Strategy:Saurav Pandey, AIR 66 (CSE 2019)

Hi all,

This is Saurav Pandey. I have secured All India Rank 66 in UPSC CSE 2019. I was born in Mirzapur and brought up in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. I have done my schooling in St. John's DLW Varanasi and my graduation in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BITS-PILANI (2009-13). I have worked as a Design Engineer at Cypress Semiconductor, Bangalore for almost two years before starting my UPSC preparation.

My optional subject was Geography. It was my 6th attempt and I know the kind of pressure a lot of candidates face once they fail in an attempt. I am sharing my overall experience and preparation strategy on this page. I hope that new candidates do not make the mistakes I made and others who have failed in their attempts can find the necessary motivation to persevere and succeed. Here is a brief snapshot of my Civil Service Exam journey followed by 2 video links that I hope will be useful for all of you.

YEAR/ATTEMPTS	OUTCOME
2014	Failed prelims (with job)
2015	Failed prelims (marks 100, cut off 107)
2016	Failed prelims (115.34 marks, cut off was 116)
2017	Reached Interview stage (No rank)
2018	Reached Interview stage (No rank)
2019	AIR 66 (Phew, finally!)

Strategy for all stages of Civil Service Examination in brief

Overall UPSC CSE journey : Struggle and motivation

I will be adding more details regarding books/resources of General Studies and Geography on CSEWIKI. For any Civil Services related query feel free to contact me on Twitter or Instagram.

Thank you.