Civil Services 2010 -IAS Topper Abhiram G. Sankar

Indian Civil Services 2010-11: All India Rank 4^th Mr. Abhiram G. Sankar

An exclusive Interview

BIO-DATA

Name: Abhiram G. Sankar

Age: 23

Place of Residence: Attingal, Trivandrum dist., Kerala.

Education:

Class	Institution Attended
Till 10th	Sree Chithira Thirunal Residential Central School, Kunnathukal, Trivandrum
11th – 12th	Arya Central School, Trivandrum
B.Tech (Computer Science)	Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering, Kollam

Family:

            Father - Girisankar R. (Manager, Federal Bank)

            Mother – Meena Sankar (Housewife)

            Brother – Akshay G. Sankar (Student)

Optional subjects: 1.Geography.

                              2. Political Science & International Relations.

No. of attempt: 1

Interest in CSE

I was initially attracted to social science & newspaper reading thanks to the abilities & motivation of my teacher, Smt. Kripalini & my friend Vishnu S. Warrier, while I was in 10^th standard.

Later I came to know about the examination and from then on (sometime in 2003-04) it had been ambition to become an IAS officer. My family & friends wholeheartedly supported my decision to reject placement offers in Infosys & Satyam, which in turn boosted my confidence & motivated me further.

Subject Selection

I was always comfortable with geography since my school days. I opted for political science as the other optional because of my natural interest in international affairs.

One should always select an optional based on factors like interest, availability of guidance & study material etc. It is best to go through the syllabus & previous years’ question papers before selecting a subject.

Coaching

I went to Shankar IAS Academy in Anna Nagar, Chennai for prelims & mains coaching. It was mainly due to the strategies that Shankar sir & other teachers familiarized us with during coaching, that I was able to score good marks in mains exam.

Balalatha madam’s help during preparation of political science was also very valuable & useful.

It is best to accept guidance from reliable sources & previous achievers before choosing any coaching institute. My friend, Vishnu, advised me to consider Shankar Academy, which I accepted eventually. It is not wise to go by the ads in magazines while selecting coaching centres.

If one is very confident of his/her abilities, then it is not necessary that he/she should go for coaching. But generally speaking, coaching helps the candidate in refining his/her abilities & realize his/her potential.

Preparation Strategy

I passed out of college in June 2009. From June to October, I completed reading almost 70-80% of the syllabus of both optional & GS paper. Only then did I join for coaching in October 2009. So it was easier for me to understand & grasp the subjects in a much shorter period of time.

The number of hours you study does not matter. But what matters is the quality of study. I used to study for about 6-7 hours daily during my stay in Chennai & 8-9 hours when at home. The last one month before prelims & mains was only for revision, and I did not learn anything new during this period.

Prelims:

For current affairs, I prepared my own notes from The Hindu, and filed them under different headings like national, international, economics, awards etc. I also followed the Civil Services Chronicle magazine for nearly 2 years regularly. I revised the self-made notes at least once in a month. Regular tests were conducted by Shankar academy, which also helped me a lot. NCERT books & standard texts were the other sources of information.

Mains:

For current affairs, I relied on The Hindu, Frontline, Chronicle, Yojana, Kurukshetra & Civil Services Times. I read only select articles & not all of them, and also took cut-outs from the Hindu. Teachers in the academy also helped me polish my answer writing skills.

For geography, I mainly relied on Shankar sir’s classes. I did not need a fresh study because I had already studied geography for the prelims. Sir conducted many mock tests & individually advised the candidates on how to improve their answers.

For political science, Balalatha madam provided us with valuable notes & material. International relations & current political events, one has to learn by himself. For this one can rely on The Hindu, Frontline, World Focus and Civil Services Times. Madam also conducted weekly tests and provided feedback on how to refine one’s answers.

Interview:

After mains exams, I only read the Hindu, Frontline & Mathrubhumi (Malayalam newspaper).

I prepared my biodata in depth, based on the details provided in the summary sheet of UPSC mains examination form. Name, Place of birth, home state & district, hobbies, family, academic background etc. were the various aspects I concentrated on, apart from regional, national & international issues.

Before attending the UPSC interview, I was given interview training by the Kerala state civil services academy in Trivandrum. I attended some mock interview sessions in Kerala state civil service academy (Trivandrum), Shankar academy (Chennai) & Naipunya academy (Kochi). Mock interviews are useful in pin-pointing one’s positives & negatives, thus providing an opportunity for self correction & improvement.

Book list:

General Studies

NCERT books - history (old edition ancient, medieval & modern)

Ncert 11th & 12th geography textbooks

Constitution by D.D. Basu (But it is better to buy Laxmikanth’s ‘Indian polity’)

Modern Indian history by Spectrum
Civil Services Chronicle
Yojana & Kurukshetra

Hindu & Frontline

Pratiyogita darpan for economics

India year book

Class notes

Geography

Physical geography by savindra singh
Certificate geography by goh cheng leong
Ncert 11th & 12th geography textbooks
Geography through maps by siddhartha
Human geography & geographical thought by majid husain
Indian geography by khullar

Geographic theories by Siddartha or Majid husain
Orient Longman & oxford atlas
Shankar sir's notes

Political science & international relations:

Political theory - O P Gauba
International relations - Malhotra

Notes from my teacher, Balalatha madam for political thought & theory

Constituition by D.D. Basu

Modern Indian history by Spectrum
Cosmos book hives vol.1 & vol.3

World focus magazine
Civil service times
Hindu & frontline

Total Marks Scored

Essay             - 105

General Studies Paper I       - 170

General Studies Paper II      - 135

Optional I

Geography Paper I               - 196

Geography Paper II               - 189

Optional II

Political Science Paper           - 138

Political Science Paper II         -188

Written Total                              - 1121

Interview                                    - 195

Final Total                              - 1316

Tips

Do not underestimate yourself. Being an average or below-average student in school or college does not mean that you will not get into the civil service. Hard work, right strategy & dedication will surely result in success.

This exam is a long, drawn-out process. It is very natural that one may feel frustrated in-between. But this should deter or affect the motivation of the candidate. Try talking to your family or friends to ease out the tension.