RRB NTPC 2025 AIR 2 Strategy, Debanjan Roy Success Story

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Published on 21 April 2026 by

Success in competitive exams often comes from consistency rather than sudden breakthroughs. In this interview, Debanjan Roy from Nadia, West Bengal, shares his preparation journey where one of the biggest highlights is securing AIR 2 in RRB NTPC, along with a strong performance in SSC CGL. Starting his preparation in January 2025 after completing his Master’s in Entomology, he prepared for multiple exams together in a short span of 4–5 months. What makes his journey interesting is not just the results, but the way he handled score stagnation, mock test pressure, and exam-day stress while continuously improving through analysis and revision.

In this blog, we have shared the detailed preparation strategy of Debanjan Roy and the process that helped him achieve success in 2025–26.

Success Story of Debanjan Roy

Debanjan Roy’s success story reflects consistent effort and smart preparation for competitive exams. He started his focused journey in 2025 with a clear goal to crack government exams. During his preparation for SSC CGL and RRB NTPC, he followed a simple routine of concept building, regular revision, and daily practice. He gave strong importance to mock tests and their detailed analysis to improve his weak areas. Even during tough phases like score stagnation, he stayed consistent and kept improving step by step. His disciplined approach helped him achieve success in the 2025–26 exam cycle.

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Interview with RRB NTPC AIR 2 Debanjan Roy

Here is Debanjan’s RRB NTPC and SSC CGL preparation journey.

Q1. Debanjan, can you tell us about your background and how your preparation journey started?

Answer: Yes, sir. My name is Debanjan Roy, and I am from Nadia, West Bengal. I completed my Master’s in Entomology, and after that, I decided to shift towards competitive exam preparation. I started my preparation in January 2025, and for the next four to five months, I was fully committed to this journey.

My main target was SSC CGL, but along with that, I also appeared for other exams like RRB NTPC and IB ACIO. I followed some specific strategies during this time, which I believe helped me manage multiple exams together without getting confused.

Q2. How did you balance between video lectures, classes, and mock tests during your preparation?

Answer: In the initial phase of preparation, when you are a beginner, video lectures and courses are very important because that is where your concepts are built. I focused on completing a good portion of the syllabus through lectures first. Once around 50% of my syllabus was completed, I gradually shifted towards mock tests.

After that stage, mocks became a daily activity for me. But I want to highlight one important thing just giving mocks is not enough. Giving mocks daily and analyzing them daily is equally important. You cannot just keep watching lectures without applying them somewhere, so maintaining a balance between learning and testing is necessary.

Q3. When did you realize the importance of mocks, and how did your mock journey start?

Answer: Interestingly, even before starting my preparation seriously, I gave my first mock test just to check where I stood. In that first mock, I scored around 97 marks in SSC CGL Prelims. That mock helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses clearly.

Since I come from a science background, my Maths and Reasoning were already somewhat strong, but GK was clearly my weak area. After around three months of preparation, when I felt that about 60–70% of my syllabus was covered, I started taking mocks seriously. That is when I shifted from casual practice to a more exam-oriented approach.

Q4. You mentioned mock analysis multiple times. Can you explain how exactly you analyzed your mocks?

Answer: Yes, sir. I believe mock analysis is the most important part of preparation. For example, if I attempted 25 questions in Maths and got 5 wrong, I would first carefully check the solutions of those 5 questions. Then I used to take a separate page and note down the type of questions where I made mistakes.

After that, instead of just leaving it there, I used to create similar questions on my own and practice them. I didn’t always depend on ready-made questions; I tried to build my own variations. For GK, if I found a question unfamiliar, I would note down the topic and then study it in detail using available resources. This process ensured that I didn’t repeat the same mistakes again.

Q5. What major change did you notice after consistent mock practice and analysis?

Answer: There is a four-step process that I followed throughout my preparation concept learning, revision, practice, and mock analysis. When you analyze mocks properly, you start understanding where exactly you are lacking. For example, if you are unable to solve a new type of question, it means your concept is weak.

If you know the concept but still cannot solve it during the exam, it indicates a revision issue. And if you are struggling with time, then it is a practice issue. Mock analysis connects all these aspects and helps balance them. Once these four pillars are balanced, your preparation becomes much more effective.

Q6. Did you face any phase where your score stopped improving?

Answer: Yes, sir, and I think this happens with almost every aspirant. My score got stuck around 130 for a long time. No matter what I did, it just didn’t improve. At that time, one of my juniors, who is currently working in the Income Tax department, told me that this phase is normal.

He explained it with a simple example when you start collecting sand, you can pick a lot initially, but as it reduces, collecting the remaining becomes difficult. Similarly, score improvement becomes harder after a point. But once I broke that barrier and reached 140, that became my turning point. After that, my score started improving gradually 140 to 145, then 150, then 155, and so on.

Q7. How many mock tests did you attempt overall?

Answer: I attempted around 150 mock tests before SSC CGL Prelims. I started giving mocks from April and continued daily until the exam. Initially, I gave model mocks, and later I also attempted mocks based on updated patterns. When the pattern changed, my score dropped again, but that also helped me adjust to the new type of questions.

Q8. Many students skip mock analysis. What would you say to them?

Answer: I would say that skipping mock analysis is like ignoring a disease without treatment. If there is a problem in your body and you don’t treat it, it will only get worse. Similarly, if you keep giving mocks without analyzing them, you will keep repeating the same mistakes. Your score will remain stuck. I have personally seen many students who study for a long time but don’t improve because they don’t analyze their mocks properly. Without analysis, improvement is very difficult.

Q9. How did you decide between topic-wise tests and full-length mocks?

Answer: During the learning phase, when you are watching lectures and completing chapters, you should focus on topic-wise tests. These help you strengthen individual chapters. Once you have revised your syllabus two or three times and covered around 60–70%, you should start giving full-length mocks. This is the optimal stage to shift towards exam-level practice.

Q10. What was the toughest phase in your preparation, and how did you overcome it?

Answer: The toughest phase was when my score was stuck, and I had to study the same topics repeatedly. It felt boring and frustrating. But at that time, I remembered a line by Virat Kohli that says, “You have to be boring to become successful.” I followed that principle and kept revising the same things again and again. That consistency helped me overcome that phase.

Q11. What were your strong and weak areas, and how did you work on them?

Answer: Since I come from a science background, my logical ability was strong, so Maths and Reasoning were my strengths. However, GK was my weak area because it requires a lot of memorization. To improve GK, I focused on limited resources, solved previous year questions, and revised them multiple times. Over time, GK became one of the main contributors to my overall score.

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Q12. Did you follow a fixed study schedule?

Answer: No, I did not follow a fixed hourly schedule. Instead, I focused on completing targets. I divided my time subject-wise and decided every morning how much time to give to each subject. Some days required more time, some less. I believe flexibility works better than a rigid schedule.

Q13. Did you make any mistakes during your preparation?

Answer: Yes, one major mistake I made was taking a one-month break from mocks after my RRB NTPC exam. I became slightly relaxed thinking I had performed well. But when I appeared for SSC CGL Mains, I felt the impact of that gap. I panicked during the Maths section and made many silly mistakes. That experience taught me the importance of consistency.

Q14. How did you handle stress during the exam?

Answer: During the exam, I initially performed well in Reasoning, but when I got stuck in Maths, I panicked. This led to several silly mistakes. At that moment, I used a technique called box breathing inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale for 4 seconds. This helped calm my mind. After that, I moved to the next section and performed well in English and GK. My English score was 135, GK was 60 out of 75, and I got full marks in Reasoning.

Q15. What are your last-minute revision tips for aspirants?

Answer: Last-minute revision is only effective if you have prepared properly in advance. During preparation, you should maintain short notes, especially for Maths concepts. In the last few days before the exam, it is not possible to solve everything again, so these notes become very useful. For GK, instead of making detailed notes, it is better to focus on important topics through previous year question analysis. Also, revision should be done multiple times before the exam, not just at the end.

Q16. What is your final advice for SSC CGL and RRB NTPC aspirants?

Answer: I would say that you should minimize distractions as much as possible because more distractions mean more effort is required later. Focus on revising multiple times and make mock tests and their analysis a regular part of your preparation. I can confidently say that without mock analysis, selection becomes very difficult. So keep your preparation simple revise, practice, analyze, and stay consistent.