UPSC IFS: ‘Panel asked about Patanjali issue and..’, says AIR 50 Vasanthi Peddireddy

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“My friends told me about the service and the job profile. I am also inclined towards the forest and protecting nature from my childhood. Later, I thought that it’s an opportunity and so I focussed more towards IFoS in a later period of the preparation,” said Peddireddy who has completed her MBA in Healthcare and Hospital Management University of Hyderabad. 

Recapitulating questions asked during her UPSC interview, Peddireddy said they asked about her hobbies and her view when companies market a product which is bad for society. “One interviewer asked about the Patanjali’s issue and any other related issues that happened in the past. There were questions on healthcare management particularly rural healthcare. They also asked me to share my views on issues in society that make me feel bad,” she added. 

“Initially, it took me alot of time to study and understand the paper and then other subjects too. Once I understood and got to know about the standard books, then I trust that knowledge and work on test series and represent them confidently in the examination hall,” said Peddireddy who cleared her exam in third attempt. 

“I opted for test series for both my optional subjects and then I have my friends to whom I sent my answers to know where I can improve. We shared notes and then I also prepared self-notes,” said the topper who minimised the use of social media during preparation. 

“During preparation, I relied both on The Indian Express, especially its ‘Explained section’ and The Hindu and followed them on Telegram to know all the current happenings. I alternatively used to subscribe to the newspapers. When exams were near, then I used to read only exam oriented articles,” said the UPSC topper, adding that she also read some agricultural magazines and papers like the opinion articles of Ashok Gulati. 

Guiding aspirants, she said for forestry she completely relied on Hornbill Classes and used some standard books. “My friends supported me alot as they have cleared the UPSC CSE. I believe that aspirants should first clear prelims and then particularly focus on the service they want to apply for.”

On changing patterns on UPSC-CSAT, she said that she focussed primarily on solving comprehension rather than maths. “Initially, I concentrated on Maths in CSAT and later on I shifted my preparation to other subjects of the paper and found comprehension scoring,” she said. 

Sharing her success mantra, she said: “One has to be confident and not to be demotivated by others. During exams there are alot of times when candidates can get discouraged due to poor and unstable performance. In such circumstances, UPSC CSE aspirants have to be calm and be more focussed on the preparation rather than comparing themselves to other candidates.”