Ms. Stuti Charan, a Bank Probationary Officer, has done her B.Sc. in Biotechnology and holds an MBA in Marketing and HR. She hails from Bhilwara, Rajasthan. She has secured 3rd Position in the overall list of successful candidates in the Civil Services Examination 2012-13. She succeeded in cracking the CSE in her third attempt with Botany and Agriculture as her Optional subjects. She gives credit for her scintillating success to her constant efforts and blessings of her family members. According to her, one should dedicate one’s time to the preparation with single-minded approach and put in as much effort as possible by remaining vigilant about the latest developments in all the areas of human activity.
Here, we are re-publishing an old interview which she gave after getting selected for services.
Q. Congratulations! Ms. Stuti Charan for your 3rd Position in the Civil Services Examination 2012-13. What is the secret of your success in this examination?
Stuti Charan: Constant efforts and blessings of my family.
Q. How much time do you think one requires for serious preparations for this examination?
A. As much you can give according to your capacity. Be vigilant about the latest developments.
Q. Which newspapers and journals have you been reading for the General Studies and other papers?
A. Apart from Year Book, I read The Hindu, The Times of India, Yojana, Kurukshetra etc.
Q. Do you remember any remarkable incident of your life that motivated or prompted you to go for a career in the Civil Services?
A. Everything inspired me that was important for nation-building, and motivated me.
Q. How did your parents, family and friends contribute to your success ?
A. They were extremely supportive with their caring effort, helped recover from failures. They told me, “Success is sweet after hardships.”
Q. Had you not been selected in the Civil Services Examination, what would have been your reaction ? Which other service/career would you have gone in/opted for ?
A. I am a fighter and I would have prepared again. Right now, I am in Banking Sector, so I could have continued with it.
Q. How do you visualise your success ?
A. Very beautiful after years of darkness; it is refreshing and now my focus will be performing my duty.
Q. What are your strong points which enabled you to achieve spectacular success in the Civil Services Examination ?
A. Determination, focussed approach, vigilance over latest happenings.
Q. What were your Optionals at the Civil Services Examination ?
A. (1) Botany; (2) Agriculture.
Q. How many attempts had you made earlier before you got selected ?
A. I had made two attempts and cracked it in my 3rd attempt.
Q. What was your criterion for the selection of the Optional subjects ?
A. Natural interest in the subjects and development aspects of agriculture was a major reason.
Q. How did you prepare for your compulsory papers ?
A. Keep continuous update; for Language and Essay papers, general facts and knowledge accumulation was helpful. For G.K., magazines, newspapers and the Internet are a must.
Q. What is your impression about the Interview Board ?
A. Very good. They were extremely cordial.
Q. What do you think is a better way of preparation between selective intensive study and wide extensive study ?
A. It is an age of smart knowledge and hard work. Extensive study is by default in course of preparation.
Q. Is this pattern of the examination appropriate for selection ? Would you recommend any other improvement ?
A. Every pattern is appropriate and if new addition for overall personality check of an officer is asked, it is good.
Q. Do you feel that there should be no restriction on the number of attempts ?
A. Everyone deserves a chance. The tougher is competition, the real flavour of timed success is enjoyed.
Q. To what extent, you think, model test papers can be useful for the aspirants of the Civil Services ?
A. Practice is important.
Q. Do you think that the UPSC needs to be more transparent in its examination and evaluation ?
A. It is one of the finest examinations and has very transparent checking.
Q. What is your advice to the future aspirants ?
A. Be confident. Hard work pays at last.
Thank you. We wish you all the best in life.
About her:
□ Name: Stuti Charan
□ Educational Qualification: B. Sc. Biotechnology, MBA (HR, Marketing)
□ School: Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (Hurda), Bhilwara
□ College: Lachoo Memorial College of Science and Technology, Jodhpur
□ Any Award, Gold Medals and Scholarship Won: Silver Medal in Athletics, Merit Award in MBA
□ Earlier Selection: IBPS Selection 2011
□ Experience: Worked as PO in UCO Bank
Preparation Plan
A big goal is full of struggle. If you have decided to achieve, then stay strong even in your failures. I followed my inner will and kept motivating myself. I knew that I have it in me and finally got through after so many failures.
Confidence and persistence are important. People remember what you achieve and not what you promised to achieve.
Read inspirational matter; listen to the successful as well as to the unsuccessful people so thatyou can differentiate between them and decide what to do further.
For General Knowledge, go for the Internet, educational websites,
newspapers—The Hindu, The Times of India, Journals for Optionals. Don’t read too many books, if it is difficult to manage content. *
Be smart in study contents; choose as per your capacitv; don’t go for other people’s choice. It is you who know better what is right. CSS
Personality Test
I was happy to hear and started preparing to brush up latest affairs. I kept reading newspapers and editorials. The day of my interview, which was in afternoon session, was the day when Rajasthan got its refinery for petroleum products.
I was dressed in yellow salwar-suit. The environment was very good. Had interaction with many officers. The Board was cordial.
I was asked questions regarding Rajasthan industries, Sati issue and gwar gum’s recent role in petro products besides international issues such as China, Palestine and Tunisia revolution. The first question was why Kota is famous. I wished them before and after the Interview, leaving with folded hands and wished them a good evening.