UPSC Exam-Civil Services exam 2012-13 – IAS Topper Interview – Mr.Frank Noble-157th Rank-UPSC

Civil Services exam 2012-13 – IAS Topper Interview – Mr.Frank Noble, 157th Rank

Bio –Date - Brief

Name	FRANK NOBLE A
Roll number	324581
Rank (CSE 2012)	157
Optional Subjects	1.      Public Administration 2.      Geography
Number of Attempts	Two
Medium for Mains Exam	English
Schooling (Medium)	English
Centre for Prelim exam	Chennai, Tamilnadu
Centre for Mains exam	Chennai, Tamilnadu
Name of home town/city	Place of Birth: Tuticorin, TamilNadu Place of Residence: Chennai

Education

% in class 10	79 / CBSE
% in class 12	95.08 / TN State Board
Graduation course and %	82 / Anna University
Name of college and year of passing out	St.Joseph’s college of Engineering, 2006

Extra Curricular Activities

1. Best outgoing student EEE batch 2006, St.Joseph’s College of Engineering
2. Customer Support Excellence Award at Cummins Generator Technologies, Stamford, United Kingdom as part of TCS team.
3. Hobbies: Amateur Photography, Dumb Charades and Table Tennis

Work Ex

IT Analyst with Tata Consultancy Services

2006 – Till Date (Approx. 6 years and 6 months.)

Coaching

Prelims: No

Mains: Yes

Interview: Yes

  

Interest in Civil Service Examination

First of all, my father, Mr. Augustine Manohar was the source of my inspiration and motivation. His sheer excellence in work and the hard work that he showcased in his life and profession along with honesty helped him to grow up higher in ladder.

Secondly, as a part of life of any IT professional, I got an opportunity to work from United Kingdom for my company. It was during this stint that I realized that earning any amount of money will never give the satisfaction. I have always wanted to become a IAS/IPS and I was not happy with what I was doing. After 14 months of work at Onsite, I decided that it is now or never.

Preparation Strategy and Book List

CSAT (Aptitude)

Topic	Books/sources
Maths	R.S Agarwal , IMS material
Reasoning	IMS material
Comprehension	News paper articles
Decision making	No books used.

General Studies

		Book/ source
History	Ancient	Notes from NCERT
	Medieval	Notes from NCERT
	Modern	NCERT XI, XII, Bipin Chandra
	Culture	Did not have any separate source
	Mains	Bipin Chandra, Spectrum
Polity	Basics	Lakshmikanth
	Current	Newspaper links, PRS bills website
	mains	Books referred for Pub Ad ( Optional ) and PRS Bills website.
Economy	Basics	Mrunal.org, Spectrum
	Current	Newspapers ( The Hindu, Businessline)
	mains	Newspapers ( The Hindu, Businessline)
Geography	Physical	NCERT
	Indian	NCERT
	World	NCERT
	mains	Books referred for Geography ( Optional)
Environment, Biodiversity	Basics	Shankar IAS academy – Environment Book
	Current	Newspapers
	Mains	Shankar IAS academy – Environment Book
Science Tech	Basics	The Hindu – Speaks on Scientific Facts Vol 1 and 2
	Current	Newspapers ( The Hindu )
	Mains	The Hindu – Speaks on Scientific Facts Vol 1 and 2
Yearbook / Govt. schemes etc.		Notes by Shankar IAS academy
IR/diplomacy		Notes by Shankar IAS academy

Approach for GS Prelims:

i.                    There are 99% chances that questions in the exam will not come from what you have studied. So, get ready to face the unexpected.

ii.                  Focus on eliminating the wrong options rather than choosing the correct options.

iii.                Attend many mock test series and evaluate yourself and concentrate on the weak areas.

Approach for GS Mains:

i.             Read the subjects very comprehensively. The capability will not be tested on how much deep you know about a particular issue, but it will depend on how comprehensively you are able to express the details.

ii.                Put google/ bing search to the maximum use.

iii.             Don’t study in exam point of view, just do things which will help you to gain knowledge.

iv.          Don’t get startled on seeing the mains GS paper. Questions will be vague, but if you concentrate properly, then you will be able to recollect and fill up the pages with information.

Subject Selection

Optional Subject -1

My first option was Public Administration.

Paper I – Mohit Bhattacharya, Fadia and Fadia, Lakshmikanth,  Shankar IAS academy notes.

Paper II – Lakshmikanth, Indian Administration by Avasthi and Avasthi, Shankar IAS academy notes for Second ARC, State centre relations.

Optional Subject -2

My second optional was Geography.

Paper I – Savindra Singh, Goh Cheng Leong, NCERT XI, XII, Spectrum Geogrpahy and Shankar IAS academy notes

Paper II – Khuller, Shankar IAS academy notes, NCERT XI, XII.

All current affair related topics for both Pub Ad and Geography were noted down. Linking those current affair with the concepts in the subject gave me much more clarity.

For both the optional, I practiced writing many mock exams and had one to one discussion with the concerned guide. Their inputs helped me shape well for the mains examination.

Examination Experience

Patience is very much required for entire duration of the examination. Fruit for the hard work will come only after a long time, so don’t be in a hurry. Keep putting in your efforts and leave the rest to God.

Before the exam preparation, last I had written around 6 years back. So I had to practice writing the mock exams. Mains exam will be very tiring and will require consistency in concentration. Any deviation will have serious effect on the answers. So only by practice I could do that. I had written around 7-8 mock tests for GS, Pub Ad and Geography. 

Few tips on the day of examination  ( be it be prelims, mains and interview ), have a bar of chocolate ( preferably Dairy Milk or 5 star ). Eat it before the exams and it will give the necessary boost for the exam.

Marksheet

SUBJECTS	Marks
Essay (Paper III)	096
General Studies ( Paper- IV)	125
General Studies (Paper-V)	112
Optional-I (Public Administration) Paper- VI	097
Optional-I (Public Administration) Paper- VII	101
Optional-II (Geography) Paper- VIII	121
Optional-II (Geography) Paper- IX	162
Written Total	814
Personality Test	184
Total	998

Any Other Tips

Never give up. This is not an event where the result will come out the next day. This will teach you how to be patient, handle criticisms and at the same time provide you the necessary motivation to continue studying. 

Don’t compare yourself with others. Put in your hard work and leave the rest to the God. If you are successful, you have a message to share. If you are not successful, you still will have a message to share. Be positive. Understand your mistakes, rectify it and try again.