The Decision to Go for Civil Services | Crack Civil Services in First Attempt by Divey Sethi, IRS - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


The Decision to Go for Civil Services: 
The Why of it
“The ending point is the same as the starting point.”
Why did you choose to even appear for civil services? What purpose in 
your life does the services fulfill? Why do you want to become an IAS/
IPS/IRS? All these questions and the like are asked in interviews. These 
form some basic questions in the interview. Then, the reader may 
wonder why I am discussing it right at the beginning of this handbook. 
It is because the starting point is the same as the ending point in this 
journey. It is also because what you answer in the interview may be 
very different and even contrary to what your actual reason was for 
taking to study for civil services! Also, the clarity of the reason for 
preparing for civil services will help you provide the energy so that 
you can attend to the mammoth task at hand and, hence, ground in the 
present moment.
The cause or the inspiration to study for civil services must be known 
to you. This must not remain in the latent form. I even assure you that 
there exists a tendency to hide the exact cause, especially when you 
cannot disclose it in a public forum. You may not disclose it overtly, 
but you must know it correctly, for it will help you genuinely mold 
it into some acceptable forms during the evolutionary process of 
preparations so that you don’t have to lie or conceal the reasons at the 
interview! Let me tell you, dear friends, that those who are sitting in the 
interview panel of UPSC Civil services are the expert and experienced 
intelligentsia, and it is not advisable to resort to bluffing techniques, 
blurring, or hiding facts. Honest presentation of thoughts, that is, 
authenticity when you speak, is what is required, and that can be done 
only with the clarity of thoughts. Thus, the interview preparations start 
Page 2


The Decision to Go for Civil Services: 
The Why of it
“The ending point is the same as the starting point.”
Why did you choose to even appear for civil services? What purpose in 
your life does the services fulfill? Why do you want to become an IAS/
IPS/IRS? All these questions and the like are asked in interviews. These 
form some basic questions in the interview. Then, the reader may 
wonder why I am discussing it right at the beginning of this handbook. 
It is because the starting point is the same as the ending point in this 
journey. It is also because what you answer in the interview may be 
very different and even contrary to what your actual reason was for 
taking to study for civil services! Also, the clarity of the reason for 
preparing for civil services will help you provide the energy so that 
you can attend to the mammoth task at hand and, hence, ground in the 
present moment.
The cause or the inspiration to study for civil services must be known 
to you. This must not remain in the latent form. I even assure you that 
there exists a tendency to hide the exact cause, especially when you 
cannot disclose it in a public forum. You may not disclose it overtly, 
but you must know it correctly, for it will help you genuinely mold 
it into some acceptable forms during the evolutionary process of 
preparations so that you don’t have to lie or conceal the reasons at the 
interview! Let me tell you, dear friends, that those who are sitting in the 
interview panel of UPSC Civil services are the expert and experienced 
intelligentsia, and it is not advisable to resort to bluffing techniques, 
blurring, or hiding facts. Honest presentation of thoughts, that is, 
authenticity when you speak, is what is required, and that can be done 
only with the clarity of thoughts. Thus, the interview preparations start 
from the day you decide to start studying for civil services. The first 
step is introspecting and discerning the cause of the study and slowly 
evolving it from a narrower to a much broader and socially acceptable 
perspective of the purpose of civil services.
For this purpose, I list below various reasons the aspirants choose to go 
for civil services, some of them my own. From a narrower perspective 
of the cause to its broader vision, a transformation must take place, 
for which certain thinking mechanisms are provided, which may be 
continuously studied and simultaneously imbibed in your personality.
a) Power: A candidate successful in his third attempt with a 
wonderful rank declared his source of inspiration in a public 
forum, “When I was a child, I asked my father while walking in 
front of the district collector’s office, ‘Who does this office belong 
to and what is the purpose of this office?’ My father replied, ‘He is 
the god in our area, descended from heavens; everything he says 
is done!’” I admire that person for overtly announcing the fact 
that his inspiration to become an IAS officer is power. However, 
in person, he revealed to me that one cannot be so overt in an 
interview. Thus, there is no harm in acceptance of the fact that 
the power that civil services wield motivates one and serves as 
a cause. Yet, one should transform his/her thoughts to the just 
use of that power. This is the evolutionary process I am talking 
about.
You must have a constant undercurrent of this thought, “Yes! I 
do strive for power and take up civil services, but vouch for the 
just use of that power.” Dear aspirant, with this thought imbibed 
in your heart, you shall be true to yourself and aim for the right 
direction fit for civil services.
b) Money: One of the biggest motivating factors, that is, money, 
finds itself shrouded with irony. It is not there in civil services 
unless or until astute, unfair means are used to procure it. Civil 
Page 3


The Decision to Go for Civil Services: 
The Why of it
“The ending point is the same as the starting point.”
Why did you choose to even appear for civil services? What purpose in 
your life does the services fulfill? Why do you want to become an IAS/
IPS/IRS? All these questions and the like are asked in interviews. These 
form some basic questions in the interview. Then, the reader may 
wonder why I am discussing it right at the beginning of this handbook. 
It is because the starting point is the same as the ending point in this 
journey. It is also because what you answer in the interview may be 
very different and even contrary to what your actual reason was for 
taking to study for civil services! Also, the clarity of the reason for 
preparing for civil services will help you provide the energy so that 
you can attend to the mammoth task at hand and, hence, ground in the 
present moment.
The cause or the inspiration to study for civil services must be known 
to you. This must not remain in the latent form. I even assure you that 
there exists a tendency to hide the exact cause, especially when you 
cannot disclose it in a public forum. You may not disclose it overtly, 
but you must know it correctly, for it will help you genuinely mold 
it into some acceptable forms during the evolutionary process of 
preparations so that you don’t have to lie or conceal the reasons at the 
interview! Let me tell you, dear friends, that those who are sitting in the 
interview panel of UPSC Civil services are the expert and experienced 
intelligentsia, and it is not advisable to resort to bluffing techniques, 
blurring, or hiding facts. Honest presentation of thoughts, that is, 
authenticity when you speak, is what is required, and that can be done 
only with the clarity of thoughts. Thus, the interview preparations start 
from the day you decide to start studying for civil services. The first 
step is introspecting and discerning the cause of the study and slowly 
evolving it from a narrower to a much broader and socially acceptable 
perspective of the purpose of civil services.
For this purpose, I list below various reasons the aspirants choose to go 
for civil services, some of them my own. From a narrower perspective 
of the cause to its broader vision, a transformation must take place, 
for which certain thinking mechanisms are provided, which may be 
continuously studied and simultaneously imbibed in your personality.
a) Power: A candidate successful in his third attempt with a 
wonderful rank declared his source of inspiration in a public 
forum, “When I was a child, I asked my father while walking in 
front of the district collector’s office, ‘Who does this office belong 
to and what is the purpose of this office?’ My father replied, ‘He is 
the god in our area, descended from heavens; everything he says 
is done!’” I admire that person for overtly announcing the fact 
that his inspiration to become an IAS officer is power. However, 
in person, he revealed to me that one cannot be so overt in an 
interview. Thus, there is no harm in acceptance of the fact that 
the power that civil services wield motivates one and serves as 
a cause. Yet, one should transform his/her thoughts to the just 
use of that power. This is the evolutionary process I am talking 
about.
You must have a constant undercurrent of this thought, “Yes! I 
do strive for power and take up civil services, but vouch for the 
just use of that power.” Dear aspirant, with this thought imbibed 
in your heart, you shall be true to yourself and aim for the right 
direction fit for civil services.
b) Money: One of the biggest motivating factors, that is, money, 
finds itself shrouded with irony. It is not there in civil services 
unless or until astute, unfair means are used to procure it. Civil 
The Decision to Go for Civil Services: The Why of it
services promise a decent, above-average living standard. But 
honest bureaucrats are no match for the ‘corporatocrats’ as far 
as the monetary aspect is considered. When I say corporatocrat, 
I understand the term to mean those who are running the 
companies at the top level – directors, promoters, hedge fund 
managers, business families, etc.
So, how do we reconcile the urge to earn money and the hunger 
for money with civil services? Many people face the same 
dilemma. Here, we must understand the fact that civil service 
opens up myriad opportunities in the private sector as well. With 
5 or 7 years of experience as a bureaucrat, one can comfortably 
transition into a senior-level position in the private sector or 
even start their own venture with the functional experience 
of administration at hand. At some point, you have to choose 
between 2 conflicting options!
c) Unsuccessful/mediocre people: A lot of aspirants are coming 
from IITs. These are mainly five – or six-pointers and cannot 
perform well academically in the highly competitive environment 
of IITs. Consequently, their placements did not meet their 
perceived standards.
Once, I asked my friend, a nine-pointer from IIT, who was doing 
a PhD in the USA, “Why don’t you come to India and study 
for civil services? You can certainly clear it as you are a nine-
pointer!” His reply was astonishing, “I have expended all my 
energies during college life in studies. Now I want to relax a little 
and enjoy the quality offerings in a developed country.” Adding 
a little humor, he continued, “On the contrary, you are very well 
positioned to do it. You have surplus energies left, which you 
saved in your college life and stood as a five-pointer.” After we 
shared a fit of laughter, he continued, “And it gives you a reason 
and an opportunity to prove your mettle again.” Within a week 
after that conversation, I found myself studying for civil services.
Page 4


The Decision to Go for Civil Services: 
The Why of it
“The ending point is the same as the starting point.”
Why did you choose to even appear for civil services? What purpose in 
your life does the services fulfill? Why do you want to become an IAS/
IPS/IRS? All these questions and the like are asked in interviews. These 
form some basic questions in the interview. Then, the reader may 
wonder why I am discussing it right at the beginning of this handbook. 
It is because the starting point is the same as the ending point in this 
journey. It is also because what you answer in the interview may be 
very different and even contrary to what your actual reason was for 
taking to study for civil services! Also, the clarity of the reason for 
preparing for civil services will help you provide the energy so that 
you can attend to the mammoth task at hand and, hence, ground in the 
present moment.
The cause or the inspiration to study for civil services must be known 
to you. This must not remain in the latent form. I even assure you that 
there exists a tendency to hide the exact cause, especially when you 
cannot disclose it in a public forum. You may not disclose it overtly, 
but you must know it correctly, for it will help you genuinely mold 
it into some acceptable forms during the evolutionary process of 
preparations so that you don’t have to lie or conceal the reasons at the 
interview! Let me tell you, dear friends, that those who are sitting in the 
interview panel of UPSC Civil services are the expert and experienced 
intelligentsia, and it is not advisable to resort to bluffing techniques, 
blurring, or hiding facts. Honest presentation of thoughts, that is, 
authenticity when you speak, is what is required, and that can be done 
only with the clarity of thoughts. Thus, the interview preparations start 
from the day you decide to start studying for civil services. The first 
step is introspecting and discerning the cause of the study and slowly 
evolving it from a narrower to a much broader and socially acceptable 
perspective of the purpose of civil services.
For this purpose, I list below various reasons the aspirants choose to go 
for civil services, some of them my own. From a narrower perspective 
of the cause to its broader vision, a transformation must take place, 
for which certain thinking mechanisms are provided, which may be 
continuously studied and simultaneously imbibed in your personality.
a) Power: A candidate successful in his third attempt with a 
wonderful rank declared his source of inspiration in a public 
forum, “When I was a child, I asked my father while walking in 
front of the district collector’s office, ‘Who does this office belong 
to and what is the purpose of this office?’ My father replied, ‘He is 
the god in our area, descended from heavens; everything he says 
is done!’” I admire that person for overtly announcing the fact 
that his inspiration to become an IAS officer is power. However, 
in person, he revealed to me that one cannot be so overt in an 
interview. Thus, there is no harm in acceptance of the fact that 
the power that civil services wield motivates one and serves as 
a cause. Yet, one should transform his/her thoughts to the just 
use of that power. This is the evolutionary process I am talking 
about.
You must have a constant undercurrent of this thought, “Yes! I 
do strive for power and take up civil services, but vouch for the 
just use of that power.” Dear aspirant, with this thought imbibed 
in your heart, you shall be true to yourself and aim for the right 
direction fit for civil services.
b) Money: One of the biggest motivating factors, that is, money, 
finds itself shrouded with irony. It is not there in civil services 
unless or until astute, unfair means are used to procure it. Civil 
The Decision to Go for Civil Services: The Why of it
services promise a decent, above-average living standard. But 
honest bureaucrats are no match for the ‘corporatocrats’ as far 
as the monetary aspect is considered. When I say corporatocrat, 
I understand the term to mean those who are running the 
companies at the top level – directors, promoters, hedge fund 
managers, business families, etc.
So, how do we reconcile the urge to earn money and the hunger 
for money with civil services? Many people face the same 
dilemma. Here, we must understand the fact that civil service 
opens up myriad opportunities in the private sector as well. With 
5 or 7 years of experience as a bureaucrat, one can comfortably 
transition into a senior-level position in the private sector or 
even start their own venture with the functional experience 
of administration at hand. At some point, you have to choose 
between 2 conflicting options!
c) Unsuccessful/mediocre people: A lot of aspirants are coming 
from IITs. These are mainly five – or six-pointers and cannot 
perform well academically in the highly competitive environment 
of IITs. Consequently, their placements did not meet their 
perceived standards.
Once, I asked my friend, a nine-pointer from IIT, who was doing 
a PhD in the USA, “Why don’t you come to India and study 
for civil services? You can certainly clear it as you are a nine-
pointer!” His reply was astonishing, “I have expended all my 
energies during college life in studies. Now I want to relax a little 
and enjoy the quality offerings in a developed country.” Adding 
a little humor, he continued, “On the contrary, you are very well 
positioned to do it. You have surplus energies left, which you 
saved in your college life and stood as a five-pointer.” After we 
shared a fit of laughter, he continued, “And it gives you a reason 
and an opportunity to prove your mettle again.” Within a week 
after that conversation, I found myself studying for civil services.
There are many aspirants who have had their share of 
continuous failures. Some missed IIT and landed up in NIT. 
Some could not make it into government colleges. Some did 
not fare well earlier in their adolescence and were awarded arts 
or commerce out of compulsion. Not all commerce students 
can go to SRCC, just as not all medical students will get AIIMS. 
Many, like me, messed up in their college and ended up with 
poor grades. All these people are there to prove to society that 
they have the mettle and are important. The Indian education 
system is such that it provides an opportunity to correct the 
misdoings of the past. The civil services exam is one such 
means.
The important thing is that we must acknowledge our failures, 
mistakes, and wrong decisions, and only then shall we start an 
endeavor to rectify these.
d) Dissatisfaction with the present work profile: It may arise 
due to diverse issues. People from the I.T. sector generally find 
themselves imprisoned in front of computers; the monotonous 
routine further takes a toll. Youngsters in PSUs, mainly in the 
starting position of management trainee, do not have much 
liberty to make decisions. The starting job packages in the 
engineering field are not attractive enough to draw young talent. 
Teaching, whether in schools, colleges, or coaching institutes, 
suffers from gender bias and is labeled as a profession of failed 
individuals. Lawyers face a huge struggle at the beginning of 
their careers. A middle-class person graduating from college 
finds it difficult to start a business, both due to a lack of capacity 
and skills, as well as finances. The interlinking of capacity 
building, entrepreneurship, funding, and commercialization is 
weak in the service sector and virtually absent in the production 
sector. This is exactly what I experienced when I was running a 
business consultancy for the nationalized banks.
Page 5


The Decision to Go for Civil Services: 
The Why of it
“The ending point is the same as the starting point.”
Why did you choose to even appear for civil services? What purpose in 
your life does the services fulfill? Why do you want to become an IAS/
IPS/IRS? All these questions and the like are asked in interviews. These 
form some basic questions in the interview. Then, the reader may 
wonder why I am discussing it right at the beginning of this handbook. 
It is because the starting point is the same as the ending point in this 
journey. It is also because what you answer in the interview may be 
very different and even contrary to what your actual reason was for 
taking to study for civil services! Also, the clarity of the reason for 
preparing for civil services will help you provide the energy so that 
you can attend to the mammoth task at hand and, hence, ground in the 
present moment.
The cause or the inspiration to study for civil services must be known 
to you. This must not remain in the latent form. I even assure you that 
there exists a tendency to hide the exact cause, especially when you 
cannot disclose it in a public forum. You may not disclose it overtly, 
but you must know it correctly, for it will help you genuinely mold 
it into some acceptable forms during the evolutionary process of 
preparations so that you don’t have to lie or conceal the reasons at the 
interview! Let me tell you, dear friends, that those who are sitting in the 
interview panel of UPSC Civil services are the expert and experienced 
intelligentsia, and it is not advisable to resort to bluffing techniques, 
blurring, or hiding facts. Honest presentation of thoughts, that is, 
authenticity when you speak, is what is required, and that can be done 
only with the clarity of thoughts. Thus, the interview preparations start 
from the day you decide to start studying for civil services. The first 
step is introspecting and discerning the cause of the study and slowly 
evolving it from a narrower to a much broader and socially acceptable 
perspective of the purpose of civil services.
For this purpose, I list below various reasons the aspirants choose to go 
for civil services, some of them my own. From a narrower perspective 
of the cause to its broader vision, a transformation must take place, 
for which certain thinking mechanisms are provided, which may be 
continuously studied and simultaneously imbibed in your personality.
a) Power: A candidate successful in his third attempt with a 
wonderful rank declared his source of inspiration in a public 
forum, “When I was a child, I asked my father while walking in 
front of the district collector’s office, ‘Who does this office belong 
to and what is the purpose of this office?’ My father replied, ‘He is 
the god in our area, descended from heavens; everything he says 
is done!’” I admire that person for overtly announcing the fact 
that his inspiration to become an IAS officer is power. However, 
in person, he revealed to me that one cannot be so overt in an 
interview. Thus, there is no harm in acceptance of the fact that 
the power that civil services wield motivates one and serves as 
a cause. Yet, one should transform his/her thoughts to the just 
use of that power. This is the evolutionary process I am talking 
about.
You must have a constant undercurrent of this thought, “Yes! I 
do strive for power and take up civil services, but vouch for the 
just use of that power.” Dear aspirant, with this thought imbibed 
in your heart, you shall be true to yourself and aim for the right 
direction fit for civil services.
b) Money: One of the biggest motivating factors, that is, money, 
finds itself shrouded with irony. It is not there in civil services 
unless or until astute, unfair means are used to procure it. Civil 
The Decision to Go for Civil Services: The Why of it
services promise a decent, above-average living standard. But 
honest bureaucrats are no match for the ‘corporatocrats’ as far 
as the monetary aspect is considered. When I say corporatocrat, 
I understand the term to mean those who are running the 
companies at the top level – directors, promoters, hedge fund 
managers, business families, etc.
So, how do we reconcile the urge to earn money and the hunger 
for money with civil services? Many people face the same 
dilemma. Here, we must understand the fact that civil service 
opens up myriad opportunities in the private sector as well. With 
5 or 7 years of experience as a bureaucrat, one can comfortably 
transition into a senior-level position in the private sector or 
even start their own venture with the functional experience 
of administration at hand. At some point, you have to choose 
between 2 conflicting options!
c) Unsuccessful/mediocre people: A lot of aspirants are coming 
from IITs. These are mainly five – or six-pointers and cannot 
perform well academically in the highly competitive environment 
of IITs. Consequently, their placements did not meet their 
perceived standards.
Once, I asked my friend, a nine-pointer from IIT, who was doing 
a PhD in the USA, “Why don’t you come to India and study 
for civil services? You can certainly clear it as you are a nine-
pointer!” His reply was astonishing, “I have expended all my 
energies during college life in studies. Now I want to relax a little 
and enjoy the quality offerings in a developed country.” Adding 
a little humor, he continued, “On the contrary, you are very well 
positioned to do it. You have surplus energies left, which you 
saved in your college life and stood as a five-pointer.” After we 
shared a fit of laughter, he continued, “And it gives you a reason 
and an opportunity to prove your mettle again.” Within a week 
after that conversation, I found myself studying for civil services.
There are many aspirants who have had their share of 
continuous failures. Some missed IIT and landed up in NIT. 
Some could not make it into government colleges. Some did 
not fare well earlier in their adolescence and were awarded arts 
or commerce out of compulsion. Not all commerce students 
can go to SRCC, just as not all medical students will get AIIMS. 
Many, like me, messed up in their college and ended up with 
poor grades. All these people are there to prove to society that 
they have the mettle and are important. The Indian education 
system is such that it provides an opportunity to correct the 
misdoings of the past. The civil services exam is one such 
means.
The important thing is that we must acknowledge our failures, 
mistakes, and wrong decisions, and only then shall we start an 
endeavor to rectify these.
d) Dissatisfaction with the present work profile: It may arise 
due to diverse issues. People from the I.T. sector generally find 
themselves imprisoned in front of computers; the monotonous 
routine further takes a toll. Youngsters in PSUs, mainly in the 
starting position of management trainee, do not have much 
liberty to make decisions. The starting job packages in the 
engineering field are not attractive enough to draw young talent. 
Teaching, whether in schools, colleges, or coaching institutes, 
suffers from gender bias and is labeled as a profession of failed 
individuals. Lawyers face a huge struggle at the beginning of 
their careers. A middle-class person graduating from college 
finds it difficult to start a business, both due to a lack of capacity 
and skills, as well as finances. The interlinking of capacity 
building, entrepreneurship, funding, and commercialization is 
weak in the service sector and virtually absent in the production 
sector. This is exactly what I experienced when I was running a 
business consultancy for the nationalized banks.
The Decision to Go for Civil Services: The Why of it
Thus, in this current scenario, civil service finds a connection 
with the youngsters, and that is why we find the competition 
increasing every year, reflected by the increasing trend of the 
cut off in the preliminary examination. It becomes imperative to 
identify your reason to quit the job and decide to go for the exam.
e) Vengeance: One tends to believe that upon clearing the civil 
services, you may be able to settle your personal equations. I 
don’t know how far this is feasible. But in the worst scenario, 
even if it is an illusion, an aspirant may continue to believe in 
it with a promise that he/she won’t reveal it until the task is 
achieved. This unorthodox mechanism can be a source of energy, 
provided that it is not dissipated by revealing the intent publicly. 
Slowly, over a period of time, the broader pressing concerns shall 
be incorporated into the reasons for opting for civil services.
f) Strategic alliance: When I was selected in CSE 2013, a close friend 
of mine, an aspirant himself, came to my house to congratulate me 
and said, “Mr Sethi, your rate is now at a minimum of one crore.” 
We laughed off at his casual remark. But a profound thought into 
the matter would make us realize that some aspirants may also 
get motivated by the possibility of a strategic alliance, a business 
house, or a political family. If you consider this a factor, then 
please discern it and accept it; however, you may not reveal it.
g) Pursuit of excellence: You may encounter some people who have 
been continuously proving themselves. Their inspiration is the 
pursuit of excellence. They will excel wherever they go and will 
latch onto the best opportunity of that time. Some examples are 
Jayant Sinha, D. Subbarao, Raghuram Rajan and the likes. Check 
their career graph, and you will find it. The one I know is a person 
who hailed from Bihar and stood among the first 5 at the IIT JEE 
entrance in 2003. During his days at IIT, he was consistently a 
nine-pointer, and on the second attempt, he secured an All India 
rank under 5 in civil services as well. This group is rare, and the