Chemistry Optional UPSC CSE

Topper Copies linked to pinned message also. As if now 21 copies are available across years of the toppers. Pinned message is the heart of this channel where all resources shared are organised in systematic way for easy access and navigation. Kindly go through it first before asking basic queries. If I have to answer the same questions (DIAS notes, pyq, topper copies) over and over, the purpose of the channel is defeated.

3. Chemistry ecosystem One of the most important factor in success of any optional is its ecosystem. Let me discuss this in detail a. Coaching - I get queries asking for coaching options, if coaching is required etc. In my knowledge, there is just one coaching institute for chemistry which caters to UPSC exam. There are some others who are venturing from NET/JEE coaching into UPSC coaching about whom I have no experience. So as if now there is just DIAS available for coaching. As a result, there are many issues which happens when a monopoly exists. After 2020 Mains, there was a cold response from coaching to provide an accurate solution for the year, even not providing solution for Paper I saying - it was too easy, when the reality was that there were many bouncers which would have needed some efforts to solve. Adding to the misery was the appearance of a new institution solution for 2020 paper, which was ever more inaccurate than DIAS. These two back to back frustrating experiences lead to the creation of this channel - as you might have observed the primary focus of this channel has been - to provide accurate solutions of PYQ with sources b. Test Series - Same test series verbatim was repeated once in a gap of 3/4 years. There might have been aspirants who wrote the same tests in both years and I feel disappointed for them. The checking is poor to average and most serious aspirants have shared their frustration with test series. A few others are coming up with test series, but it will take more time to stabilise and gain credibility c. Peer group - Unfortunately unless you know people directly from college or coaching, it is very hard to find good peers in chemistry. I had tried to put together small groups of serious aspirants but it has met with limited success. There is a group with 1500+ members whose link is available in the pinned message. You may find suitable aspirants to form a peer group there. In a nutshell - You are on your own in chemistry optional. Coaching will take you up to levels of 200-240 marks. Each of the extra marks above this was won over by the aspirants with their commitment and hard work. 4. Time required Chemistry is an optional which will take considerable time to prepare. In fact most of the successful candidates are veterans who have reaped rewards of preparing this optional for more than one year. So if your approach to UPSC CSE is to take an optional which can be covered in short time, chemistry may not be your thing. This is assuming you are starting your preparation after graduation. If you are planning long term, ignore this point I have not talked about the increasing levels of toughness in chemistry since I have heard same from other optional candidates also. In short what I feel is this - Chemistry is just another optional which people who have interest and strong will to prepare can take. Your own efforts will be the deciding factor. I have taken a break from UPSC CSE preparation since I am devoting time to my state pcs training program. Even if I make up my mind to give CSE again, I have not made up my mind that I will give with Chemistry optional. To end I will make these two points for those who are still unsure about how to decide this 1. Your marks in optional matters, not the optional - toughness, ecosystem, interest - all are secondary. You need to score 280 range ideally considering you have good marks in other papers to get your favourite service. 280 or 300 Marks matter. Not the optional in which you score that marks 2. This is an exam to find civil servants for the nation. And the best civil servants are those who take decisions by self and on time and this is not taught in any coaching. Choosing an optional is one of the easy task compared to the difficult choices you will have to make in your career. Don't waver, hold steadfast, row ahead

Should you choose Chemistry optional or not ? ——————————————————————— Background : I had prepared from UPSC CSE from 2018 Jan to 2021 October -giving 3 Prelims and wrote 1 mains in 2020. My performance in chemistry in 2020 has been poor and you can read more about it here. So take the suggestions given below with these facts in the mind. Choose chemistry or not ? - This is a very common query most of the aspirants have asked. When I started preparation in 2018, the reasons I had in mind for choosing chemistry were these 1. Perception of strong base in chemistry due to IIT-JEE preparation which helped me reach IIT Roorkee 2. At that time, there was a clear difference in top marks of Science optionals - Math being the highest [around 360 range] and Physics/Chemistry around 340-350 3. A feeling that being an engineer it was better to choose science subject which is more objective than humanities subjects as an optional Now in 2023, the reality has changed 1. There is no added advantage in taking an science optional [Math is still an exception giving returns to considerable aspirants]. If you have observed the top scores post 2018, there has been a considerable effort from UPSC to give almost similar top marks in optionals. It has reached such levels that people even score better top marks in humanities than in Chemistry. This time chemistry top mark is 300 and you can find many other subjects also reaching same or more marks. Take away : Do not take chemistry thinking you will excel in this optional and get an edge over others with extra marks in the optional and it will make up for your shortfall in GS 2. Background Most of the aspirants who clear with chemistry has either engineering backgrounds from top colleges like IIT/NIT etc or they have done graduation in chemistry from similar institutes. This doesn't mean others cannot excel in chemistry. But do remember the marks in optional may get normalised and you will have to do relatively better in comparison to the competition. So if you are an engineer who is considering chemistry due to JEE preparation background or some similar logic, do consider this while making a final call. If your graduation in chemistry, in my opinion, you can consider taking this optional more seriously. You may be preparing for post graduation or any chemistry related exams. So taking chemistry as an optional is going to be an advantage. Take away: Be ready for competition from IIT/NIT graduates in a technical subject which is more advantageous to aspirants with such background. Even if you are a graduate from the above institutes, do not take chemistry thinking it will give you more marks than other humanities subject, all have reached similar levels now.

About chemistry results: I feel privileged to share that I have interacted with at least 3 toppers through this channel (2 of them having secured 300 marks).Since most of the serious aspirants use pseudo names in telegram for privacy, i do not know if there are more. Although I take no credit for their hard earned results, it's such opportunities to impact other people's life in a positive manner that drives most of us towards a career in public administration. Wishing them a bright career ahead. Both of them who scored 300 are bit occupied with some work, will ask them to share their experience and guidance in due course of time once they are bit free.

Another non upsc post - Happy to share that I have received another letter of appreciation, this time from the G20 Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs. G20 has been a great learning experience and as aptly said in the letter, a golden chance to be a true ambassador of Kerala and India.

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Civil Services Examination 2022 - Chemistry Optional selections Source : DIAS institute ▫️Nitish Maurya AIR 90 ▫️Anubhav Jain AIR 485 ▫️Udham Patel AIR 500 ▫️Pankaj Verma AIR 515 ▫️Jaskaran Singh AIR 599 ▫️Anushree Sachan AIR 633 ▫️P . Bhargav AIR 772 ▫️Kumar Shanu AIR 780 ▫️Sonawane Vivek AIR 792 ▫️Himanshu Kumar AIR 864 ▫️Gurpreet Kaur AIR 870