, with a background in software engineering, did not pick a technical subject. She chose Psychology and Public Administration as her optional subjects. This blend of subjects, which have significant overlap with the General Studies (GS) papers, is a popular strategy that many aspirants follow today. The data on optional subjects shows the dominance of humanities-based subjects like Political Science & International Relations (PSIR) , History , and Public Administration among recent toppers, a trend that Shubhra Saxena followed a decade and a half ago.
Kaushal’s motivation was a “thirst to serve common people and the marginalised class of society.” Her journey was all the more inspiring because she prepared for the exam together with her husband, Srawan Bansal, who also cleared UPSC 2008 with AIR 707. The couple practised mock interviews together, which helped both succeed. “I enjoyed preparing for exam with my husband. Since we both got the interview call letters, we even started interviewing each other… and it really worked well,” she recalled. This was Kaushal’s third attempt; she had expected a rank in the 40–50 range, not the top three. upsc topper 2008
Rather than mere rote learning, she focused on strengthening her fundamentals in these subjects, ensuring she could handle diverse and conceptual questions. , with a background in software engineering, did