[Topper's Interview] Mr. Gaurav Dhiman (Age 28) 2nd Attempt (HPAS-2015) Geography, Public Administration Optionals from Dehlan, Una, Himachal

Topper's Profile :  Gaurav Dhiman

Meet a humble and Inspiring Person fromUNA, Cracked HPAS 2015 in his just 2nd attempt. He also appeared in UPSC 2015 Interview that's quite some achievement. He was happy to share his experiences. What I found in his Interview that his thoughts are very clear and have a wonderful systematic approach which I think are very much needed. I thank him for his wonderful experience sharing with aspirants. 

Name	Gaurav Dhiman
Rank	B.D.O
Roll No.	203894
Age	28
Total attempts in HPAS	2ND
Optional Subject	Geography, Public Administration
Medium chosen for Mains answer	English
School Medium	English
Home town/city/village	VPO Dehlan, Teh & Distt UNA(H.P)
Work-experience if any	4 years
Details of other competitive exams, including success / failures	UPSC Interview 2015(Ist attempt) SSC (CGL) cleared twice (2012,2013)
Details of coaching, mock tests, postal  material for any competitive exam (if used)	Regular classroom coaching at GURUJI’S KIRPA S.N.M. IAS Academy, Chandigarh
Service Preference	SDM,BDO

Educational Profile :

% in class 10	78.8%
% in class 12	77.6%
Schooling (Medium)	English
Graduation  course and %	Engineering ,60%
Name of college, city, passing out year	PEC - 2009
Post –Graduation	----------
Any other Professional courses	----------
Hobbies & extra curricular	Playing Guitar, Travelling Exploring Place

Introduction

Q. Tell us something about yourself, your family, your place, when and why did you enter in this field of competitive exams?

Ans. Father: - Retired Bank Manger.

Mother:-Homemaker.  Residing in Chandigarh since 2008.

Gaurav Dhiman

Started preparing for UPSC & HPAS in July 2014. HPAS provides platform for serving people of my state. Cracking competitive exams will bring resources and authority to bring meaningful change in ground realities. Sensitivity to problems and empathetic attitude towards others pushed me towards this direction to work for the people.

Electronic Vs Paper material

Q. Nowadays many students rely on internet for study material, so how much do you rely on electronic material and how much on the paper material (Books, Newspaper)? If possible narrate a typical day in your study life. What is your style of preparation (e.g. I continue make notes no matter what I’m reading, I just multiple times nut don’t maintain notes, I make mind map on computer.. etc style or way)

Ans.

• Started with NCERT books from 6^th to 12^th along with regular coaching classes.
• Assisted by material from internet (especially Insights & Mrunal and Blogs from  GURUJI’S KIRPA S.N.M.IAS Academy website).
• Preparing a synopsis of every  relevant  news.
• Complementary class notes & books of coaching institute.
• Daily News Paper Analysis.
• Writing key points and key words every day.
• Maintaining flash cards and doing revision number of times.
• Weekend was spent on revising classroom notes and current issues.
• Dividing Current Issues into separate Domains like Polity, Economy, Ecology, Science and Technology, International Relations. 
• Making a connect between conventional and contemporary knowledge.

Tempo and Style

Q. Students know what books and syllabus points are to be prepared. But most of them lack consistency in their preparation. So, how do you keep study momentum going on? How do you fight against the mood swings and distraction?

Ans.   

• Motivational videos & success stories on You Tube & other sites such as Khadubhai, Mrunal kept me going whenever I felt low.
• Better India.com, Jindagi Live and LABSNAA videos are a constant pusher and incentive to keep going on enjoying this empowering journey.

• Also I kept on pursuing my travelling hobby to keep me rejuvenated.

If Struggle of a senior player

Ans. This was my second attempt.

After 1-2 failure in any competitive exam, a phase of mental saturation comes. The person knows the booklist; he knows wharf is necessary to succeed. But it doesn’t yield result.

My questions are two:

Q. How did you handle the mental stress and what are your words of wisdom to other senior players? If any specific inspirational incident(s), please share.

Ans.  I started preparing for UPSC in 2014 and finally cleared HAS interview in 2016. Preserverance & persistent hard work is the key to success.

• Optimistic lifestyle, mind works like a magnet it will attract positivity.
• Becoming Arjuna and focusing on Goals.
• Openness and flexibility, readiness to learn and seek knowledge and information anytime, anywhere.
• Listening to instrumental music.
• Indulging in meditation practices.
• Introspecting regularity to cope up with stress.
  
  

Q. What went wrong in your previous attempt? What changes did you make in this current attempt?

Ans. I cleared UPSC mains in first attempt, but not able to get through final list.

• Lack of practice on improving communication skills.
• Focused mainly on HPAS exam after UPSC attempted and identified gaps with help of my mentors and plugged them.
• Took 50 Mock interview sessions with GURUJI’S KIRPA S.N.M.IAS Academy mentors.
• Developed my own perspective on important issues and discussed the matter with GURUJI’S KIRPA S.N.M.IAS Academy mentors from 360 degree angle.

If working professional

Q. If you’re working professional, share some tips on how to manage studies with job?

Ans. My job timings were 9.00 am -5.00 pm . Rigorous& Regular study in early morning from (4 AM - 8 AM) and late night (8:00 PM -12:00AM) .

• I did time management by utilizing holidays & leaves from office.
• Striking a balance between studying basics as well as current news.
• Not enjoying lengthy lunch breaks, utilizing  that time in academics.
• Restricting myself to limited relevant sources, doing revision of all NCERT books at least four times.
• Reading newspaper during office hours.
  
  

Study Plan:

Prelims: General Studies (GS)

Topic	Study plan/booklist/comment
Himachal Pradesh General Studies: History Art & Culture, Geography, Polity Economic & Social Development	Miya Govardhan Singh GURUJI’ KIRPA S.N.M.IAS Academy notes provided in class
History Ancient	NCERT
History Medieval	NCERT
History Modern (Freedom Struggle)	Spectrum
Culture Society	Class room notes & various websites
Polity & Governance (Theory+ Current)	Laxmikanth + class notes
Economics & Social Development (Theory + Current)	Ramesh Singh + class notes
Science( Theory + Current)	NCERT’S + GOVT. Websites
Environment & Biodiversity( Theory + Current)	Shankar IAS Notes
Physical Geography, Indian and World Geography	NCERT’s + GC Leong for Physical Geography
Other national/international current affairs	Regular classes and class notes
Schemes, Policy etc	I didn’t specially refer to single source but referred to multiple websites

Q. Any observation/comments/tips about GS Prelims paper?

Ans.  Prepared well for GS part by studying above mentioned sources.

• Specific focus on Himachal GK & Psychology part from previous year plan.

Prelims: Aptitude Test (CSAT)

Topics	Study plan/ booklist/comment
English / Comprehension	Newspaper reading
Reasoning and Analytical Ability	RS Aggarwal
Maths/ Quant/ Data Interpretation	RS Aggarwal
Interpersonal Skills including Communication	Miscellaneous
Decision Making and Problem Solving	Miscellaneous
Misc	Miscellaneous

Q. Any observation / comments/tips about Aptitude (CSAT) paper?

Ans. It is just a qualifying paper so there is not much effort required.

Prelim Accuracy

Q. Did you attend any ‘mock tests? Do you think they are necessary for success?

Ans. Yes, Mock tests of GURUJI’S KIRPA S.N.M. IAS Academy helped me in time management & handling exam pressure.

Q. Approximate no. of attempted answers vs. correct answers in HPAS 2014?

Answer :

Papers	Attempted Questions	Marks
GS	73
APTITUDE	67
TOTAL	140

Mains: Compulsory Language Papers

Q. How did you prepare for the Compulsory English Paper? (If then list and Study pan/comments /tips)

Ans. Since I did schooling from English Medium this was not a difficult exam for me to crack. Still I referred to Wren & Martin for Basic Concepts on Grammar.

Q. How did you prepare for the Compulsory Hindi Paper? ( If then Book  list and Study plan/ comments/tips)

Ans. Hindi Vayakran. Non Hindi background students should focus on compulsory Hindi more.

Mains Essay Writing

Q. How did you prepare for the essay paper?

Ans. I personally wrote 8-10 essays and got it evaluated by my mentors at the coaching center . Specific current topics from newspaper like The Hindu helped me to build up the content for the essays.

Q. Which among the following essay did you write? What key points did you include in it? (If you remember)

Ans. Caste System

Main points of Essay

• Started from Ancient Period
• Continued with Colonial Period
• And linked with Current Scenario.

General Studies (Mains) Paper:

Topics	How did you prepare? Study plan/booklist/ comment
Indian History( Modern) (Please give details for subtopics if used various study material or reference books)	Spectrum
Freedom Struggle	Spectrum
Post- independence India	Spectrum
Indian Culture( Please give details for subtopics if used various study material or reference books)	Class notes & websites
Physical Geography (Please give details for subtopics if used various study material or reference books)	GC Leong, Savinder Singh
Indian Geography ( Please give details for subtopics if used various study material or reference books)	Majid Hussain
Indian Polity (Please give details for subtopics if used various study material or reference books)	M. Laxmikant & ARC Reports Current topics from Class notes
Indian Economy (Please give details for subtopics if used various study material or reference books)	Ramesh Singh + Mrunal videos ,Current Economic Survey + Budget + 12th Five Year Plan Documents.
Teachings of Mahatama Gandhi	-------------------------
Himachal Pradesh General Studies: History Art & Culture, Geography, Polity Economic & Social Development	Miya Govardhan Singh + Current Himachal GK. A report by World Bank on Himachal Sustainable Development helped me a lot in this part.

Q. Any other comments, tips or word of wisdom after going through the mains?

Ans :

• Time Management is the key. It is important to finish an answer in 6-8 mins to complete the paper.
• Keywords & Key points enhance your technical vocabulary by reading newspapers and watching videos of experts. It really helps.
• Regular answer writing practice at the academy sailed me through the exam.

Optional Subjects

Q. What were your optional subjects and why did you chose it and nothing else?

Ans. Public Administration & Geography

• It was purely based on interest in Polity and Geography.
• Availability of a good mentor & exam centric guidance in Chandigarh.

Q. If a new player wants to pick this subject, would you advice for it or against it?

Ans. I would advice to pick any of the optional which the aspirant has interest in because one needs to study it thoroughly and master it. Make sure that you have guidance available for the optional.

Q. First the essential book /resource list and strategy of optional 1(Also mention which one is the “Base book” for covering the theory? Whatever comment you’ve for a particular book e.g. “my seniors said read xyz book but I found that ABC book was better”. “ xyz topic not given properly in this book so prepare from xyz website or book…” or and soon?

Ans. Public Administration

• Fadia & Fadia , M. Laxmikant.
• Rest I entirely relied on the classroom coaching and the study material provided by the Academy.

Q. First the essential book/resource list and strategy of optional 2?

Ans.  Geography

• Majid Hussain , Surinder Singh, GC Leong and NCERT’S
• I prepared from class notes for this optional as well.

Q . How much of internet-research /current affairs is necessary for this optional? Or can one simply rely on the books and be done with this subject?

Ans.  For Public Administration

·         Insights test series on Public Administration.

·         PRS website

·         Geography is more or less static

Q. How many months did it take to finish the sore optional syllabus?

Ans.  a) Public Administration – 4 months

                b) Geography - 4 months

Q. How much writing practice you did for optional?

Ans.  I did answer writing preparation for UPSC mains 2015 which helped me in HPAS mains as well. For HPAS I specially worked on my weaker Areas. I incorporated the current schemes plans initiatives in the answers and enriched them with latest data, facts and figures. Writing an answer a day with the use of stop watch  was a regular practice in academy which gave lot of confidence and practice.

Q. Do you maintain self- notes for revision of optional? Or you simply rely on reference books?

Ans Yes, because writing answers had always been the prime concern of my teacher. So, I maintained those papers with major keywords, technical terms and important points  highlighted.

Q.  What do you think about the importance of Optional in HPAS in existing Pattern?

Ans. With changed pattern focus has shifted on GS papers. Optional subject still plays a crucial role on deciding merit.

Q. What you will suggest to the young aspirants about how to choose the optional subjects?

Ans.

• Interest of the candidate
• Syllabus coverage & guidance
• Availability of  books & classes
• Education background of the aspirant

Mains Answer Writing

Q. What style you follow like “introduction- body-conclusion” format or just simply write down what comes in mind first or any other style?

Ans. I followed introduction-body-conclusion pattern in Mains

• Answers were written in points form and key- points were highlighted in answers.

Q. Did you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs or any other style?

Ans. Yes, I wrote in bullets, points and wrote in small paragraphs where ever necessary.

Q. What was your approach in the exam writing questions in fixed word limits?

Ans.

• Word limit is not a problem if answer writing practice is done regularly.
• In such questions introduction and frivolous details can be skipped and one has to strictly stick to the concept asked in the question.

Interview

Q. How did you prepare for the interview?

Ans. I relied on my mentor Dr. Nidhi Soni for interview preparation.

• Did mock interview sessions with the expert panel at GURUJI’S KIRPA S.N.M. IAS Academy before final interview which boosted my confidence level and primed on what to expect at the time of the actual test.

Q. Please narrate your entire interview-what questions did they ask and what did you reply and other pleasant or uncomfortable experiences during the interview.( or you can simply tell about the questions asked in the interview, but it will be better if you try to narrate in question –answer patter).

Ans.

•  Comparison between private and government undertaking in Himachal
• Questions based on Job profile i.e. BRO
• Question based on Public Administration optional

-          Rule of law

• Questions on that day’s newspaper
• Questions on Production engineering (My education background)
• General question related to home district (UNA)

Q. Was your interview on the expected lines of what you had prepared or did they ask you totally unexpected questions? Was it a stress interview, did they ask any uncomfortable questions? If yes, how did you handle it?

Ans.  I prepared well for interview covering all aspects, so it was on expected lines.

• Panel was very friendly and cordial and made me comfortable.
  
  

Insecurity about profile

Q. Many candidates prepare sincerely but constantly live under fear about ‘profile insecurity’. I’m not from a big college, I’m not from English medium, and I don’t have work- experience. What if they ask some stressful questions in the interview about this? What is your message to these candidates?

Ans.

• Prepare your topics well
• Language is just a medium of communication
• There is no limitation posed by the commission on the type of college or medium of the candidate. The eligibility criteria has nothing to do with the job experience of the candidates. Any graduate can apply .So, these are self imposed rules and criteria  set by the commission
  
  

Marks Sheet

Please provide your marks when they will reveal the marks it will help future aspirants.

Subject	Marks Obtained	Max Marks
GS	57	150
Essay	45	100
Geography	160	300
Public Administration	194	300
Interview	80	150
Total	536

Career Backup

Q. If you were not selected, what was your career backup plan?

Ans. I was already in a government job, so there was no insecurity regarding career planning.

Views on HPAS Reforms

Q. Optional subjects should be removed altogether or not? Does present pattern seems biased these days when importance is being given to GS more? What is you take on this?

Ans. There is only one optional subject as in UPSC and HCS.

• Even though GS is for 450 marks and optional for 300 marks.GS preparation requires extensive study and it remains a level playing ground where as optional, if prepared well, can be a game changer. So, I think there is a equilibrium between the two exams.

Q. What are your thoughts on the Aptitude test (CSAT)? (Honest Views) it should be only qualifying in nature or not?

Ans. It is already qualifying only.

Q. What other reforms you would like to see in HPAS?

Ans. It is already in line with UPSC pattern.

Inspiration & Wisdom

Q. Through this struggle and success, what have your learned? What is the wisdom of life and competition? What is your message to the new aspirants?

Ans.

• There is no substitute to hardwork and  determination.
• Perseverance is the key to success, there should be a whole hearted focus on one single exam.
• There should be a healthy spirit of competition, group discussions are big facilitator.
• New aspirants should follow an incremental approach, adding to their knowledge gradually and systematically.
• The beginners should become seekers of knowledge, if they perceive syllabus as a burden they will find it difficult to retain and to manage. One should be open to all types of information and knowledge.
• Every aspirant should follow a Network model, making interconnections among various GS Modules.
• To give is to live and to live is to give. The faces and plight of poor, deprived people used to haunt me to keep me on my toes and never let me sleep peacefully. The urge to uplift the marginalized and neglected section of society is the fire behind this journey.

I used to follow this Mantra:-

"Lehron se Darkar nauka par nahin hoti,

koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti,

Nanhi cheenti jab daana lekar chalti hai,

chadhti deewaron par, sau bar phisalti hai.

Man ka vishwas ragon mein saahas bharta hai,

chadhkar girna, girkar chadhna na akharta hai.

Akhir uski mehnat bekar nahin hoti,

koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti.

Jab tak na safal ho, neend chain ko tyago tum,

Sangharsh ka maidan chhodkar mat bhago tum.

Kuch kiye bina hi jai jaikar nahin hoti,

koshish karne walon ki haar nahin hoti."

Q. Many hardworking candidates have failed in Mains/ Interview of HPAS- 2014.They is feeling dejected-what is your message to them?

Ans. I failed 16 times in individual bank PO exams before cracking IBPS PO.

• To learn from failures, making it a recipe for your success is extremely important.
• An aspirant should keep working hard, undistracted and undeterred despite the  distractions and challenges.

Q. How did you kept motivating yourself in these years for this journey? Or form where you got the inspiration? Please share

Ans.

• I watched Motivational videos and read biographies of great leaders like Abdul Kalam, Sreedharan, Kiran Bedi and realized nobody has achieved success without facing hardships.
• Lectures organized by SNM IAS Academy of senior serving officers was a constant moral booster during my preparation.
• I also read texts by Osho and Dalai Lama which is a constant source of inspiration.

Credit: Family/ Friend/Tutors

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

Ans. Success is always a collective effort. Every one supported me in my journey my family, my teachers, colleagues in offices and friends deserve the credit of my success. They believed in me supported me and gave me the courage to keep going during the most difficult times.

 Khadubhai: Thanks a lot for the valuable Knowledge and Experiences you shared, hope that it will inspire youth more and more and you will become a great source of inspiration. I was a bit late in publishing this Interview and I am sorry for that. Wishing you all the best for the Great Job.