Dear Friend,
Success shines on those who embrace challenges and explore, persist and adapt. After all, a day comes when the
lady luck smiles on those who have worked hard, devoted themselves to their goal patiently and perseveringly, made
sacrifices and endured all the pain cheerfully to reach their desired destinations. With UPSC declaring the results of the
Civil Services Examination 2024-25 on April 22, 2025, we now have 1,009 leading lights out of a staggering 9,92,599
applicants who have made it to the coveted list of successful candidates. Prouder are those who have secured top 100 or
200 positions. They are an inspiration, a lighthouse, a guiding path and a beacon of hope for you to resolve that you may
be in their coveted shoes next or next to next year.
Once again, hard work, self-motivation, self-study, consistency, single-minded devotion, self-belief, smart study, a planned approach, depending on limited resources without getting lost in a maze of information flood, a sound understanding of concepts, and evolving one’s own thorough opinion on relevant issues emerge as the most significant traits of successful
candidates. Most of the toppers this year strongly recommend against burdening oneself with multiple resources. Who can be
a better example of this than Ms. Shakti Dubey, the AIR 1 from Prayagraj, who triumphed in her fifth attempt? The single biggest mistake she committed in her first four attempts was relying on multiple resources. As a result, she says, the syllabus became too heavy and she got distracted. That is why she strongly advises future aspirants, “Always prepare from limited books, only as many as required to cover the syllabus”. Similarly, Ms. Margi Chirag Shah, AIR 4, says, “Stick to the sources you’ve already studied.
Don’t get distracted by new materials in the market.” Mr. Archit Parag Dongre, AIR 3, also emphasises the same when he says, “It’s easy to get lost in extra readings, but staying aligned with what UPSC asks is the key”.
The notion of devoting long hours to study seems to be losing its steam. Instead, aspirants are evolving their own
patterns and achieving success. Those who put in 16 hours to study and those who studied not more than 6 or 8 hours
equally came out with flying colours in their own right. Take Ms. Harshita Goyal, AIR 2, whose approach was refreshingly
individual. She didn’t stick to rigid schedules or try to copy others. Instead, she paid close attention to what worked for
her. She did not follow a fixed schedule or regimen but believed in quality over quantity. “I would take breaks whenever
I felt I could not study anymore. Whatever time I could give to my preparation, I gave my best”, she said. Ms. Komal Punia,
AIR 6, too, stresses the point when she says, “Can’t do 10 hours? Do 6. But do it consistently”.
What caught my eye was that the UPSC aspirants are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms in a big way. While
Mr. Aakash Garg, AIR 5, used them to polish all his answers, so did Mr. Raj Krishna Jha, AIR 8, to enhance his essaywriting
skills. Mr. Garg said, “I used ChatGPT and other AI platforms. I started my mornings by reading newspapers
and scanning news websites, and sometimes I used to take help from AI to make short notes of long news pieces”.
Mr. Jha said, “I wrote essays for Mains as it is one of the deciders of the exam. I used to take a quote, write whatever
came to my mind to support it, and then ask AI to review it. I took help from it for some 40-50 essays”. However,
Mr. Garg has a word of caution: “There were instances when I observed that these platforms failed to provide correct
answers or bring out the correct facts. So you can use ChatGPT but always verify the answers. Being careful in such cases
is very important”.
True. And to verify, you always have the humbly yours, CSR, the most trusted friend and partner in your preparation.
Even with all the modern tools, we haven’t encountered any topper in UPSC CSE 2024-25 who has not considered him/
her a part of the CSR family. All the toppers acknowledged that CSR has been a great help to them in their preparation
and success. So, lots of congratulations to all the toppers out there. We will keep improving ourselves and play a more
significant role in the success of future aspirants.
