How did RSTV help Srushti Jayant Deshmukh secure AIR 5 in UPSC CSE 2018?

The majority of us are aware of Srushti Jayant Deshmukh, AIR 5 in UPSC CSE 2018, who cleared one of the toughest exams of the country in her first attempt itself. Topper amongst the women candidates of the batch, many posts and videos of her UPSC preparation strategy have gone viral. But what if we tell you that watching Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) was a major part of her UPSC preparation strategy? Yes, you heard that right!

The early days

The Bhopal girl had always been an achiever throughout her academic life. An alumni of Carmel Convent, BHEL, Bhopal, her love for extracurricular activities never crossed paths with academics. Not only was music her primary hobby, but debates, scouts, and guides grabbed her attention a lot.

When engineering was not her cup of tea!

Having scored an overall percentage of 93.4% in her 12th board examination, Srushti could not gain admission into the IITs, as she desired. So, she decided to pursue chemical engineering from Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal (a private engineering college).

However, while she was in her 3rd year of graduation did she realize that she could not spend her entire life with a simple job as an engineer. Thus, she began with the UPSC preparation alongside engineering.

Journey to cracking UPSC

Preparing for UPSC along with engineering was not an easy task. However, Srushti had decided to spend most of her time and energy on the preparation of the CSE.

Family support

Srushti acknowledges that she received immense support from her family. Even though her mother is a school teacher in the kindergarten section, and her father, Jayant Deshmukh, works in a private company as an engineer, she was never asked what she was doing and why or how she would be doing it. Her parents always tried to give her a healthy environment. She also has a younger brother who studies in class seven. She acknowledges her parents, family, grandmother, teachers, mentors, and her closest friends for their support in aiding her in succeeding in the exam.

Maintaining distance from social media

Deshmukh says that focus is very important for the preparation of UPSC. She had decided that her first attempt would be her last attempt, and that is why she had to give it her all, the reason why she had deleted her social media accounts even before she had started preparing.

Srushti’s Marksheet

Sociology was Srushti’s optional paper, as her UG subject of chemical engineering is not offered as an option. The UPSC had released the mark sheet of the aspirants who had cleared the examination wherein Srushti Deshmukh had scored an amazing 1068 marks out of a total of 2025 marks. Her marks are listed as:

Subject	Marks
Mains Written	895
Interview	173
Total	1068

Tips for UPSC Aspirants

Srushti’s 2 main strategies that helped her to succeed were consistency and mock test series. She says that consistency is one of the main keys to crack any examination and that if one studies for 5 hours for one day, he/she needs to be capable of doing that every single day for the whole year. Self-discipline and persistence are important to chase your goals.

For the test series she says that even though one may study for very long hours in a day, unless you take up a test, you will not know where you stand. She had signed up for some test series online, which really helped her towards her final preparation for the actual exam. She believes that there is always someone else who is studying just as hard as one is, especially for competitive exams and, hence, it is important to remain one step ahead of the competitors, where a test series can grant this boost.

Study Material

Srushti largely relied on online study material. The internet is a huge boon and one need not necessarily go to Delhi or any training at coaching institutes, and she did not rely upon these. She spent 6 to 7 hours a day of self-study. To avoid distractions, she deactivated her accounts on all social media.

She mainly studied from NCERT Social Science books of classes 6th to 12th, along with other standard books on each subject. She read magazines such as Yojana and Kurukshetra. She also read English newspapers daily such as The Hindu and The Indian Express for current affairs. Further, for current affairs, the online sources that helped her were PIB and Rajya Sabha TV.

A Valuable Tip

The ranker wishes all the UPSC 2021 aspirants all the best while sharing some valuable tips from them. She says that at the time of preparing for the UPSC exam, one should keep in mind that it is their last chance and that their competition is not with lakhs of people, because not all students appearing for the exam are serious. “Your competition is only with those who are taking the exam seriously, so remove the fear from the mind.”

Srushti’s Message

Srushti, who has been allocated the IAS cadre of her home state Madhya Pradesh, wants to work towards the betterment of society by focussing on the empowerment and education of women in India. To become an IAS officer, someday, it was her dream since childhood.

Srushti is convinced that her success will send across a message that one doesn't really have to go to an IIT or a top college in order to make their dreams a reality. It doesn’t matter which college or school one attends. But it is about what you make of the opportunity given to you, how hard you are able to work, and how much effort you put in – that determines your success.

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