'Mock tests are useless, trust...': UPSC mentor's advice to UPSC aspirants

SPS Oberoi, a former Army officer and UPSC mentor at Ekam IAS Academy, has said that mock tests are useless for civil services preparation.

He also claimed that students are being pushed into buying unnecessary books and test series because of peer pressure and market pressure.

In a podcast with ANI's Smita Prakash, Oberoi said many UPSC aspirants make the exam more complicated than it actually is by collecting too many books, current affairs material and mock papers instead of focusing on NCERTs and standard textbooks.

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One standard textbook is enough

The UPSC mentor said that students should begin their preparation with NCERT books, class notes and one standard textbook for each subject.

“UPSC preparation can become excellent in just three stages. Start with NCERTs. Write proper class notes. Revise them properly. For every subject, keep one standard textbook. That’s the end of it,” he said.

He also warned students against buying large numbers of books from stationery shops after seeing others do the same.

“What happens is because of peer pressure. Your roommate buys books, you go to the stationery shop for a notebook, you see people buying books in bulk, and then because of fear of missing out, you also buy them,” he said.

Mock tests are useless

Oberoi strongly criticised the growing business around UPSC mock tests and test series.

“If I say something about mock tests, maybe people will not like it. They are useless in your preparation process,” he said.

According to him, many students wrongly believe that solving printed mock papers will help them clear the exam.

He claimed that one coaching institute in Delhi made around ₹54 crore from selling a test series for the 2025 UPSC prelims examination.

“Not even one question came from it. So who got fooled?” he asked.

Prelims is mostly static

Oberoi said the UPSC prelims exam is largely based on static subjects already defined in the syllabus.

“The prelims exam is static. Around 74 to 78 per cent comes from the defined syllabus. The cutoff is often below 50 per cent. Then why are you running behind test series?” he said.

He urged students to trust NCERTs and standard textbooks instead of constantly chasing new material.

“Revise them and go write the exam. You will pass,” he added.

Current affairs versus current issues

Oberoi also argued that coaching institutes create unnecessary fear around current affairs preparation.

“To generate money, a narrative has been created that current affairs are extremely important for prelims. Current affairs are not important for prelims,” he said.

He said there is a difference between “current affairs” and “current issues”, adding that the UPSC mains and interview stages are more focused on larger national issues and debates.

He cited topics such as delimitation and women’s reservation as examples of issues that serious aspirants would naturally stay aware of during their preparation.