They made it

Three years of attempts. I failed the prelims twice because I had never trained for speed. In the third year I started taking timed tests daily, and that was the difference.

I focused hardest on the 100 language marks because the syllabus was small and fixed. Most candidates skip revenue administration; studying it properly is where I gained ground.

I scored 47 of 50 in the ground test after six months of daily morning training. Even with only 68 in the written paper I was selected, because the ground score carried it.