Bharat SainiLast Updated on July 5, 2017 by Bharat Saini
“My hard-working nature, strong self-confidence, support of parents and grace of God are the secrets of my success “
-Shweta Chauhan
‘Pratiyogita Darpan’ arranged an exclusive interview with Ms. Shweta Chauhan who has been selected in Civil Services Examination 2016, conducted by Union Public Service Commission. She deserves our appreciation and heartiest congra-tulations on her splendid success. This important, thought-provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.
PD—Heartiest congratulations on your brilliant success in the CS Exam.
Ms. Shweta—Thank you so much.
PD—As you are aware, on the great demand from lakhs of aspiring youths like you PD English was launched on 1st June, 2006. Now that you have tasted the sweetness of success, so please tell us :
(i) What difference could it have made if you had got PD English while you were preparing for CS Exam. ?
(ii) What special feature/features would you like to see in PD English ?
Ms. Shweta—
(i) PD English provides the correct direction. The dedicated issues like those of Economics, Geography and History are short hand revision notes and have helped me for both Prelims and Mains.
(ii) Question papers-Prelims and Mains Model answers of toppers expert advice to motivate.
PD—Were you confident of your success ? How did you react to this special news of your success ?
Ms. Shweta—I was confident that I would get rank, but getting a single digit rank was a dream that came true. The news was unbelievable. I thank God for the same.
PD—Before knowing your own result, what was your perception about toppers ?
Ms. Shweta—I thought toppers might be extraordinary in their background. But believe me the background does not matter at all. It is the hard work that matters.
PD—Was Civil Services your only goal or were you preparing for other career opportunities as well, simul-taneously ?
Ms. Shweta—Civil Services was my ultimate goal.
PD—In how many attempts have you achieved this success ? How do you visualise your previous attempts ? What preference in services have you opted for ?
Ms. Shweta—In first attempt I got 573 rank, in second attempt 474 rank. This was third attempt in which I got 8th rank. In previous attempts I did not do much answer writing practice. Service preference IAS, IRS (IT).
PD—With newer and more lucrative opportunities available in private sector and the number of posts decreasing/remaining static in Civil Services, how do you express your feelings in this regard ?
Ms. Shweta—Though there are newer and more lucrative jobs in private sector, but for the aspirants. Civil Services is not just a career option, it is the dedication to public service which drives aspirants for civil services.
PD—‘Time Management’ is a key factor while making preparations as well as writing examination papers. What did you do to manage time ?
Ms. Shweta—I prepared weekly time table and set targets for myself. I adhered to the time table and followed it religiously giving proper preaks.
PD—What was your optional ? What was the criterion of your subject selection ?
Ms. Shweta—Optional Subject : Geography, similarity to GS.
PD—What were the ingredients of your strategy in preparation for Prelims Mains and Interview ?
Ms. Shweta—Prelims : Solve as many as possible mock papers, try to revise the standard books any number of times possible.
Mains : Develop habit of answer writing, stick to few sources, focus on current affairs and for selective study and adhere to syllabus.
Interview : Mock interviews prepare around DAF.
| Bio-data |
| Name—Shweta Chauhan
Father’s Name—Shri R.P. Singh Mother’s Name—Mrs. Vinita Chauhan Age—25 years Educational Qualifications—B.Sc. (Hon.) Physics. |
PD—How did you prepare for Essay Paper ? On which topics did you write essays this time and what was the basis of your choosing them ?
Ms. Shweta—For essay I did not have separate preparation. I wrote few essays as mock. Knowledge of GS was used in essay writing.
Topic :
(1) Need brings greed, if greed increases it spoils breed.
(2) Digital Economy : A leveller or a source of economic inequality.
PD—List some of the Magazines, Newspapers, Books etc. which you consulted for the preparation of ‘General Studies’ papers.
Ms. Shweta—Prelims : The Hindu, Yojana Magazine, Pratiyogita Darpan special issue.
Standard Books : Laxmikant, G.C. Leong, NCERT Economics; History : Bipin Chandra.
Mains : The Hindu, Indian Express, Yojana magazine, AIR news analysis, Rajya Sabha—Big Picture, History—Bipin Chandra, Geography—NCERT, Economics—NCERT, Ethics Arc report.
PD—In your opinion at which level of education should one start preparing for Civil Services and what should be the minimum period of time required to prepare for Civil Services Examinations ?
Ms. Shweta—In last year of graduation; at least one year is necessary for preparation.
PD—What is your opinion regarding the general view that Science subjects have better chance to score than the subjects in Humani ties ?
Ms. Shweta—Both have equal potential. It depends on aspirants liking which matters.
PD—What is the importance of medium of expression in the exams like CSE ?
Ms. Shweta—Medium of expression is not much important. We have toppers from Telugu, Tamil, Hindi. It is the personal dedication and hard work which matter.
PD—Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation ?
Ms. Shweta—No.
| Personal Qualities |
| Strong Point—Hard work, Dedi-cation to public service, self-motivation.
Hobbies—Travelling, Writing diary |
PD—In your opinion what role do the Competition Magazines play when you are preparing for an examination like Civil Services ?
Ms. Shweta—Competition magazines motivate and provide direction through toppers’ interviews, crisp notes on current affairs that help in revision.
PD—In your opinion, what should be the qualities of a standard magazine for competitive examinations ?
Ms. Shweta—Summary of current affairs in lucid language, should be exam oriented strictly according to syllabus, toppers guidance and their simple answers.
PD—Pratiyogita Darpan is the largest read Career and Competition Magazine in India. How do you rate Pratiyogita Darpan and in what way can this magazine be made more useful for CSE aspirants ?
Ms. Shweta—Pratiyogita Darpan is exam oriented. It is helpful most importantly for Hindi medium students. Simple answers of toppers can also be given in the magazine.
PD—Please give your comments on the PD Extra Issue Series on ‘General Studies’ and a few Optionals ?
Ms. Shweta—PD extra issue is the short hand revision notes. If one had already consulted standard books, he can rely on extra issue series for revision specially history and economics.
PD—How would you rate the contents of Pratiyogita Darpan on the scale of quality ? What more do you expect from Pratiyogita Darpan ? (Kindly specify separately for : Regular Issues, Extra Issues, Year Book.)
Ms. Shweta—Quality is as per requirement of exam. Extra issues are very helpful and more of them like on every topic of syllabus can be issued.
PD—What is the secret of your success ?
Ms. Shweta—Secret of my success is believe in myself, my hard working nature, support of my parents and grace of God.
PD—Did you join any coaching institute at any stage of the preparation ? If yes, then what is your opinion about the role of these institutes in the preparation for Civil Services Examinations ?
Ms. Shweta—I joined Vajirao and Reddy institute for preparation and had personal guidance of Dr. S.S. Chaudhary Sir. Coaching institutes provide direction, though it is the self study which matters. One cannot rely only on coaching institutes.
PD—To whom would you like to give the credit for your success ?
Ms. Shweta—To my parents, friends, teachers, brothers and the grace of God.
PD—Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants.
Ms. Shweta—Believe in yourself, be focussed, selective and give your best.
PD—Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for a bright future.
Ms. Shweta—Thank you so much.
