mark Krna.
A very good luck to all. This is the time of battle, keep it up.
With D-Day approaching tomorrow, I just have these last words for you all.
Please be very confident and don’t judge exam paper in examination hall and be scared or depressed by it.
practise deep breathing before or during exam if you feel any kind of stress.
keep believing in yourself and give your best shot.
Don’t panic by any situation, I myself misbubbled in the attendance sheet last year in the starting 5 minutes of prelims but didn’t lose my cool.
Keep your positive approach intact.
I truly believe that one must not be bogged down by inferiority complex by looking at others and must believe in oneself. This was also the key to my success.
Good luck everyone, you can do it!!
What should You do after Prelims – Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
Hi everyone, prelims is over, take a break for 4-5 days, whatever has happened either good or bad, you have to keep going and ensure you clear the exam soon. In coming days I’ll be sharing detailed startegy for mains and also subject wise strategy. Will also be sharing my notes soon.
Enjoy the process, understand your loopholes and keep working on that. It is not the time to be demotivated ( if you are feeling such), so just enjoy and keep giving your best.
Revision Strategy of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
Some of you were asking for my revision strategy.
Here is it.
During coaching-
-I used to attend GS /optional class for 5 days a week( usually Monday to Friday) and used to revise weekly things in Saturday and Sunday. ( It increases retention, not doing this will only increase your burden later)
-Afterwards this same stuff I used to revise in 1 month as it reduces effort on studying something completely new.
-Then my revision was based on how much I am forgetting something, suppose I have forgotten 40% stuff , that’s when I used to revise again. It could be 3 months, 5 months based on one’s retention.
After class/coaching completion, self study phase-
I used to Focus on Polity, modern history, environment, geography, economy , ancient, medieval and A&C.
used to study 3 subjects a day with 3hr each for Monday to Friday.
Next day I used to revise the subjects in dedicated 3 hrs for 1 subject itself and remaining time for next chapters .
then I used to revise it weekly on Saturday or Sunday.
next revision on 20-25 days and then it continues periodically in 30-45 days ,so that retention remains.
That’s how i use to revise my syllabus for prelims. It is sometimes tough to follow this but we can broadly follow the same and modify strategy according to our own requirements.
Daily Timetable of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
My daily time table-
First 4 months (June-october) 3hrs- newspaper and analysis 3hrs- GS classes 2hrs- notes completion 2hrs- YouTube videos related to study.
After starting optional subject– (November-april 10) 2hrs- newspaper and current affairs 3hrs- GS 4 hrs- Sociology optional 1hr- notes completion/ YouTube
Before prelims- (August – 10th October) 3 subjects a day, 3 hrs each including its daily revision. 1.5 hrs- newspaper.
After prelims- (7th nov- 7th January) 3 hrs- optional revision 1hr – current affairs (new) 2hr- current affairs revision (old) 3hrs- any GS subject (had started with ethics, essay, GS3, modern) .
For somedays – 3 hrs dedicatedly for answer writing practise.
Sociology Optional Strategy of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
My sociology strategy in detail:
I scored 265 in sociology with paper 2- 143 marks.
Sources- Paper 1- pranay sir class notes + nitin sangwan sir book + harlambos blue book selectively for chapter 2, chapter 3 research method and thinker chapter.
Paper 2- pranay Aggarwal sir notes + Nitin Sangwan sir book + Mohapatra notes for few topics not covered by pranay sir.
Strategy – started socio paper 1 in nov 2020. -completed it by December -joined socio mentor test series in January for paper 1 for improvement of answer writing structure.
Started paper 2 classes in March 2021. Joined socio mentor test series in June 2021 for paper 2 again for purpose of improving structure.
During classes I simultaneously read Nitin sangwan sir book for topics being covered in class.
revised 2-3 times paper 1 nd paper 2 before prelims.
After prelims- joined vision ias test series for same.
Newspaper for sociology- tried to find out examples related to topics and for paper 2 I also read pranay Aggarwal sir current affairs notes specifically from sociological perspective.
Overall take-
optional needs extensive understanding, choose any teacher , all socio teachers are equally good.
revise as many times as possible, link it with current affairs as much as possible.
Answer writing is very important along with structuring.
subject is very easy and scoring but again requires in depth understanding.
If I missed out on anything dm me I’ll include it here .
Thanks
Wishes to students by Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
Prelims result is out. Congratulations to all those who have cleared. The major task is still ahead of you. Get back to preparation, prepare your optional and focus more on answer writing, structure is primary, content is secondary. Please keep this mind.
Those who have not cleared don’t lose hope. Positive Attitude matters! Take this result on a positive note and work upon your weaknesses. You now have ample amount of time to prepare for your next attempt. This next 1 year can bring you into top 10, you just need to get the basics right, follow one source and revise as many times as possible and stay away from negativity.
Regards
I believe being a topper is very overhyped and each one of you can become like us, the only thing that makes us different is the desire to clear this exam regardless of adversity.
My 3 main tips for this exam-
1) revision and recall startegy- don’t read more and more instead try not forget the previously done stuff, this is the most important part. Syllabus is not tough but wide which can only be managed by proper revision strategy.
2) mock tests not to evaluate myself but to timely complete the exam and chalk out strategy of attempting exam on D-Day , so never judge yourself on basis of these mock marks.
3) Focusing on answer writing structure rather than content. When I say structure it is about preparing frameworks based on which one can brainstorm. Eg- SPEECHLIT, LIPIT-.
As pointed out by the gentleman, toppers also make mistakes, but they are flexible enough to work on it, so my last suggestion is to not be very rigid with your strategy.
Detail timetable of Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
Sharing my detailed times table. it is not as simple as it seems, have tried to simplified it but preparation was more or less haphazard. June 2020 started prep-
June 2020- polity byjus class+ Laxmikanth important chapters only that too not completely + The Hindu + byjus DNA + youtube CA
July 2020- economy byjus class + the Hindu+ byjus DNA + youtube CA
august- geography byjus class+ the Hindu+ byjus DNA + youtube CA + ncert + GC Leong climate chapters
September 2020- modern history class + revision+ same for CA
October 2020 – essay class+ environment class + international relations class. + Disaster management class + Same for CA
November 2020- socio optional 1 class and value addition+ s&t class + internal security class + CA same
December 2020- socio paper 1 class + revision + paper 1 test + CA Same
Jan 21- ethics class + governance class+ ethics value addition+ CA same + optional paper 1 revision and test + prelims test every Sunday
Feb 21- social issues class + optional paper 2 class and revision and value addition+ prelims test every sunday
Mar21- ancient, medieval, art and culture class and revision+ CSAT class + same for CA+ Laxmikant revision + prelims test every sunday
April 21- optional paper 2 class completion, modern history revision, laxmikanth revision + CA same + prelims test every sunday
May 21- geography revision, economy class notes completion and revision+ occasional revision of ancient , medieval, art and culture and also laxmikanth + sunday prelims test
June 2021- had break of 15 days due to family issue during COVID, focused on revision of pre resulted subjects and optional paper 2 revision
July 2021- optional paper 2 revision and tests, CA Same+ vision abhyaas prelims test occasionally
August 2021 to 10th September- modern history, laxminkanth, ancient medieval art and culture, geography revision + CA same
September 21 after 16th- environment and economy revision. , Left newspaper and analysis etc. Occasional revision of other subjects done in August .
no prelims test in last 30 days
10 days of october- revision of important things only, indexes, reports, organizations
Break of 25 days due to dengue and Diwali.
7th November onwards- mains preparation started. Socio paper 1 in one slot and ethics in another, newspaper and analysis I didn’t do. Sundays for mains test. From 25th November – byjus answer writing daily for 3 hrs. Governance revision Wrote 2 essays.
December 21- optional paper 1 tests, optional paper 2 revision, modern history and art and culture revision. Optional paper 2 test after mid December, mains 365 for polity and governance. For half a month- byjus answer writing class Disaster management revision. 2 days for world history. No revision for economy. Internal security revision. Essay quotes and ancedotes, poem cramming.
January 22- mains 365 international relations, ethics revision. Revision only, and data book revision.
march 22- pre preparation started again with environment revision but result of mains on 17th. Lead to interview preparation.
April 22- newspapers and sansad tv debates etc.
Have relied on YouTube and drishti articles a lot for information.
Thanks and regards.
CSAT classes joined by Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
For csat –
I took byjus classes , in addition to mock tests only.
But according to changing scenario of exam and unpredictablity, I suggest to prepare maths and logical for CAT level (though not very rigorous but be aware if type of questions) and for English UPSC pyq can suffice.
Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper Biography
My Warm Greetings to all the readers!! My name is Antriksh Jain and I have secured AIR-130 in UPSC civil services examination of 2021 in my very first attempt. This year I have been allotted Indian Police Service (IPS). Today I am writing this to share with you all my preparation journey and what went right for me. It was the final year of my graduation (B. Tech Mechanical engineering), when I first got to know about UPSC examination through a movie called Airlift and Shaadi Me Jaroor Aana, but having a corporate sector job in my hand, I did not give much heed to it. I was into sales and Marketing for an MNC and due to my touring and travelling job, I witnessed many problems enroute, but rather than criticising government I decided to become a part of solution and this was that moment when I decided to leave job and do something for my country. Coupled with COVID-19 lockdown initially, I started my preparation in April 2020 on an online platform. When I started preparation, I understood that I have forgotten everything, and I had to start everything afresh. Interestingly, I was for the first time in my life was studying for 10 hours a day, and exactly 2 years later my hard work paid off. I believed that online coaching worked for me in terms of saving precious time which could have been lost due to transportation etc. and also the relative isolation at home saves one from unnecessary FOMO, where one does not believe in one’s strategy but keep on changing it based on peer pressure. I made my broader strategy and a broader timetable to be followed, but did not make micro targets as it was quite cumbersome to follow everything meticulously. I kept myself flexible enough to tweak strategy whenever I felt change is required and time is less. I always prioritised important subjects like optional, Ethics and other static subjects as this can make or break one’s selection. Specifically talking about prelims preparation and current affairs strategy. I gave 33 tests (26 sectional and 7 full length) and main purpose was to find out optimum attempts (which in my case was between 83-88), avoiding silly mistakes, understanding elimination technique, and most importantly covering gaps through extra test series knowledge which was there, as I followed only one source and one teacher for one subject. Fortunately, I was able to clear prelims with 96 marks. Regarding current affairs strategy, I followed The Hindu newspaper daily in addition to daily news analysis for the same on YouTube. I also followed other YouTube channels for supplementing my knowledge and made my own handwritten notes for current affair section. These were supplemented by extra test series knowledge to cover any loopholes. Due to paucity of time, I could not read current affairs magazine. Moving on to Mains preparation and Answer writing, I believe Answer writing is one thing that helped me clearing this stage. I wrote 7 questions a day for 1.5 months and get it evaluated from experts, which gave me good insights on how to write a good answer. To illustrate, introduction should include Data, or context, a good conclusion must be having a contemporary keyword, main body must be adequately addressed with multi-dimensional analysis. Essays should have flow, chronology etc and optional sociology needs not just thinkers but data, reports. This helped me in getting 783 marks in mains. During intervening period of Prelims and Mains, I was diagnosed with Dengue and lost almost 15 days, but I was confident enough to bounce back and give my best in the final battle. Coaching classes helped me a lot in terms of right direction and guidance and well curated content. Be it test series or mains answer writing evaluation, it has played an important role in my journey. Today there are many economical online platforms apart from YouTube and google, which can help aspirants a lot.
If I talk about optional, I took sociology as it was easy, small, good content in market and scoring subject with very high selections. I did not choose my graduation subject as it was quite lengthy and tough. Aspirants can keep this in mind while selection of optional subject. It is always better to choose smaller subject. Shedding light on my familial support, from the day one, my parents and sibling helped me a lot, either morally or physically. They take extreme care of my study hours, nutrition and never disturbed me, while I was studying. My friends also have an important role in keeping me motivated throughout and they all worked for me in terms of external motivation. However, I believe the most important thing is self-motivation and the desire to clear this exam to achieve one’s aims and goals. Time management also is an important aspect of preparation. I tried to study 10 hours every day, and I divided the day in 4 slots. 3.5 hours for optional, 3 hours for GS, 2.5 hours for current affairs and 1 hour for revision of yesterday’s content. I made broad timetable for subject completion but tweaked it many times and was able to complete syllabus and notes by June 2021. Revision I believe is the most important thing here that needs emphasis. I followed a very robust revision strategy post march 2021 (almost after an year of preparation), I used to revise things the next day after studying, then on weekends and then monthly and then it gets repeated after every 1 month. This helped me in retention of content for a very long time, and I still think UPSC is not tough but wide and it is very difficult to remember all things and that is where revision do wonders. It might take more time but it is always fruitful. During preparation, I could not do much of physical activity but occasionally I used to walk after dinner with my mother. In recreational activities, I never uninstalled social media and was keenly attached. I used to watch Taarak Mehta, CID while having food to keep my mind fresh. So, it is not necessary to isolate oneself totally. At last, I have this message for all the young aspirants to always believe in yourself, never self-doubt and be flexible. Revision, Answer writing and your confidence will definitely get you selection. For me it has come in 1st attempt, but for you it may take time and one must not lose patience. All the very Best!!
UPSC Mains last minute tips by Antriksh Jain UPSC Topper
With mains exam approaching, I would like to convey my best wishes to all who are going to appear. Some things to remember –
1) Don’t lose confidence and hope. Upsc is a battle of mind. 2) complete exam, all 20 questions, quality may deteriorate, but it’s not an issue. 3) don’t assess exam difficulty while in exam hall, just focus on completion. 4) questions which you don’t know, tackle them smartly, by using existing knowledge base itself. 5) revise data, examples, anecdotes etc. For value addition purpose. This will fetch more marks. 6) don’t waste time in intervening period and start revision for optional and compulsary subjects immediately. 7) For Essay, ensure good flow and chronology apart from good examples. Choose topic which you understand better.
