The journey to clearing the UPSC Civil Services Examination is often a marathon, not a sprint. For Akhil Sainath, who secured AIR 566 in the UPSC 2025 results, mastering the Geography Optional was a turning point that involved six attempts, a major shift in strategy, and the smart integration of modern tools. In a recent candid conversation, Akhil shared the “secret sauce” behind his massive jump in scores—particularly how he refined his optional subject and why he eventually ditched traditional essay strategies for a more philosophical, AI-aided approach.
Contents
Why Geography Optional?
As a Mechanical Engineer, Akhil was naturally drawn to the technicality and logic of Geography. But beyond interest, he chose Geography Optional for its strategic overlap.
- Syllabus Synergy: Geography isn’t just an optional; it anchors GS Paper 1 (Physical & World Geography) and GS Paper 3 (Environment, Agriculture, and Disaster Management).
- The “Scoring” Edge: Akhil previously scored a staggering 288 in Geography. He emphasizes that the subject allows for high marks if you move beyond “textbook” answers and embrace a spatial, analytical mindset.
The Akhil Sainath Formula for High Marks in Geography
To score well in Geography Optional, Akhil suggests three non-negotiable pillars:
- Geographical Perspectives: Don’t just state facts. Incorporate thinkers like Lucian Febvre (Possibilism) or Griffith Taylor (Stop-and-Go Determinism) to add academic depth to your answers.
- Specific Regional Mapping: Instead of drawing a generic map of India for every question, Akhil recommends drawing specific state or corridor outlines. For a question on the Pharma industry, he didn’t just mark a dot; he drew the detailed coastlines of Gujarat and Maharashtra, marking specific cities and transport corridors.
- The “Application” Mindset: For every model (like Von Thunen’s agricultural location model), have a real-world case study ready. Akhil used the Yamuna floodplains near Delhi to explain land-use patterns, making his answers stand out to the evaluator.
Ditching the “PESTEL” Approach for Essays
One of the most striking parts of Akhil’s journey was his essay transformation—from a score of 87 to 125.
He warns aspirants against the traditional PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal) formula for modern philosophical essays. Instead, he focused on 10 core themes (Happiness, Peace of Mind, Moral Ethics, etc.) and prepared “ready-made” deep analysis for each, which he then adapted to the specific tone of the UPSC prompt.
AI for UPSC Preparation: The Future of Self-Study
Akhil is a pioneer in using AI for UPSC preparation. He didn’t just use AI for basic searches; he treated it as a personal mentor:
- Debating with AI: He used voice features to debate newspaper articles, helping him refine his interview poise and perspective.
- Theme Segregation: He used AI to analyze five years of PYQs to identify recurring philosophical themes.
- Precision and Conciseness: AI helped him restructure complex thoughts into the precise, concise language required for the Mains.
Final Advice: The “Hit Factor” in Prelims
Akhil believes Prelims is less about “random guessing” and more about Data-Driven Probability. By analyzing over 30 mock tests, he knew his “hit factor” in every subject. He only attempted questions where his probability of being right (even with two options eliminated) was statistically high based on his past performance.
“Post-test analysis is more important than revising. It’s like an athlete analyzing their own data to improve their pace.” — Akhil Sainath
