UPSC Topper 2022: AIR 15 Swati Sharma Shares Strategy for IAS Preparation

Swati wanted to be an IAS officer to bring positive change in society, to work for the people and also to set an example for girls and to work for them.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the civil services examination final results 2022 on May 23 and once again girls have topped. Of the list, there are three girls from Madhya Pradesh who have secured ranks within the top 50. Swati Sharma from Satna district has secured All India Rank 15. Swati completed her graduation in Engineering from Hitkarni College of Engineering and Technology, Jabalpur. She wanted to become a Civil Servant for the upliftment of women in society and set an example for other girls.

In a freewheeling conversation with Shiksha.com, Swati shares her preparation journey, the role of newspapers in her preparation, how mock tests helped her and more...

Q. Tell something about yourself, and your educational background?
Swati: I am from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh and I did my schooling and graduated from Jabalpur only. I did my graduation in Computer Science and Technology from Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya in 2019, since then I started preparing for the civil services examination. For one year after my graduation, I did my preparation in Delhi, but since 2020, when the Covid-19 lockdown began, I shifted to Jabalpur and continued with my preparation.

Q. What attracted you to the civil services?
Swati: I wanted to bring positive change in society, to work for the people and also to set an example for girls and to work for them, improving their position in society. I aspired to be a civil servant.

Q. Was this your first attempt? How many attempts did you take? what were the learnings from past attempts?
Swati: This was my third attempt and after my first attempt I realized that though I had the knowledge, I was not able to apply that knowledge while giving answers, so I started practising that. Answer writing presentation was another area where I worked because it is not just important to write facts, but that has to be presented in a well-designed manner. These were some mistakes I observed during my past attempts and worked on them, which helped me clear the exam this time.

Q. Tell something about your preparation strategy?
Swati: My preparation strategy was very normal, I divided my time equally for all the sections, be it GS, Current Affairs, optional or newspapers. I also kept breaks at regular intervals so that I was not burdened with my studies.

Q. What challenges you had to face while preparing for one of the toughest competitive exams?
Swati: The major challenges came to be when shifted back to Jabalpur from Delhi due to Covid in June 2020 as UPSC-related materials are not easily available here, so I had to get the study materials couriered from Delhi and because of the lockdown these materials would take some time 15 days to reach me.
Youtube videos helped me in a major way, I also used to do newspaper reading online as some of the national newspapers take two days to reach here.

Q. How is the UPSC examination different from other examinations?
Swati: UPSC is the toughest exam in the country. It not just tests candidates' patience but the syllabus is also so vast that anything happening in any corner of the world is part of the UPSC syllabus. While for other exams like SSC or Bank PO, there is a fixed syllabus but here it is not the case, which makes it one of the toughest exams.

Q. What subjects you chose for the Mains exam, what is the reason behind selecting those subjects?
Swati: I chose Sociology as my optional subject because I feel that as a civil servant, one has to work for society and Sociology helps in understanding the problems of society well. The other thing is that study materials related to sociology are easily available in the market and the syllabus is also limited compared to other subjects.

Q. Did you give special emphasis to some particular sections or equal emphasis on all sections?
Swati: I gave equal emphasis to all the subjects because you cannot leave out anything as everything is important.

Q. How important is the UPSC Interview part? How were you able to crack it?
Swati: Interview is very important as it decides your final ranking, as at times candidates who score low in Mains and get good marks in Interview, go high on the rank because of the interview, so it is very important.

Q. How important are mock test series at different stages of this examination? How did you prepare for it?
Swati: Mock test helps in practising as it is very necessary for UPSC prelims and Mains. It lets candidates understand the exam, its pattern and how to answer. It also helps prepare for interviews as how to sit, how to talk, and how to communicate your answers.

Q. Please share the important books you referred to for the Mains Exam.
Swati: I referred only to the standard prescribed books, like for polity I studied M. Lakshmikant, for Geography I relied on NCERT books, for Economics there is a book by Shankar IAS, I read that.

Q. How one should prepare the Current Affairs and the Role of Newspapers in its preparation?
Swati: Editorial section of newspapers is important as it helps one understand diverse opinions and newspapers keep you updated with the happenings around the world. It is important to know what is happening in the country and outside and frame one's opinion about those events.

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