Toppers' Talk by Mr. Nikhil Mahajan, AIR 80, UPSC CSE 2022

Mr. Nikhil Mahajan secured an All India Rank of 80 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2021 in his sixth (and the last) attempt. His optional was Mathematics.
Mr. Nikhil, who hails from Faridkot (Punjab), completed his B.E in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Delhi in 2015. He started his Civil Services Examination preparation journey right after his graduation, but could not succeed till his last attempt. Mr. Nikhil’s failure in the previous five attempts did not deter him from pursuing his late mother’s dream of becoming a civil servant and finally, in his last attempt, he was successful.
Time Stamps:
00:28 - The session begins with greetings from Mr. Nikhil.
1:13 - Discussion on the importance of knowing the ‘why’ or reasons behind the preparation through his own personal story
13:39 - Discussion on the ‘how’ part of the exam
16:00 - Strategy for revision through the use of technology (‘Anki’)
22:50 - Live demonstration on how to make notes
32:16 - Importance of spaced repetition for better retention
35:12 - Approach for Art and Culture
38:26 - Discussion on how to write holistic answers through SPELICH Approach
44:16 - How to make one’s own strategy
48:13 - Strategy to retain key locations from Map
54:19 - The session concludes with a vote of thanks from Mr. Nikhil
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