Varun Ranjan had cleared the India’s toughest examination by clinching All India Rank 38 in UPSC Civil Services Exam 2013 and has brought laurels to his family. He got Married to Nancy Sahay IAS.

Varun Ranjan is a proud Indian Civil Servant committed towards inclusive and speedy development of India. An Engineering & MBA graduate having an excellent Mathematical and Analytical Skills. He holds deep knowledge and interest in Public Policy, Strategy, Technology, Policy Development and Risk Management.

Marks Obtained

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Test Scores of Varun Ranjan

In Common Admission Test (CAT) he scored 99.24 percentile and 99.5 percentile each in Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation Section.

In FMS Entrance Examination he scored 99.67 percentile in 2010.

In AIEEE (All India Engineering Entrance Examination) he scored All India Rank of 3702 ( among more than 4 lakh candidates) and State Rank of 137 in 2004.

Educational Background

Varun completed his higher secondary schooling with English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science and Sanskrit in 2002 from DAV Kapil Dev Public School, Ranchi. He secured 3rd Rank in Ranchi District in Class 10th Board Examination. He is also a Gold Medalist at State Mathematics Olympiad. He achieved AIR – 94 at National Science Talent Search Examination (NSTSE).

Varun Ranjan finished his senior secondary schooling with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English and Computer Science in 2004 from DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali. He secured AIR – 22 at National Science Olympiad
Selected for prestigious CPYLS ( Youth Leadership in Science), organized by CSIR and was awarded Pratibha Samman for outstanding academic achievment.

Varun completed did his B Tech in Electronics and Communication from Birla Institute of Technology in 2008. He was awarded Institute Scholarship for consecutive 5 semesters among the top 100 Indian Coders at ACM UVa Programming Contest Site.

Varun also did MBA from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi in 2013.

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Experience

Varun Ranjan was an Application Developer at Oracle Corporation for 3 years. He Developed Enterprise Business Solutions for Oracle’s Fusion Financials product,and a next generation ERP Suite with revenue upwards of USD 1 Bn.

He was Awarded fast track promotion within a year, for professional excellence in part of recruitment team. In Oracle he was given the responsibility of interviewing new candidates for recruitment.

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Neha Kumari made Jamshedpur proud by securing an All India Rank 26 in the 2014 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination.

Neha said “she would certainly opt for Jharkhand and like to work for improving the health sector as she is particularly disturbed at the levels of malnutrition in her home state”.

Marks Obtained by Neha Kumari

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Family Background

Neha Kumari was born and brought up in Jamshedpur. She is a daughter of Sunil Kumar Dubey, employee of Tata Motors. Her mother Usha Devi is a homemaker. She owe her success to her parents, school faculties and her friends, who always supported her and encouraged her to go for Civil Services qualifying examination

Educational Background

Neha Kumari is an alumnus of Vidya Bharati Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Jamshedpur. She did engineering in BE (electrical) from BIT Mesra and was recruited in Tata Steel. She quit her job with Tata Steel (senior manager) in 2014. After quitting the job she joined an IAS preparatory institute in Bangalore in early 2014 as she always wanted to become an IAS officer. Along with educational qualification, you need to have a cool mind, which can demonstrate extreme patience in challenging times.

Optional Paper

Neha Kumari opted for Anthropology as her optional subject. Neha’s Mains marks is among Top Ten scores in 2014 exam.

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Attempt

Neha Kumari quited her job to prepare for the prestigious exam and she cracked it in her first attempt. In her very first attempt, she has secured All India Rank – 26 in 2014 Civil Services Examination. She is an example to prove that anyone who works hard consistently by following a right strategy, would succeed no matter what comes in their way.

Preparation Strategy

From the Day – 1 to till Mains Exam – 2014, Neha Kumari worked very hard. She revised what she read. She followed a single strategy – read and write relentlessly what’s relevant for the exam. It was during the course of her preparations for the IAS exam at the institute that she realized being academically sound is not enough to achieve success in the tough competitive exam such as UPSC. Neha Kumari says, “You can succeed if you have faith in you abilities and in a strategy that you choose to follow”.

Tips for Young Aspirants

• Just believe in yourself and be consistent.
• Take daily at least 1 hour of answer writing practice to improve your presentation skills, answer structure, speed and time management, finally to maximise their marks.
• With strong will power and right desire you can succeed in this exam.
• Follow one strategy that works for you.

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Umme Fardina Adil, the first muslim girl created history very silently by achieving what others could not do in 66 years after the Independence. She cracked India’s most coveted Civil Services examination what female members of her Muslim community in the Northeast state could not do by obtaining 319th rank.

Umme Fardina Adil says, “It took 66 years of independence to produce a Muslim woman civil servant from Assam which is a very unfortunate scenario, it is not because of facilities are absent but it is due to lack of awareness”. She also realizes participation of Muslim women in public services is much lower than tribal and dalit women.

Umme Fardina Adil wants every Muslim woman to “believe strongly in their abilities and capabilities” and join every field to chase their dream. And if they do so, sure the entire scene will change. It can be improved if every woman is given equal opportunity from her very childhood like any other man. There is no difference between a man and woman in their mental ability. Along with fulfilling duties as a daughter, sister, wife and mother, a woman should also think about herself as an individual.

Mahbubul Hoque, Chairman of the Education Research and Development (ERD) Foundation, the largest educational network in northeastern region, honoured Fardina by words in a function organised at Regional College of Higher Education (RCHE) in the city, “Assam gave the only President of India from the North East – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Assam also gave the first and only Muslim woman Chief Minister of the country – Anwara Timur. But it took Assam 66 years to produce the first Muslim woman Civil Servant – Umme Fardina Adil.”

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Marks Obtained

Educational Background

Umme Fardina Adil belongs to a resident of Hatigaon in Guwahati. She was born and brought up in Guwahati. She did her 10th from Disney Land High School, Khanapara, and 12th from Cotton College. Then she did her engineering in Computer Science from Mody Institute of Technology and Science, Rajasthan. After that she joined Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. Currently associated with Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. as a senior programmer Fardina is also working on a project ‘Low Cost Sanitation Technologies’. She said she would attempt the civil service exam again to improve her rank. Since her rank is 319 this time, she will not get IAS but will definitely try for this in future.

Attempts by Umme Fardina Adil

Umme Fardina Adil was obviously very glad to clear the Civil Services Exam at the very first attempt itself. It means a lot to her as it was her childhood dream.

Also Read: Topper’s Story – Patna Girl Neha Prakash, IAS

Preparation Strategy

Umme Fardina Adil cracked UPSC Exam with about 8 months of preparation putting in about six hours every day. She depended on newspapers and Wikipedia for gathering knowledge about new topics and never referred to any guide books. Allah’s blessings and her parents’ prayers are the main force that helped to get her goal. Her parents have been very kind to her and never let her face any problem and encouraged me throughout to be here at this position. Also there are great contributions of my friends during my preparation.

Dream Goal

Umme Fardina Adil mentioned that she wanted to be an Indian Administrative Officer so that she can work for the society with efficient utilization of the resources of the Government. Moreover, she have a dream to see India free of open defecation. For this, she have already started working by doing research in “Low Cost Sanitation Technologies”.

Umme Fardina Adil says the increasing atrocities on women upset her. At times religions are misused to hinder women’s advancement, especially when social evils such as female infanticide and child marriage take place. But no such discrimination is entertained any religion. So we should follow the true teachings of our religion and allow our children to go ahead in life without discriminating their gender.

Advice for Young Aspirants

• Strong determination, right motive and hard work are the mantra to be successful in this exam or in any other test.
• Develop a politically neutral view and showing an aptitude for analytical dissection of the subject in question to be socially committed, stressing that this attitude would see them through in any interview.

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Aboli Naravane stood first in the state of Maharashtra by scoring All India Rank 78th in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Exam at the age of 25. This was her dream which came true only because of her hard work, although she have a lot more to achieve. Her wish is to become the IRB Governor.

Aboli Naravane says, “her ultimate aim is to work on women empowerment projects and also want to focus on the education system and encourage students to join the civil services. This is a good career option for girls, and there are many who have done great service to the nation by joining IAS. She want to fulfill her dream of doing her duty as a citizen of India”.

Marks Obtained

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Family Background

Aboli Naravane belongs to Pune, Maharashtra. Her father Sunil Naravane is a retired officer from the Merchant Navy and her mother Meenal Naravane is a director of Yashwantrao Chavan Academy for Development Administration (YASADA). Her sister Neha Kulkarni runs a travel agency. Her maternal uncle Rajiv Ranade is an IRS officer.

Educational Background

Aboli Naravane ia an alumnus of Vimlabai Garware Prashala. Aboli has completed her Masters in Economics from Fergusson College, Pune. She enjoyed college life to the fullest, and being a trained Kathak dancer, she participated in the Firodia Trophy Intercollegiate Competitions in each of her college years. When she got bored of studying, she used to watch Sachin Tendulkar’s best innings and also read his biography again and again.

Attempts by Aboli Naravane

Aboli Naravane cracked the UPSC Exam in her third attempt. She hadn’t even managed to clear the UPSC Preliminary Exam in 2013 but stood at 78th rank across India and the first in the state. Aboli did not lose hope and attempted to go for the exams again by devoting as many as 13 hours a day. She pushed herself to the maximum limits and earned herself a 165 Rank and a posting in Indian Revenue Service in her second attempt and was undergoing training for the same before the results were declared.

Aboli Naravane took it up, but kept trying as becoming an IAS officer was her dream since childhood. Besides, she thought, she had nothing to lose as she was already a civil servant. She says that cracking the UPSC in her third attempt was relatively easier as she had a good grip on the syllabus and her aim was to improve the quality of her answers.

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Preparation Strategy

Aboli Naravane said she never subscribed to the misconception that one has to start studying for the IAS exams from Standard 10. Her mother always told her that hardwork can be substituted for intelligence, but intelligence cannot make up for hardwork. She made it her life’s mantra and dedicated 12-13 hours a day towards her preparation. When she didn’t clear the exam the first time, it was a huge shock for her. But she didn’t give up.

Inspiration

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s life and career became a source of inspiration for Aboli Naravane. She is inspired as how he managed to silence people when they asked him to retire, battling his injuries and the phenomenal success he had, She wish to be able to retire as gracefully as he did. She also believes in Mahatma Gandhi’s teaching on decision making that any decision taken should be for the good of common people.

Advice for Younger Aspirants

• Believe in hardwork and it pays.
• Finishing the paper should be the first priority.
• UPSC Board basically want to know is if your concepts are clear. Keep the language simple and show sensitivity towards the subject.
• It is not compulsory to start the preparation from college days, but one can achieve success with the later preparation also.

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