Dongre Revaiah, AIR-410 CSE-22 Prelims, Mains, Essay & Maths

Dongre Revaiah's Journey to Securing AIR-410 in CSE-22 on His Second Attempt

Dongre Revaiah, a resilient individual who hails from a modest background, has secured the impressive rank of AIR-410 in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022, on his second attempt. His remarkable journey exemplifies the power of determination, perseverance, and the ability to overcome adversity.

Introduction

Dongre Revaiah completed his entire schooling from Social Welfare schools in Telangana. Despite facing the challenge of losing his father at the mere age of 4, he persevered and pursued his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. Following his graduation, Revaiah worked for 5 years at ONGC Mumbai High. His optional subject for the CSE exam was mathematics.

You can contact Dongre Revaiah on his Instagram Profile

Revaiah's Journey

Dongre Revaiah's journey has been marked by resilience and determination. After losing his father at a young age, his mother, a Mid Day Meal cook, has been the pillar of support for the family. Revaiah completed his education up to 12th grade in social welfare government schools, and through his hard work and perseverance, he secured admission to IIT Madras for Chemical Engineering. However, he faced a financial hurdle when he couldn't afford the registration fee of 20,000 rupees. In his time of need, he approached the district Magistrate, Dr. Ashok Sir, who generously provided the required funds from the widow fund and also arranged for a newspaper advertisement that resulted in sponsorship of around 1.8 lakhs. This financial support enabled Revaiah to complete his higher education.

In his final year, Revaiah appeared for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) examination and achieved an All India Rank of 70, which opened up opportunities for him to secure a job at ONGC. He started his preparation for the Civil Services Examination while working at ONGC and gave his first attempt in 2021. During this attempt, he balanced his studies and job, and although he was selected for the interview, he missed the final list by just 2 marks. Undeterred, Revaiah resigned from his job and appeared again for the CSE in 2022, where he secured the impressive rank of AIR-410.

Prelims Strategy

Revaiah's prelims strategy focused heavily on static content, with a strong emphasis on reading standard books like Spectrum and Laxmikant multiple times. He also paid close attention to science, technology, and environmental topics, as he found there were many questions from these areas. For current affairs, he relied on PT 365 and the Insights Monthly quiz, which provided comprehensive coverage of current events. Revaiah made notes for almost all subjects, which aided him in revising the material effectively.

Key elements of Revaiah's prelims strategy:

• Focused on static content and repeated reading of standard books
• Emphasized science, technology, and environment topics
• Relied on PT 365 and Insights Monthly quiz for current affairs
• Made detailed notes for effective revision

Revaiah also set a goal of attempting a minimum of 90 questions in the prelims exams and preferred to give mock exams from 2-3 different institutes to diversify his preparation and avoid becoming accustomed to a single institute's question patterns.

Prelims and Mains Booklist

Revaiah's booklist for prelims and mains preparation included a wide range of resources, covering various subjects. Some of the key books and resources he utilized are:

• Polity: Laxmikant
• Modern History: Spectrum
• Ancient & Medieval History: Tamil Nadu history textbooks supplemented by Only IAS material
• Art & Culture: Nitin Singhania (selective read)
• World History: Shreyans Kumat Sir notes
• Geography: 11th-grade NCERT Physical Geography, with a focus on the mapping part
• Economy: Mrunal sir videos and handouts
• Environment: Shankar IAS booklet, National parks, and wildlife sanctuaries
• Ethics: Lexicon for core concepts and definitions, Vajiram notes for ethics and case studies, and online search for examples of civil servants with qualities
• International Relations and Internal Security: Sunya IAS mains notes and Forum IAS current affairs notes
• Governance, Disaster Management, and Society: Sunya IAS mains notes

Essay Strategy

Revaiah's essay writing strategy involved a multifaceted approach. He studied Anudeep Durishetty's book and went through many toppers' copies, as well as Mudit Jain Sir's essay strategy on YouTube, to gain valuable insights into effective essay structures and approaches.

Key elements of Revaiah's essay strategy:

• Began with abstract essays and then shifted focus to primarily philosophical topics
• Gathered examples, anecdotes, and quotes to enrich his essays
• Consistently started essays with an anecdote and concluded by referencing that anecdote
• Employed a multidimensional analysis approach, examining topics from various perspectives
• Addressed counterarguments or opposing viewpoints to present a balanced perspective
• Concluded essays by summarizing the main points and providing a final perspective

Revaiah also recognized the importance of brainstorming for two essays simultaneously during the preparation phase to avoid the repetition of examples.

Mains Strategy

In his first attempt, Revaiah relied solely on Sunya IAS mains notes to support his preparation. However, in his second attempt, he structured his notes for each topic to include pros, issues, and suggestions, as well as separate notes dedicated to data and examples. This comprehensive approach allowed him to revise the material thoroughly and ensure the information was deeply ingrained in his memory.

Key elements of Revaiah's mains strategy:

• Spent more than 60% of his time on the optional subject (Mathematics)
• For GS, focused on writing answers within the time limit, incorporating examples, supporting data, Supreme Court judgments, and committee recommendations
• Relied heavily on the Forum IAS current affairs course and test series to stay updated on the latest developments
• Incorporated visual aids such as maps, flow charts, and micro diagrams to improve the presentation and engagement of his answers

Optional Strategy: Mathematics

Given the complexity of Mathematics as Revaiah's optional subject and the limited time between prelims and mains, he employed a strategic approach. He created short notes and maintained a "Book of Wrongs" to keep track of the areas where he made mistakes or found challenging.

Revaiah's booklist for Mathematics:

• Vector Algebra: Krishna Series, Schaum's Outline on Vector Analysis
• Calculus: Malik Arora, Grewal
• Ordinary Differential Equations: Ode & PDE by MD Raisinghania, Advanced ODE by Raisinghania
• 3-D Geometry: P N Chatterjee
• Linear Algebra: IMS notes
• Statics and Dynamics: Krishna series
• Partial Differential Equations: Ode & PDE by MD Raisinghania, Boundary Value Problems by Raisinghania
• Linear Programming: IMS notes
• Real Analysis: Elements of Real Analysis by Shanti Narayan, Malik Arora
• Modern Algebra: R Kumar books (Ring theory & Group theory)
• Fluid Mechanics: MD Raisinghania
• Complex Analysis: Krishna series
• Mechanics: Rigid Dynamics Volume 1

For test series, Revaiah found Successclap and Mathocrat to be more beneficial compared to his first attempt, where he used the IMS test series.

Revaiah's journey to success in the Civil Services Examination is a testament to his resilience, determination, and strategic approach to preparation. His ability to overcome financial and academic obstacles, coupled with his meticulous planning and execution, has earned him a well-deserved place among the top rankers of CSE-22.

You can contact Dongre Revaiah on his Instagram Profile