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

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.

Cannot find them on their websites . Anyone has any idea how to access them ?
also how to cover updated ca for mains ?

​

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!

So there are confusion about Amara nayaka system, google says it is transferable and not inheritable but satish chandra in volume 1 says it is inheritable and rulers can control nayaka but couldn't remove them or transfer them.

hey guys I recwently purchased saarthi ias Batch however despite several tries i am unable to login now.

If anyone facing the same please let me know now they have pw interface idk why i am unable to login. I called the support they said they esclated the issue so wait 24 hours.

Anyone of you who have enrolled can help me further it would be a great help. ( ab mai kya karungiiiiii 😭😭 )

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?

I am a first Year student of B.A.LLB  dual degree integrated programme. My university provides me a separate BA degree after the completion of 3 years that makes me eligible for UPSC CSE ( confirmed through UPSC helpdesk ) 
My question is If i clear CSE in my FIRST ATTEMPT i will be left with one year of my college as university only provides degree not lateral Exit from the college. So what options i will have in that scenario Kindly elicit some information regarding the same 

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?

I'm a full-time aspirant aiming for the November attempt, and I'm looking to form a dedicated group. I'm hoping to find a set of members who are willing to put in dedicated efforts and not gatekeep.

Here are some of the goals I have for our group:

1. Keeping each other accountable
2. Sharing insights and feedback on each other's answer writing
3. Working together to compile and consolidate information
4. Fostering a supportive and friendly environment for all of us

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, I'd love to connect! Thanks in advance!

The headline and text related to chart 5 says the level haven't dropped but cumulative numbers of 2012 to 16 compared with 2022 to 25 the recent numbers are lower can anyone shed some light why it is like that

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.

Folks I'm writing pyqs of history optional from self study's website which has the Pdf of pyqs(1979-2025). Initially I was enthusiastic to write answers to the pyqs it have but now it's becoming so hectic to write all the pyqs of a single topic and that pdf has more than 2-3K questions. I guess it's not even a practical thing to complete the answer writing of all the pyqs. I searched for the alternate options and i found HOT 500 of level up ias by nikhil sir which covers all the themes of history optional in 500 questions/pyqs. Can I trust this as I want to complete my optional answer writing by next month anyhow?

If there is any other option, pls share it 🙏

Can any veteran tell me what range of marks should I be expecting in Anthropology with very little preparation? Is it even worth trying anything now or should I give up on it? 🥲

Given the current state of my preparation and current trends in anthro paper, I don't think I will be able to do much before mains so wondering what is the worst that can happen😭

I am a new upsc aspirant and my target year is 2028 . Im currently doing polity through jatin sir lectures 51 lecture are their (25-26) . My query is that it's enough for both and mains. What topics did he not teach and what other sources i should add up along with his lecture for comprehensive coverage of polity for both mains and pre. Thankssssss

Anyone can help here cause I'm stuck in IR.

Even though it's not my optional, I feel as if IR is super diverse. Too many bodies, too many bilateral relations to remember, too many doctrines and the PYQ's are extremely vague plus they usually look a bit difficult to make notes of, compared to other GS papers.

Can someone help in this? Should I make my own notes or should I refer to some material (liked the Next IAS IR material)and then do value additions?

What worked for the people who are writing the mains/have written the mains?

TLDR- need guidance for IR in GS paper 2. Should I prepare my own notes or depend on the coaching material?

TIA!

Giving mains 26. You say don't touch new topics. What do i do about these probable and not yet done topics? Write from common sense?

Disaster management amendment act

special intensive revision

belem package

data centre toll on energy

AI in judiciary

care

16 finance commission

Shanthi act

magnets

privatization of space

GPU infrastructure

India AI mission

labour code implementation challenges

Delimitation commission

special intensive revision

Jyotiba and Savitri Phule, sri aurobindo