UPSC Exam-Civil Services Exam 2012-2013-IAS Topper Shri. T.Balasubramanian-203rd Rank

Civil Services Exam 2012-2013 Topper Shri. T.Balasubramanian-203rd Rank

Brief Bio Data: 

Name	T.BalaSubramanian
Roll number	024472
Rank (CSE 2012)	203
Optional Subjects	1.    Geography 2.    Tamil Literature
Number of Attempts	3
Medium for Mains Exam	English
Schooling (Medium)	English

% in class 10 ( CBSE )	76%
% in class 12 ( CBSE )	72%
Graduation course and %	B.E - 73%

Job Experience: 

   Worked in various positions like " Planning engineer , O&M Engineer , Senior Telecom Engineer and City Maintenance Point lead " for RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED between November 2001 to January 2007( In Various places including Chennai , Puducherry , Vellore , Coimbatore , Salem etc )

   Worked as a Senior Testing Engineer and Telecom Analyst (Design) for Infosys in Pune (Between March 2007 to August 2007) and in UK (Between August 2007 to September 2009).

 About my Civil Services interest:

    I basically had an inner craving and thoughts nurtured in my School  towards serving the society and to be a part of the system to address  problems faced by our society. But  the awareness level about Civil services was not much during my schooling days and even college days , i was not prepared with any plan about it initially . As the years gone and through my experiences and awareness found it more apt to be an administrator to work for the betterment of the society. Decided with conviction i did quit my job in Sep 2009 and joined for IAS coaching in SHANKAR IAS ACADEMY ( preliminary preparations) during Nov 2009.

    I got associated with AICSCC ( Government Institute for IAS/IPS exam Coaching , Chennai ) , presently in Adayar , for my Mains exam preparation 2011 & 2012 ( My successful  Attempt ). 

 About Subject Selection: 

   Selection of Optional subjects play a Crucial role in UPSC exam success rate . 

   I Selected GEOGRAPHY as my first option as i was fascinated about the subject content  ( which deals about our Dwelling- our mother earth and its allies in this Universe, which we must be aware as a common man & an Administrator to be a sustainable dweller with better Decision making and Governance  )

  I Selected TAMIL LITERATURE as my second Option , as my desperate liking towards Tamil as a language and its vast enlightening Literature trove . In my view LITERATURE will definitely enlighten the reader and will shape him/her as a responsible citizen towards the society (as knowing one's roots from literature will awaken and empower oneself).

 Thus my optional subject selection was purely based on my personal liking, strength and    as a tool of assistance to my future job as an Administrator.

Preparation Strategy:

  For Preliminary -- As i had my first success in 2011 Preliminary, that was during the most haunting entry of CSAT model. i would like to share my view on strategy as follows :

    For CSAT paper 1 - I guessed from UPSC's past changes and its consequent impacts in questioning pattern and seniors' words, I have adopted the technique of reading with complete understanding of Basics through standard books rather than hovering around various reference materials out of fear factor. ( as one of our Tutors in Shankar Academy use to quote " It is Better to read One book ten times rather than reading ten books one time " as a thumb rule for Prelims ). Then during exam a Careful and vigilant understanding of Questions is required ( getting the correct context of the Question) as this new model mostly tests  the very basic understanding , which we generally take it for granted.

  For CSAT paper 2 -- First and foremost thing is to avoid any fear factor about this paper . as UPSC had so far tested predominantly our  basic understanding in logical reasoning , our capability of  TIME MANAGEMENT and English Comprehension Skills ( Of course this has been a tough part for people with not enough exposure to regular English reading ) . My suggestions would be to GIVE EQUAL IMPORTANCE TO ALL SECTIONS (be it is APTITUDE or ENGLISH or REASONING, anything), READ THE HINDU (or Any other NEWSPAPER they are Fine with) REGULARLY which would improve our reading and comprehension skills . Do solve more puzzles kind of questions which will develop SHEER LOGIC and SPEED in our MIND's PROCESSING PORTION :-). 

   In a Nutshell,  the present pattern demands ( for both PAPERS ) FASTER READING & COMPREHENDING ABILITY , STRONG BASICS in the Subject content , QUICK LOGICAL DECISION MAKING CAPABILITIES with COOL TEMPERAMENT . 

For MAINS Exam:

    GS papers:  In depth preparations of the CONVENTIONAL GS portions (ECONOMICS, POLITY, GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY) in line with related CURRENT EVENTS needed. (i.e. Current events should be analysed and understood in the shadow of conventional GS knowledge). Also to be prepared for OPEN QUESTIONS ( which are now becoming a trend ) Such as " asking the description of FLUTE PLAYING KRISHNA in CSE 2012 Mains GS paper-1 . Which needs wide reading of general topics and ability to relate it with our GS Syllabus while presenting.

   With the help of old Question papers and other Model test papers, frequent WRITING practice is needed with time to time evaluation on the same.

  Optional Papers: 

    Since Optional paper is where you can show your expertise, Need to be precise in BASICS and maintain a way of answering with more innovative ways (like using relevant Diagrams used in Geography, Quotable lines in case of Literature paper etc). 

    Frequent WRITING PRACTICE clubbed with analysis & Feedback from seniors or Tutors is a must. 

    

  In a Nutshell, for Mains exam, KEEP WRITING, IMPROVE AND INNOVATE to differentiate from your peers.

For Interview: 

    Interview preparation is more of shaping your ATTITUDE and EXPRESSING it in a more apt manner ( i.e. Presenting / Marketing yourself with utmost attraction towards the board) at right time.

   You should maintain a balance in the tone of answering, between being submissive and Dominating, which on a successful maintenance will fetch you decent scoring opportunity.

    Ready to say NO, for the questions in which you're not clear of the Fact or concept.  If the question is about a very basic concept, instead of a NO, " I AM UNABLE TO RECOLLECT IT AT THIS MOMENT " will do a world of good.

   Maintaining a cool and composed attitude will be the key to success in Interview.   Never panic for any question, as they are predominantly testing our ATTITUDE rather than our APTITUDE (which is tested in enough number of ways & times during prelims and mains exam).

  In a Nutshell, in interview, MAINTAIN a COOL HEAD, AVOID PANIC, MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT (Moderate & relevant), BE BOLD not AUTHORITATIVE, BALANCE YOUR EMOTIONS. Success is yours.

 BOOK LIST : 

   Books I referred were, 

    

  For Prelims -- NCERTs for Basic preparation initially, further reference with SPECTRUM GUIDE for PAPER CSAT Paper 1.

                 IMS Coaching materials for CSAT Paper 2, along with SHAKUNTHALA DEVI Puzzle books & R.S.Agarwal for Mental Aptitude.

For Mains - 

  Geography: NCERTs of 11th & 12th standard. Gocheng leong , SAVINDRA SINGH for Physical Geography and other standard books referred by tutors and seniors.

  Tamil Literature: Standard books as per the prescribed syllabus and CLASS NOTES of Professor Mr. Ilango (Tamil Dept - MCC college Chennai ) which proved very vital in my preparation.

MARKS:

MARKS OBTAINED IN CIVIL SERVICES  (PRELIMINARY) EXAMINATION, 2012
ROLL NO. :		024472
NAME :		BALASUBRAMANIAN T
MARKS OBTAINED SUBJECTS MARKS GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-I) 92.66 GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-II) 129.18 TOTAL(ROUNDED OFF) 222
REMARKS :	QUALIFIED FOR CS(MAIN) EXAMINATION,2012

   

CIVIL SERVICES (MAIN) EXAMINATION, 2012

ROLL NO. :	024472
NAME :	BALASUBRAMANIAN T
MARKS OBTAINED

SUBJECTS MARKS ESSAY (PAPER-III) 081 GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-IV) 127 GENRAL STUDIES (PAPER-V) 101 OPTIONAL-I(GEOGRAPHY) (PAPER-VI) 98 OPTIONAL-I(GEOGRAPHY) (PAPER-VII) 149 OPTIONAL-II(LIT.OF TAMIL LANG) (PAPER-VIII) 106 OPTIONAL-II(LIT.OF TAMIL LANG) (PAPER-IX) 146 WRITTEN TOTAL 808 PERSONALITY TEST 180 FINAL TOTAL 988

	Remarks :-RECOMMENDED
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