[Toppers Interview] Harshika Singh (AIR 8 /CSE 2011) without coaching (Economics + Anthro) shares her journey, booklist and studyplan

[mrunal]

Went to London School of Economics
Prepared for Civil Service Exam without Coaching
Gave Jharkhand and Bihar as her cadre preference to serve the society
Got 8^th Rank in CSE 2011

Yes I’m talking about 2011’s topper Harshika Singh.
Introduction

Name	Harshika Singh
Roll number	006368
Rank (CSE 2011)	8
Optional Subjects	Economics Anthropology
Medium for Mains Exam	English
Mains Examination Centre	Delhi
Number of Attempts	2
Details of Graduation and Post-Grad.	B.A Economics(hons)-St.Xavier’s College,Ranchi MSc.Economic History(London School Of Economics and Political Science,London,UK)
Schooling (Medium)	English
Extracurricular activities, hobbies, achievements etc.	Classical Dancing(bharatnatyam and Kathak), Debating, Gold medalist in graduation, School head girl, Class representative throughout my college days
Are you a working professional?	No
Did you take Coaching?	Prelims: No Mains: No Interview: No
Did you buy any postal courses?	Yes
Did you join any Mock test series?	No
Did you appear in any other competitive exams?	No
If yes, provide the details:	NA

Inception

Q. When and how did the inspiration and idea of joining civil service come in your mind?

To be a Civil Servant was a childhood dream for me and especially when I realized and understood the intricacy of the service it became a passion for me.

The Choice of Optional Subjects


Q7. After a person decides to appear in civil service exam, the first big obstacle is “Choice of optional subjects”. What factors did you consider before selecting your optional?

In my case as I have a background in Economics so that was a natural choice and for my second optional my keen interest in Anthropology was the sole reason for selecting it as my second optional
Momentum

Q. People initially prepare with much enthusiasm but then a boredom phase comes - they don’t even find the motivation to read the daily newspapers, let alone studying the books.
Sometimes they get diverted because of external factors e.g. heavy workload in office, family responsibilities and so on. How did you sustain the study-momentum throughout the year?

I prepared a balanced strategy at the very beginning of preparation. I roughly made a mental preparation plan and ensured on a daily basis that I am following it thoroughly.
Any person who is preparing for CSE faces the frequent bouts of enthusiasm and boredom. Even I faced it especially in the evening hours.

When I was bored or lacked enthusiasm ,I took a break..saw TV ,went on Facebook etc-did anything that diverted my mind but only for max 10 mins.
After that I reminded myself of my dreams and was back on my study table.

Hours

On an average, How many hours did you study per day? How many months did it take you to complete the core syllabus of GS and optional subjects?


I studied till the time I was able to concentrate..roughly 8-10 hrs daily and I was preparing for CSE since 2009 December for my first attempt in 2010(AIR Rank-640).
However I feel 1 year of intensive study is sufficient.

Internet

How did you use computer and internet for your exam-preparation?

Since I did my preparation from home (ranchi) Internet was the only source of information and guidance for me. I used internet for keeping myself updated on the front of the news and world affairs,for updating myself on recent developments in the field of economics and anthropology and also for Science and Tech portion.
Essay

• How did you prepare yourself for the essay?
• Which Essay did you write in Mains-2011?
• What were your keypoints in that essay?
• How many marks did you get in that essay?

I did not do anything special for Essay.I used to read the editorials of newspapers seriously and in case I found some interesting quote etc I noted them down. I also made a tentative list of essay topics and practiced writing on one of it.
I attempted the essay on the topic “creation of small states and its implications”.
I tried to keep my language very simple. I also ensured that my essay is very comprehensive. I got 100 marks in essay.

Phoenix

Q. Serious players get mentally shattered and depressed after failure in competitive exams. How did you cope up with failures and rose from the ashes again? What had gone wrong in your previous attempts? How did you fix those issues in your 2011’s attempt?

Yes, I did went in depression after my first attempt’s result in 2010(though I got AIR 640 then) .Maybe I had more expectations. But thanks to my parents who helped me to regain back my senses .In my first attempt paucity of time and associated superficiality in my preparation was a major problem.In this attempt ,I tried to rectify this.

Profile


Many aspirants fear the interview, thinking that “my profile is not good because

• I’ve low marks in SSC/HSC/College,
• I don’t have any extra-curricular certificates,
• I don’t have work experience,
• I graduated from some unknown college,
• I’m from non-English medium and so on…”

So, How important or relevant is the profile of a candidate during interview?

I believe CSE interview is solely “PERSONALITY TEST” and as it is CSE is a great leveler where a post doctoral is competing with a simple bachelor’s degree holder.So one’s profile doesn’t play a much important.In stead its You and your dedication that matters. As far as I am concerned ,I would accept that I had a “so called relatively better profile” but with my two years of CSE interview experience .i can say that at the end of the day ..its your personality test..that’s it.Varied medium people should never feel that they are at any disadvantage.If you are confident about what you are and can be original in the interview room …you are bound to succeed.

Backup

Q. In case you had not cleared the Union Public Service Commission exam, what was your career/future backup plan?

I would definitely be disheartened. However, in case if things would have gone in different direction than I had expected, I would have moved towards a career in academics.

Family and Friends

Q. Behind one topper are many people who stood by her during those uncertain times when she was merely an ‘aspirant’. Would you like to tell the world, who were those people in your case? Any specific incidence that you would like to share with the readers?

Definitely ,in my case there were many people behind the scenes who helped me to achieve my dream. My parents who stood by me through thick and thin.Their one statement after my first result in 2010 attempt that “You can do it and you will do it,give it a second try” helped me to regain back my senses and I decided to give my 100% for that one dream.

My elder brother and sis –in-law were always there for that much needed “confidence boost” ,my friends who were there as my “vent for frustration” and most importantly some of my professors /teachers who were my true friend,philosopher and guide.

One instance , I would like to share….usually by the night , I was so drained out that I did not had the strength to read out loud (and I would admit I am in the habit of reading out loud)my GS and Anthropology materials. At that point in time , my mom would just read them for me and I used to hear them while laying down.At the end of a chapter, I used to summarize it and that was how I covered some portions!!!!In the evenings , when any aspirant is facing that bout of frustration, my dad would take me to a close-by ice-cream shop for that much needed “Ice-cream dose”…these are small instances but would like to say these instances mattered a lot !






Your Study plan

CSAT (Paper I) General studies

Topic	Source of your preparation	remark, if any
Current Affairs	Thorough and intensive reading of newspapers like TOI,The hindu,IE(only for editorials),ET,magazines like frontline ,CSR,Chronicle,Yojana and the Economist.	Always keep yourself updated with issues happening around you.I am a news maniac ..won’t ask you to become one but start loving and following news..i am sure you will start enjoying it as well.
History Ancient/Medieval/Modern	Spectrum and Vajiram Yellow book +some NCERTS
Physical Geography	All the four NCERTS of 11th and 12th	Be very thorough with them
Geography of India	“
Geography of World
Polity and Governance	DD Basu/Laxmikant/Vajiram yellow book
Public Policy	Internet and self made notes
Rights issue	Same as above
Environment and Biodiversity	Internet, IGNOU materials
Economic and social Development	Economic Survey/PD special issue on Economy/Internet
Science	Sriram notes+internet+chronicle special issue
Economy	Economic survey/India year book

CSAT (Paper II) Aptitude

Syllabus Topic	Source of your preparation	Remarks, if Any
Quantitative Aptitude	R.S agarwal+Manuals like that of Unique,arihant,intenet sources and even some basic practice papers for CAT
Data interpretation	Same as above
Logical reasoning
Reading comprehension
Decision Making and Problem solving	I tried to practice some questions which were available on net	During exams just read these questions very nicely and calmly .

Mains Examination


Compulsory Language papers

	Source of your preparation
English	Went through the previous years question papers
Indian language paper	Went through previous years question papers and practiced writing essay in Hindi almost like a month before the exam

General Studies paper I

Syllabus Topic	Source of your preparation
History	Spectrum/Vajiram yellow book
Culture	Spectrum+internet
Geography of India	Four NCERTS of 11th and 12th Std.
Polity	DD basu/Laxmikant/Vajiram yellow book
Issues of social relevance	Internet +magazines like chronicle
Indian economy and planning	Economic Survey
Public health
Law and order
Good governance
Environment

General Studies paper 2

Syllabus Topic	Source of your preparation
India and the World	Prepared self notes while reading newspapers
Indian diaspora	internet
India’s Economic interaction with world	Extensive reading of Business newspapers
International affairs and institutions	Newspapers
Statistics	Practiced from Spectrum esp the graphs etc(but since I have economics background,did not need much preparation for this)
Science & Tech.	Sriram study materials+internet

Optional Subject #1 and #2


For both my optional I emphasized on making my concepts very clear and re-read the textbooks. I read all of these books, different books cater to different portions of the syllabus so i have just enumerated them
Economics

For Paper 1

Microeconomics	Ahuja and Koutsyansis
Macroeconomics	Ahuja Mankiw
International Economics	Salvatore basically and for some random parts M.C Vaish
Public finance	Lekhi Dalton H.L Bhatia
Money and banking-	S.B Gupta Ahuja RBI website

For growth and development i followed Mishra and Puri/there is another book by lekhi on it(it covers the syllabus so its bit handy)/ debraj Ray-development economics[/URL] an extensive use of internet for some new developments in same
Paper2

Indian Economy part from	Dutt & Sundaram Mishra & Puri Uma kapila
Economic survey	UNION BUDGET & ECONOMIC SURVEY
Economy and Political Weekly	EPW
any one business newspaper like ET/FE etc	The Economic Times: Financial Express

Anthropology

• The comprehensive list of Anthropology books i followed was

Topic	Books
Physical Anthropology	B M das/P Nath
Social Anthropology	Ember n Ember Makhan Jha N.K Vaid D.N Mazumdar & T.N Madan
Indian Anthropology	Nadeem Hasnain V.S Sahay &Pradeep K Singh
Anthropological Thought	Upadhyay/ Gaya Pandey

Extensive use of internet for keeping myself updated about any new anthropological development.
Interview

How did you prepare for the interview? What questions were asked?

For my interview ,I brushed up every small aspect of my background,my home state,my optional etc(all the information furnished by me in DAF).
I was in Vijay Singh Sir’s Board.Interview board was very cordial and cooperative. Questions were mixture of World economics+my hobbies+world affairs+some decision making questions and some questions on my home state ,Jharkhand
Marksheet

ROLL NO:006368
NAME:HARSHIKA SINGH
CIVIL SERVICES (MAIN) EXAMINATION, 2011

SUBJECTS	MARKS
ESSAY (PAPER-III)	100
GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-IV)	144
GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-V)	132
OPTIONAL-I(ECONOMICS) (PAPER-VI)	133
OPTIONAL-I(ECONOMICS) (PAPER-VII)	213
OPTIONAL-II(ANTHROPOLOGY) (PAPER-VIII)	196
OPTIONAL-II(ANTHROPOLOGY) (PAPER-IX)	175
WRITTEN TOTAL	1093
PERSONALITY TEST	204
FINAL TOTAL	1297

Remarks: Recommended.

Message

Q. What is your message to the aspirants?

Dream a dream and make a determined effort for that….you will surely succeed. Never get disheartened. CSE preparation is a beautiful and life changing experience. Live it and you will enjoy and relish it forever. All the very best for all your endeavors.

Did you use indianofficer.com for your preparation? If yes, How did it help you?

Ans. I was an IO member and the forum helped me a lot from compiling the book list for my optional to serving as a platform visiting which helped me to stay connected to the world of CSE aspirants from across the country.Thank you IO for that.


End of interview.

If you wish to congratulate, compliment, or ask any follow up questions to Harshika Singh (IO username: @harshika s), post it here!

[JaiBharat]

U r background in economics from LSE is clearly visible in ur paper 2 marks.@mrunal nice efforts to post this.

[zolpidem]

Congrats for your achievement. Wish you best of luck in profession and life

It seems from ur reslt that u r extremly gud n papr2 economics while the score is avg n paper1...

What work/writing skills enabled u to score such cool marks n economics papr2?

[srk121srk]

I would like to ask Harshika how she got into London School of Economics.

P.S - Please do not mind answering since it is not related to Union Public Service Commission

[abhi_siwan]

Many many Congratulations to you for this great achievement.........
I have seen very few people who have prepared CSE without any coaching nd u r one of them.
I want to know how have u managed all preparations at home(i mean from Ranchi) because everything about study material is not easily accessible in Ranchi for students.

[greyzeus]

I would like to ask Harshika how she got into London School of Economics.

P.S - Please do not mind answering since it is not related to Union Public Service Commission

I also want to know...................great school for economics and international relations

[teccums]

Hearty Congrats Harshika. Congrats again for the excellent scores in both the optionals esp. Anthro. I remember IO member - vijai007 last year for similar marks in Anthro last year.

@mrunal - wanted to post couple of questions related to Anthro prep. looks like she cant take messages. thats ok. i will post the qs right here. dont know if she is watching this space!

@harshika s - wud like to know the questions u attempted in paper 1 and paper 2 apart from the compulsory questions 1 & 5. I'm finding it difficult to take my score beyond 150 in paper 2. Thanks in advance.

[harshika s]

Congratulation for your success may you have a great career in your life.

Thanks a lot.Wish u all the very best for all your endeavors.

[harshika s]

Hearty Congrats Harshika. Congrats again for the excellent scores in both the optionals esp. Anthro. I remember IO member - vijai007 last year for similar marks in Anthro last year.

@mrunal - wanted to post couple of questions related to Anthro prep. looks like she cant take messages. thats ok. i will post the qs right here. dont know if she is watching this space!

@harshika s - wud like to know the questions u attempted in paper 1 and paper 2 apart from the compulsory questions 1 & 5. I'm finding it difficult to take my score beyond 150 in paper 2. Thanks in advance.

Thanks a lot for all the wishes. In paper 1 i attempted Q 4,6 and 8.In paper 2 I again attempted Q 4,6 and 8 as well.For paper 2 try to add on in your answers with some examples and updating oneself on recent developments in Anthropology through the internet like following Survival International's site or UN body on Indigenous people etc helps.All the best for all your endeavors.

[harshika s]

Congratulation for your success may you have a great career in your life.

Thanks a lot for the wishes and all the very best for all your endeavors.

[harshika s]

Many many Congratulations to you for this great achievement.........
I have seen very few people who have prepared CSE without any coaching nd u r one of them.
I want to know how have u managed all preparations at home(i mean from Ranchi) because everything about study material is not easily accessible in Ranchi for students.

Thanks a lot for all your wishes. I did my preparations from Home as i am extensively dependent on self-study .As far as study materials are concerned, the only disadvantage that I faced was that when some book was available in Delhi , i had to order it through the publishers or in most of the cases i did get them in Ranchi itself but with a lag of say a week or 10 days.All the very best for all your endeavors.

[harshika s]

I would like to ask Harshika how she got into London School of Economics.

P.S - Please do not mind answering since it is not related to Union Public Service Commission

Admission to LSE is based on your GRE score+academic achievements+statement of purpose+ Research proposal+ any extra achievements like say if you had any paper published or some leadership stint etc.Hope this helps.

[harshika s]

Congrats for your achievement. Wish you best of luck in profession and life

It seems from ur reslt that u r extremly gud n papr2 economics while the score is avg n paper1...

What work/writing skills enabled u to score such cool marks n economics papr2?

Thanks for the wishes.Paper 1 marks were surprising for me as well.I had attempted that paper fairly well.But guess i may have faltered somewhere.For paper 2 i just read all the basic textbooks like Uma Kapila/Dutt and Sundaram/Mishra and Puri + Economic Survey+EPW and supplemented my answers with some recent current affairs example( if possible) .Hope this helps.

[teccums]

Thanks a lot for all the wishes. In paper 1 i attempted Q 4,6 and 8.In paper 2 I again attempted Q 4,6 and 8 as well.For paper 2 try to add on in your answers with some examples and updating oneself on recent developments in Anthropology through the internet like following Survival International's site or UN body on Indigenous people etc helps.All the best for all your endeavors.

Thanks Harshika! Have one more question with reg to paper 2. Qs like tribal panchsheel, distinctive features of NE tribes, contribution of american anthropologists, dominant cast and relevance (knew the concept but not its relevance), critique of GT and LT (again knew the concept but not its critique), contributions of Verrier Elwin. I need the books for each of these questions. basically i wanted to know which books from ur list will give answers to each of these questions. Pls ..pls dont mind for going into this detail! I wanted to plug gaps in my Anthro prep in paper 2, that is y i'm asking this question.

Also, I think some questions are to be handled spot on with our knowledge ex: question on modernity& future of hunting and gathering tribes. do u agree?

[naveenkrs]

Congrats Harshika!
Your marks in economics speak for themselves. I have just completed my second yr at IIT Kharagpur and I am planning to take Union Public Service Commission UPSC Preliminary Examination in 2014. I am from a non-economics background. I wanted to know what all questions you attempted in economics paper-1 and 2. Was there any pre planning or strategy regarding which questions you will attempt in exam and which ones you wont?
Looking forward to your reply

[harshika s]

Congrats Harshika!
Your marks in economics speak for themselves. I have just completed my second yr at IIT Kharagpur and I am planning to take Union Public Service Commission Union Public Service Commission Preliminary Examination in 2014. I am from a non-economics background. I wanted to know what all questions you attempted in economics paper-1 and 2. Was there any pre planning or strategy regarding which questions you will attempt in exam and which ones you wont?
Looking forward to your reply

Thanks a lot for the wishes Naveen. I attempted question 4,6 and 8 in both papers....Frankly i did not make any strategy as to which questions i am going to attempt...(i feel noone can in case of Union Public Service Commission)...what i ensured was that i was thorough with the syllabus.all the best for all your endeavors.

[harshika s]

Thanks Harshika! Have one more question with reg to paper 2. Qs like tribal panchsheel, distinctive features of NE tribes, contribution of american anthropologists, dominant cast and relevance (knew the concept but not its relevance), critique of GT and LT (again knew the concept but not its critique), contributions of Verrier Elwin. I need the books for each of these questions. basically i wanted to know which books from ur list will give answers to each of these questions. Pls ..pls dont mind for going into this detail! I wanted to plug gaps in my Anthro prep in paper 2, that is y i'm asking this question.

Also, I think some questions are to be handled spot on with our knowledge ex: question on modernity& future of hunting and gathering tribes. do u agree?

Hello ..It's really difficult to pinpoint from which book i referred what..because frankly i felt that all the answers were very very interrelated...if you read all the prescribed textbooks nicely ..you are bound to mix and match and put them into words..Def question like on modernity etc needs ur appreciation of the subject and how can u relate it to reality..just enjoy the preparation...Anthro is very practical subject ...Wish u all the best for all your endeavors.

[yrk586]

Congrats Harshika!!

[manohar549]

congrats, ur interview is truely inspiring , all the best for your future...Rebuild india glory

[manohar549]

Harika , my optional is anthropology, how can i go with it , is there any thing you prepared apart from the books you mentioned...pls guide