Astitva R Srivastava: Strategy and Notes for UPSC-Indian Statistical Service

https://youtu.be/zUidZ1_6rQc?feature=shared

I prepared this reading material during my interview from different sources that I have mentioned. You can use them as a reference. However, don't limit yourself to these references alone. Refer to RBI’s website thoroughly. If possible, ask your seniors and candidates who have appeared for the interview earlier. #RBI #Interview

Expectations from the Interview: You never know the direction in which your interview will go. Sometimes it is totally governed by your bio-data form (DAF), with no technical (or subject-based) questions. Sometimes it may be just a lot of statistics. My suggestion would be not to have any prejudices regarding the interview. Obviously, you cannot study everything in such a short span of time before the interview, so try to analyse the available transcripts, talk to your senior who is preparing for the same or has earlier appeared for the interview, and thus narrow down the topics that are relevant for the interview. In my first RBI interview (2021), I tried to cover almost every possible topic, ranging from the economy, statistics, functions, and workings of the RBI to my bio-data-related questions. And my interview went well because they asked questions about all these topics. Since I had already prepared well during my first interview, in my second attempt, I just had to revise previous notes and study new add-ons, like research areas, as I started pursuing a PhD. Lastly, from my two experiences, I cannot give you a formula to crack the RBI interview. Prepare as much as you can and should, but what is going to happen in those 15-20 minutes will surprise you for sure. Relax, be calm and composed, and enjoy the moment. And when you walk out of that room, whether or not your interview went well, just feel proud and thank God that you had the opportunity to face one of the toughest interviews. #RBI #Interview

Hello Aspirants! Please find attached Interview Transcripts of RBI Gr B - DSIM. Hope this helps. #RBI #Interview

Hello Aspirants! Please find attached Interview Transcripts of Recommended Candidates of UPSC-ISS 2022. Hope this helps. #Interview

"What if I fail?" During preparation, one question that always bothers an aspirant is, "What if I fail? What if I can't even clear the written part? What if I don't make it again this time?". I had the same questions asking myself everyday. It's not that those who are finally recommended never felt the fear of failure. They all have. The only difference is that they were able to turn this fear into motivation. A little amount of fear of failure is needed; otherwise, one might become overconfident about their preparation. But only thinking about this fear all the time will not result in anything positive. A great philosopher once said," We suffer more in imagination than in reality." The question, ‘What if I have to go through this whole preparation for another year?’ will always be there. Perhaps many of you are experiencing the same thing right now. But the next question that comes to mind is how to keep yourself motivated during this journey. Honestly, there is no concrete answer to this question. I will sound philosophical in everything I say. What you can do is ask yourself, Why have you always started? You have to find your own motivation. As Viktor Frankl said," Those who have a 'why' to live can bear with almost any 'how'." Still, I would give you the "philosophical" answer on what you can do to keep yourself motivated: 1. Don't think you will fail. 2. Rather than wasting your time with these negative thoughts, devote your time to preparing yourself better. 3. Give your 100% and put in all your efforts that you possibly can. Don't do anything half-heartedly. 4. Don't worry about unnecessary things that are not in your control. 'Control the controllables. Many of you might be having financial or health issues, family problems, preparing with a job or higher studies, or other personal problems. Remember that everyone of us faces some kind of problem. There are people who have cleared this exam even after many of these hurdles. So don’t feel bad about your situation. Sometimes things don't work out the way we hope. You can feel like you've come to an end, and you don't know what to do next. But if you just keep going, you'll find something new to fight for. Always look for a means to solve problems and give your best effort. You will have to work hard according to a plan. You'll need to identify and improve any weakness you have. I know it is easier said than done. But you will have to do it. Those who have given this exam more than once know how draining it is. But whatever the outcome, the experience helps you grow as a person because you learn how to handle stress, deal with your flaws, and make the most of your limited knowledge. Take some breaks (whenever needed) and have a positive mindset! Your journey towards becoming a civil servant has already begun. All the very best!!

Maintaining Momentum in last 2 months: UPSC has released the notification for this year's ISS examination. After the notification, one cannot begin preparing for the upcoming exam in June of this year. It is something you already decided and were preparing for; this notification is just the first step. Since you have about 60 days left, I would like to share a few tips on how to keep the momentum going in these last 2 months. (I) If you have not started answer writing practice for GS/GE or Descriptive Statistics, please start. And if you have already started, improve your speed, time limit, and content as well. Since you will be provided limited space, especially in Paper 3, practice writing to the point answers. (II) Don’t be in a situation where you are writing for the first time in the actual exam. (III) Complete your syllabus well within time. (IV) Reserve some time for topics that you may have skipped (because of a lack of interest or because they seemed not so important). You can go through them in these months(before the end of May). (V) Start revising whatever paper or part you have completed studying. Develop the habit of revising every day. Proper revision itself builds confidence. (VI) Short Notes: Do make short notes from the different sources that you have referred to so far. You can revise from this few days before the exam. These short notes will also be very helpful for reviewing everything quickly in the break between the papers. So having these short notes is quite helpful. (VII) Correct your sleep cycle: Many of you might have the habit of studying late at night. Whether you choose to study early in the morning or late at night is entirely up to you. But, regardless of your habit, I would advise you to change your sleep cycle at least 15 to 20 days prior to the exam. Make yourself comfortable by waking up early in the morning and not taking rest in the afternoon. These habits will maximise your output in the exam. Nothing can be as bad as feeling sleepy during an exam. You should prepare your mind to work in the most efficient manner during the day. (VIII) Remember this: If you think that you are not prepared enough, you are not alone. Almost every aspirant feels the same. Now is not the time to lose confidence. Trust your strategy, your hard work, and most importantly have confidence in yourself. (IX) It is never too late. Even if you study for the next 2 months diligently, with proper planning and without losing confidence, you will be able to score good marks. Remember to revise and practice as much as you can.

With this, I have shared all my notes and strategies. I hope that some of it will be useful to you. Keep doing the good hard work. You can ask your queries in the comments. Please keep in mind that while these notes may serve as a guide for you, I won't recommend substituting them for your own notes. Do read books for greater comprehension. Share this channel with fellow aspirants who could benefit from it. Enjoy this journey and conquer your fears. Thank you, and all the very best!

#Paper4

In this video, I have tried to share my UPSC ISS journey, from how I chose statistics as a bachelor's subject to my motivation for joining the service. I've also discussed my failures, whether I did any coaching or self-preparation, making short notes, and other topics. I have tried to respond to many of the questions raised here. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments. PS: Ignore the background noise in the video.

https://youtu.be/4fOvJwkmo9Y

Paper III-English: - Try to attempt all three questions. - Ensure the maximization of marks here, which will help you reach the high overall cut-off. - Prepare an essay on 7-8 topics of national importance, if possible (At least two must be related to the economy or banking). The focus should be on current affairs. As previously stated (for ISS), I referred to Rau's IAS magazine for economy and covered the static part from Mrunal Patel's lectures.If you are referring to any monthly current affairs magazine, it will have sufficient material for writing a 300-word essay. - For Precis and Unseen Passsage, I used to solve PYQs of RBI Gr B (DSIM as well as General Cadre). Do's/Dont's: 1. Develop the habit of using the keyboard for writing purposes. As you will be given a less-than-feather-touch keyboard to type on, it is advisable that you practice using the desktop keyboard (rather than the laptop keyboard). 2. Allow yourself 6-7 minutes before beginning to write an essay to create the essay framework. (UPSC essay style) 3. Check twice to ensure that there are no spelling errors. 4. Don't exceed the word count. While practicing at home, you can use MS Word to get the exact word count. 5. The exhaustion of Paper II, the small screen for typing, and the cacophony of many keys being pressed in the exam hall make it slightly difficult to concentrate. So prepare accordingly. Note: Do not wait for the notification to come out. Be prepared for Phase 2 before the notification, as after the notification there will be a natural tendency to prepare for Phase 1. Also, there wouldn't be enough time after the Phase 1 results (past trends show less than 30 days before the Phase 2 exam) to prepare for Phase 2. #RBI

Phase 2: The second phase of the examination has two parts: Descriptive Statistics (100 marks; questions to be displayed on the screen, answers to be written on the paper) and English (100 marks; to be typed in using keyboard). Paper II-Descriptive Statistics: (I) There are six sections, each with three questions. Every question is worth 20 marks. You have to attempt 5 questions (from 18 questions). You cannot attempt more than two questions from one section. This eventually comes down to preparing at least three sections. (II) I prepared Multivariate Analysis, Statistical Inference, Probability and Sampling. I also prepared Advanced Time Series and other topics such as Linear Models, Index Numbers, etc., so that I have enough options for attempting 5 questions. (III) As previously stated, one of the key differences between this exam and the ISS is the pattern of the examination. You must write proofs and answer the questions in detail here. This becomes a tedious task for sections such as Statistical Inference, Probability, Linear Models, and any other topic you studied for in Paper 1 and Paper 2 of the ISS exam. (IV) This may be the reason why the score in Descriptive Statistics in Phase 2 tends to be less than 50. To score well in this part, there are a few things one should remember: - Choose which sections you are going to prepare well. - Writing practice becomes extremely important. Answer Writing for ISS Papers 3 and 4 was previously discussed. The same applies here. - I did not practise writing much when I made my first attempt. However, I realised that if you are a risk-averse person in MCQ-type papers and do not want to take unnecessary risks in Paper I, you can still try to maximise your score in this part. Nonetheless, whatever your score was in Phase 1, you can score more than 50 in Paper II. (V) There are only 5 PYQs available for Phase 2. Though they are not enough for practicing, analysing them will give you the breadth and depth of the topics in each section. I believe that is what they intend by providing only 5 PYQs from different years. (VI) After deciding which sections to attempt and comprehending the depth of each, you can solve PYQs of CSE/IFoS (Statistics Optional) of the relevant sections. #RBI

Phase 1: Phase 1 of the examination has 20 MCQs to be solved within 2 hours with negative marking. There are a few things one should know for Phase 1: (I) There are candidates who have scored around 90 (out of 100) in the first phase. However, proceed with caution. Though the reward is great, it comes with a greater risk. Because there are only 20 questions, there isn't much room for improvement. So, if you're not sure about your answer, don't go overboard. The standard elimination techniques may not be effective here. Also, your score in this phase will be added up until the final merit list. (II) Do not overlook topics such as Stochastic Processes, Multivariate Analysis, Non-Parametric Methods, and others. Though there will be 3–4 questions on these topics, as I previously stated, there are only 20 questions total, so do not limit your options by skipping these topics. (III) Since there are no official PYQs available for Phase 1, one can estimate the difficulty level of Phase 1 by analysing the PYQs available for Phase 2. (IV) Make no silly mistakes, such as marking the wrong option. Make the process habitual for yourself ahead of time. (V) A high score in this phase will undoubtedly help you in the subsequent phases, as scores accumulate at each stage. However, read (I). For practicing questions, you can refer to the books/sources I mentioned for different sections of the ISS. #RBI

My RBI Journey I started preparing for RBI Gr B-DSIM along with ISS. After examining the PYQs and the syllabus, I came to the conclusion that, with the exception of the exam's format, RBI is largely covered by the ISS examination. I cleared RBI Gr B-DSIM in my second attempt in 2022. Here I am sharing the marksheets of both attempts for your reference. A more detailed phase-wise strategy follows. #RBI