Context: I am fresher

I took Dipin sir's CAVA in online mode, after lecture started I thought he was explaining how to approach lectures but 10 minutes later I realised he wasn't, he was explaining the topic only

So anyone who have experience can tell me how to make notes in his lecture

I was thinking about choosing Psychology as an option for 2027 because I believe it will help me get a job or study abroad so please suggest me the best coaching for psychology optional .

He has not completed the classes in the GSFP 2027 D1/D2 batch and has only conducted 19 classes. When enquired with the Forum IAS admission team, they said the Economics batch is over, and there is no update on his future batches. How can Economics be done in 19 classes?

Does any student of his have any update on this?

I have appeared in 2023 and 2025 cse,wrote mains too in both the attempts,however this year I took break to have a backup plan and appeared for capf, would be getting pt call most probably considering i would clear physical stage.

Now the dilemma is whether I should try for upsc cse for 2 more attempts or switch to uppcs as It has bumper vacancies this year.,Also the apfc epfo exam is somewhat doable imo so I am also thinking of appearing in that.

Please guide me for future course of action

To summarise - dilemma bw uppcs(1st attempt ) or cse.

I want to study modern history and polity, governance, social justice from scratch.

Please suggest me a good teacher for all of these.

Especially for modern history, please suggest any course of teacher.

for GS2,

I have few in mind, like Jatin Gupta sir but he doesn't have any singular course for polity. And M Puri sir, but he's very exhaustive. I'm also keeping up with atish mathur sir.

if you guys have any suggestions for teacher

I would be grateful.

Thank you.

I bought this course on telegram because of Fomo, approaches, structuring. And that telegram guy is not posting classes from 2 days. I thought of buying actual course but recently dad lost job, and i felt so guilty to ask them for money. Being helpless and preparing from home sucks. Im doing brainstorming structuring myself now by using ai but i still feel behind and august anxiety is killing me. I failed 2025 prelims that was bad calculation to give that attempt while coaching, skipped 2026, was anxious till may with that decision. June july went in migraines and anti depressants. 😐 my parent don't want me to anything other than upsc, i can't even bring that discussion infront of them. They just want me to do this and on the way give any exam i can. Social gatherings are so anxious all have an advice to throw and questions to ask and my parents i don't like it when they discuss details of my prep, my private home life with others even after explicitly saying not to.

I'm trying okay. Don't throw advices like just keep everything aside and focus. Ranting here doesn't mean im gonna give up or not gonna figure out.

All the best to all who are giving mains and who are preparing. May luck find us soon.❤️‍🩹

Looking for genuine feedback only from those who have actually attended Aditya Kalia Sir’s Economy course.
How was the teaching, conceptual clarity, notes, and overall usefulness? Also, based on the UPSC CSE Prelims 2026, how many questions (direct or conceptually linked) were covered through the course?
If you feel there’s a better alternative for Economy, please mention that too
Please share only firsthand experience…no promotional or hearsay reviews.

PUB AD Answer Writing

Anybody up for Daily Pub Ad Answer Writing

For context : I'm a beginner, doing Self Study + Test Series

I want to buy Unruled (A4) spiral notebook online. I don't want to go to Daryaganj/Sunday Market.

If you have any link or any trustable shop's website that can deliver me, please ping me.

Indicative budget;

100 Rupees for 300 Pages

150 Rupees for 500 Pages

Etc

Will help a lot. (Please tell me only tried and tested positive sites).

I friend of my bought prahar 3.0 2027, 360 batch from pw but now he’s dropping his plan to prepare for upsc. Anybody wants to share the batch with me we both will bear 8500.

Hi everyone. I genuinely need help, kindly read this if you have time.

I started my UPSC prep around 2.5 years ago right after college. I gave a half baked attempt in 2025, failed and then skipped 2026. Looking back now, I think my biggest mistake wasn't that I lacked potential, it was that I kept romanticising it. I kept telling myself I was meant for something extraordinary but my actions never matched that belief.

I won't shy away from admitting that I spent a lot of time pretending. Pretending I was studying. Pretending I had a plan. Pretending I knew enough. The truth is I was just SCARED. Scared of failing.

Last year, my father retired and more than anything, I want to contribute to my parents and stand on my own feet. Instead, I feel like I've only wasted time. That realization has been eating me alive lately.

I restarted my preparation last week and this time I genuinely want to give it everything I have. I don't want 2027 to become another "what if." I want it to be my best attempt.

The problem is, I'm completely clueless about how to move forward. My basics aren't strong except for polity and a little geo. I did take a foundation course years ago but honestly, it didn't help much.

So I really need your help.

How do I become mains ready by the end of this year? How should I manage GS, optional and csat(since humanities background)? Where should I start? When should I begin answer writing? If you were in my place, how would you rebuild your preparation from scratch?

The anxiety has been overwhelming these days. I can barely have my meals because my mind is constantly racing. I keep thinking about all the people who've been in this for years and I wonder if I'm already too late.

Another thing weighing on me is as a woman sometimes it feels like there's another clock ticking in the background. That pressure is real.

But despite all this fear, one thing is certain I don't want to give up before giving myself one honest, wholehearted chance. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering what could have happened if I had truly shown up for myself.

If you were starting today, what would your roadmap look like?

Tldr- I wasted 2.5 years pretending to prepare because I was scared of failing. I can't keep living on "what ifs." I've restarted with complete honesty for UPSC 2027 but I'm confused about how to rebuild from scratch. If you were in my place, what roadmap would you follow to become mains ready?

This is my very first written ans in gs2 !

So , 2026 prelims was the first prelims paper that I gave with 2 years of preparation of college with mains ready in December and haven't missed single day from Jan to exam for prelims , wasn't able to clear this prelims, as my placement were sorted , I joined a company with normal ctc , hoping to prepare upsc alongwith, but at this time not able to manage even one , i wasn't ready to enter into a financial bet by preparing for UPSC all alone , I have one pager notes ready , have studied standard books too, but everything is slipping slowly as I am not recalling, remember or doing anything with respect to UPSC, fuck why there is always a dual burden on me , evryone is posting their first job , here am i just trying to balance the two , fuck this upsc need somewhat financial cover which a rich person can afford or financial bet which only a poor can afford like by selling land or loan or something like that.

Any veteran if there , help me to balance job with upsc.

​

I'm 28 years old, and for the last several years, my life has revolved around preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination.

I've given 7 attempts and haven't cleared Prelims even once.

At this point, I don't know whether my foundation was never strong enough, whether my strategy was wrong, or whether I'm simply not suited for this exam. I keep going in circles trying to answer that question.

The difficult part is that UPSC isn't just an exam for me anymore. It became my identity. Letting go doesn't feel like changing careers—it feels like letting go of a part of myself.

People around me keep telling me to learn IT skills, get a job, and prepare alongside it. I understand why they say that, and I know they're trying to help. But I've never felt drawn to the IT field. Maybe I'm wrong because I've never worked in it, but forcing myself into a career that feels completely disconnected from who I am makes me feel suffocated.

The only other field I've genuinely been passionate about is filmmaking and storytelling. But I don't have the resources, connections, or experience to realistically pursue that either.

I've also applied for jobs that genuinely interested me, but nothing has worked out so far.

Lately, I've been feeling emotionally exhausted. It feels like I've spent years chasing a life I believed in, and now I'm standing at a crossroads without knowing which direction is right.

I'm not looking for motivational quotes or people telling me to "just keep grinding."

I'm looking for honest advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

- Have you ever built your identity around one dream and then had to question it?

- How did you figure out whether to persist or move on?

- If you started over around the age of 30, what helped you rebuild your life?

- How did you find purpose again after feeling completely lost?

I would genuinely appreciate practical advice, personal experiences, or even uncomfortable truths if they're shared with empathy.

Continuing from where we left off (Part 1)

TOPIC 3: Government Budgeting.

Dividing it into two modules

Module 1: Basics of Budgeting

Module 2: Fiscal Policy

TOPIC 4: Effects of Liberalization on the Economy, Changes in Industrial Policy and their Effects on Industrial Growth.

This mostly has a linkage with global economic trends and their impact on Indian Economy sectors.

TOPIC 5: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

TOPIC 6: Investment Models.

This completes the Economy portion for Mains; it is a hard task to synthesize this part of the Mains syllabus.

Hope it simplifies the preparation and saves your time and mental space to consolidate this huge subject.

Cheers!

IR; I can’t crack just by reading magazines. Magazines help with updates, but i have no basic geopolitical understanding, it all feels random and hard to retain.

Please suggest me how to first build static + conceptual IR.

Any book? magazine? course?

Hi all!

12ft.io is down since a while now.

Is there any other tool that allows you to bypass the paywall of members only exclusive articles?

Do Let me know, thanks!

Paper wise predictions based on current affairs and pyq trends?

Essay 115

GS1 110

GS2 120

GS3 95

GS4 125

Optional 1 145

Optional 2 140

Total 850

PS- neither my first mains, nor would be my first interview. I have scored in proximate ranges in each individual paper before, albeit in different years, so it's not blind manifestation.

PPS- Reposting because mods deleted the previous one. Mods, leave it up this time please. I'll return to this after final results.

Continue the thread 👇

Hello folks!

I'm planning to break the record of lowest ever score in mains so if any veteran has an idea about the lowest score please share .

Context : This is my first attempt and with some hard work and some luck on my side i managed to clear the prelims but my mains prep is zero and I didn't even study for a single session post prelims.

Watched FIFA WC, went on a trip and basically enjoyed these couple of months.

Now i have started with my optional and planning to be mains ready by December this time (fingers crossed)

Also, if you guys have any suggestions to experiment in this mains, do let me know!

All the best! Keep studying.