UPSC Topper Sahil T George, IDAS Shares His Motto and Strategy for IAS Preparation

Sahil T George an engineer and an MBA who left his 9 to 5 job to pursue his dream career and to become an IAS officer. Read further to know more about his life journey, biography, booklist, optional subject, education and preparation strategy.

No matter how short time you have for preparation but give it your best: Sahil T George, IDAS

What inspired you to appear for UPSC Exams?

I didn't have much clue about what civil services was all about while I was pursuing my BTech. However, after my placement in BHEL, my batchmates were preparing for the UPSC exams. But those days I was more into traveling. But when I left BHEL, I was sure that I want to do a government job, especially after studying in a government college and working at PSU for five years.

I left BHEL to pursue my MBA from the Indian School of Business (ISB) after which I worked at Amazon for a couple of years. After completing two years I realized that I am running short of time and that I need to now concentrate on my civil services preparation. It was a tough call to make as I was already working with Amazon and preparing for UPSC is a journey on its own as it's very uncertain if you will clear it or not. But, I knew I don't want to regret it later in life that I didn't try.

You cleared your UPSC IAS Exam on the second attempt. What kept you going? How did you decide to choose your optional subject?

Every attempt should be taken as seriously as any attempt. Because at times candidates reach until interview stage but are not able to clear it. Similarly, in the next attempt, the same candidate is not able to even clear the prelims. My advice to aspirants is no matter how short time you have for preparation give it your best.

When I attempted the UPSC exam for the first time, that time I left Amazon in January 2018 and due to the constraint in the number of attempts because for me age was the constraint not the number of attempts. So I decided to give my first attempt in June 2018. I didn't clear that year as I scored 72 marks in prelims while the cutoff was 96. I also did a mistake in choosing the optional subject.

How did you choose your optional subject?

I choose Geography as my optional subject thinking that it will align with my interest in trekking and travelling. But once I started reading the subject I realized that Geography as a subject is completely different. In 2019, I cleared the UPSC prelims, I realized that the effort I have put in 2018 had really paid off. Because in November 2018, I decided to change my optional subject from Geography to Political Science and International Relations which is very interesting but it is a vast subject.

While November or December is not the right time especially when you are going to give the coming attempt. But since I had already worked hard in 2018, I could focus more on the optional subject in 2019. This helped me in clearing both prelims and Mains in 2019.

I would suggest aspirants take their own time and wisely choose their optional subjects. Aspirants should try and complete their classes by October or November when the UPSC cycle is from June to April. Try to complete the test series of that optional subject from October to January. Then you can start preparing for prelims. After appearing for the exam in June, start revising your optional subject. It's all about focussing on what helps you in clearing this exam.

How you managed to keep yourself positive during the time you were preparing for UPSC exam? What mistakes should be avoided in IAS preparation?

Being positive is a conscious choice. You can either choose to be negative or live a life with a positive approach. The best way to be positive is to surround yourself with positive people. It is very important to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle while preparing for UPSC. Spend at least one hour a day on physical activity, sleeping enough is another important aspect.

As you are competing against fellow aspirants who have the same emotions and dedication. So it is very important that you don't go overboard, and you don't push yourself so much that you stop enjoying preparing for the UPSC exam. Whenever I felt I am not able to handle the pressure I made sure that I take a break or a day off. Stress Management is the key to clearing the UPSC exam. You need to be relaxed for those three hours when you are appearing for the exam.

I am a sportsman and sports teach you discipline and how to bounce back after a failure. Not giving your best is not an option. This is a difficult field, especially for youngsters. I decided to give my best and if I am deserving or not that I left UPSC.

What books did you refer to clear the UPSC exam?

I didn't attend any coaching classes, so what I did was, that I went online and read about the books followed by UPSC CSE toppers. Then I went skin through the books to know which books I am comfortable with. But one thing I would like to suggest to the aspirants is to stick to one source for example in Indian Polity you have two books; Laksmikant and DD Basu.

So, what I would suggest is that download preface of both books and see which suits you, your reading style or learning style then blindly stick to that one book that suits you. And go on reading it multiple times. So, in summary, go through multiple topper's strategies so you get an overall booklist. Ensure you read one book but read it cover to cover multiple times so it is ingrained in your mind. You should supplement these books with a lot of mock tests, be it prelims or mains.

Also Read: UPSC Topper 2021 Gamini Singla Preparation Strategy, Book list and Tips

Please tell us about your family background and how they helped in clearing the UPSC exam.

My family played a huge role in my clearing the UPSC exam. My mother has been a social servant for the last 23 years. She runs a school for underprivileged children. She was formally a teacher in the school in which I studied. She started school with two children. She didn't charge any fees and slowly the school grew with charity from different people. Father after his retirement has been associated with an old-age home for the last seven years.

My father's sister who stays with us also runs a home for mentally challenged kids. Having grown up seeing this it was my dream to serve people and the nation. I am happy where I am today and I hope I am able to bring positive changes to whatever sector or department I am posted to. I feel it is the blessing of those parents and children whom my parents have helped over the years that I was able to clear my UPSC exam.

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