On 12 June 2023, the results of the preliminary stage of the UPSC-CSE were scheduled to be announced. Unlike lakhs of aspirants awaiting the results, Vikas Kumar Meena had already believed that he would not make it to the list. He was so hopeless that he purchased the course for another competitive examination, minutes before the results were to be announced.
“I had no confidence that I would clear the prelims. I was so unmotivated that I tried shifting my focus to the SSC-CGL exam. I was busy solving the previous year questions for it when my friend asked me if I had checked the results. I was so scared that I wondered how I would face my family and relatives,” he shares.
“After a few more minutes, I somehow gathered courage and found my name on the list. I checked my roll number at least 20 times. The happiness of clearing the UPSC prelims gives a different level of satisfaction altogether than clearing all subsequent stages,” he adds.
One of the reasons behind his worry, Vikas says, was his Hindi medium background. He went on to shatter the stereotypes by clearing the UPSC-CSE 2023 examination, clenching an All India Rank of 672.
He is now all set to undergo training as an Indian Foreign Officer (IFS) in Delhi. We sat down with the IFS officer to understand the UPSC examination through the lens of a Hindi medium aspirant.
Misconceptions and tips for Hindi-medium aspirants
While pursuing his B.Tech in a Delhi college, Vikas had decided to appear for the examination. In 2019, he came to Mukherjee Nagar for a demo class.
“I saw hundreds of aspirants coming out of classes. I became hopeless seeing this crowd and wondered how I was going to survive here. I felt like a small insect and feared losing my identity if I walked into that crowd,” he shares.
After completing his graduation in 2021, he started preparing for the examination. He clears a few misconceptions and shares helpful tips for aspirants based on his experience.
1. Psychological barriers
Vikas says that firstly, a lot of Hindi medium aspirants are told to join coaching institutes because without it, they won’t be able to succeed.
“There are a lot of psychological aspects which get affected due to senior culture in the lanes of Mukherjee Nagar. New candidates are expected to seek guidance from those who have already given multiple attempts. So, it’s like bhaiyaji and sirji culture. They put blind faith in them and consider those who cleared the exam as god,” he shares.
“Secondly, most of these Hindi medium aspirants come from low income backgrounds. There is immense financial stress on them. I have seen many of my other aspirant friends working in libraries, ATMs, and catering services. They would hide their face and step out for work in order to afford their fee. They never felt confident,” says Vikas.
2. Limited study material
Besides, Vikas points out that compared to English, there is a limited study material for Hindi medium aspirants. “While there are standard books available in both languages, there is a lack of good study material for subjects like Environment and Ecology. I tried reading booklets offered by other coaching institutes, but I felt they had vocabulary and grammatical errors,” says Vikas, who eventually referred to the booklet by the Shankar IAS academy.
3. Optimise sources
Vikas says that many Hindi medium aspirants are unable to clear the prelims stage itself. He says that he joined a coaching institute and only relied on coaching notes. “I didn’t read the standard books like Polity by M Laxmikanth and Modern History Spectrum. Learn to optimise your notes,” he says.
“You need to understand what you don’t have to study. Conduct a trend analysis of the kind of questions that are asked in both prelims and Mains. Prepare accordingly. Do not waste your time mugging up from various sources. Once you learn filtering out important information, then the syllabus won’t be vast,” he adds.
4. Do not neglect current affairs
Usually aspirants are advised to read The Hindu or The Indian Express newspapers – both available only in English. Vikas says, “If you are unable to comprehend the language, then regularly follow YouTube channels that organise editorial discussions. For instance, check out Harshit Dwivedi and Prashant Tiwari who provide current affair notes on Telegram as well.”
Highlighting the importance of keeping oneself updated about current affairs, he says, “Your first task of the day should be to study current affairs but aspirants neglect this section. They feel reading Vision 365 magazine at the last minute would be helpful. But you need to follow news articles daily and remain aware about daily happenings.”
5. Do not neglect qualifying paper
Civil Services Aptitude Test or CSAT is GS Paper-2 in the preliminary examination. It is conducted to evaluate an aspirant’s comprehension, logical reasoning, general mental ability, and basic numeracy skills. As it is a qualifying paper requiring a minimum of 33 percent, Vikas says, Hindi medium aspirants tend to neglect it.
“In 2023, the CSAT paper was very difficult. Most of the Hindi medium aspirants come from BA and BSc background and some lack reasoning and mathematics abilities. They lose their confidence in CSAT. Despite this, they focus on other subjects more. Remember to give equal weightage to such subjects as well,” he adds.
At the end, Vikas advises aspirants to set weekly or monthly targets to remain consistent in studies. “I would not sleep if I wouldn’t complete my targets even if it was 3 in the night. However, remember to take a day’s break sometimes to feel rejuvenated. In the end, it is just an exam.”
Edited by Padmashree Pande.
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