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Neha Kumari IAS – Rank 26 in Civil Services Exam 2014

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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

 Total Marks  Marks Obtained
Total (Written)  1750 827
 Interview 275  157
 Total  2025  984 (48.59%)

Must Read: Toppers Story – Ranchi Girl Nancy Sahay, IAS

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.

Read Also: IAS Toppers — Ms. Rukmani Riar

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.

Don’t Miss: Stuti Charan, IAS Topper 2012-13 (3rd Position) IAS Toppers 2012-13 Talk To You

Medha Roopam IAS Topper, Rank 10 of 2013

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medha roopam ias

Medha Roopam had cleared the India’s toughest examination by clinching All India Rank tenth in UPSC Civil Services Exam 2013 and has brought laurels to her family. She said, “She never wanted to become anything other than an IAS officer, with the sole intention of serving the country”.

Marks Obtained

 Total Marks  Marks Obtained
Total (Written)  1750 707
 Interview 275  196
 Total  2025  903 (44.59%)

Family Background

Medha’s father Gyanesh Kumar is a Civil Servant and is currently posted in Delhi from Kerala cadre. Her mother Anuradha Kumar is a house maker. She has one sister Abhisri. Meedha married to Manish Bansal, IAS, 2014 batch UP cadre.

Must Read: UPSC Board Interview of Sakshi Sawhney IAS, Rank-6

Educational Background

Medha Roopam studied in Naval Public School, Ernakulam, Kerala till Class VIII, while her father was posted there as District Collector. She completed her Class XII from St. Thomas School in Thiruvananthapuram and then moved to Delhi with her family for her undergraduate studies. She is an Economics Graduate from St. Stephens College, Delhi.

Optional Paper

Medha Roopam opted for Psychology as her optional subject as she had liking for this subject.

Attempts by Medha Roopam

Medha has accomplished her long cherished goal in her second attempt and has secured 10 rank in Civil Services Examination 2013.

Her father was a source of inspiration for her and all the time whole family supported her.

Also Read: Krittika Jyotsna IAS – Tops UPSC in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

Success Strategy

It is the step-by-step process that she adopted as there are no structured guidelines. She says, “everyone needs to adapt their own strategy for preparation”. She adapted new ideas and probably that has been one of the significant contributors in her success and by following this strategy she achieved her goal.

Tips for the Young Future Aspirants

  • Be focused and work hard to achieve it.
  • Its a long process and you never know what happens next.
  • Passion and experience from previous attempts assert success.
  • Work towards your goal from the beginning.
  • Syllabus is comprehensive as well as explicitly defined so, you don’t need to get confused.

She shares a advice for the aspirants,

For development of country, youth has to play a vital role hence; nothing can get you the exposure like ‘Civil Services’.

Don’t Miss: Toppers Story – Ranchi Girl Nancy Sahay, IAS

Umme Fardina Adil – First Muslim Woman Civil Servant from Assam

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umme fardina adil IAS

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.”

Must Read: Meet IAS Neha Jain and Read Her Answers to UPSC Board

Marks Obtained

 Total Marks  Marks Obtained
Total (Written)  2000 757
 Interview 300  210
 Total  2300  967 (42.04%)

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.

Don’t Miss: Bhawna Garg IAS Topper of 1999

Aboli Naravane IAS Tops in Maharashtra

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aboli naravane IAS

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

 Total Marks  Marks Obtained
Total (Written)  1750 625
 Interview 275  201
 Total  2025  826 (40.79%)

Must Read: Amrutesh Aurangabadkar IAS – Topper in Maharashtra

 

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.

Read Also: UPSC Board Interview of Sakshi Sawhney IAS, Rank-6

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.

Don’t Miss: Sweta Mohanty, IAS Topper Rank 2 of 2011

UPSC Board Interview of Sakshi Sawhney IAS, Rank-6

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sakshi sawhney ias

Sakshi Sawhney secured All India Rank 6 in Civil Services Examination and has shown true fighting spirit for achieving her goal. Opting to join IAS over the IFS, Sakshi says that the Administrative Service offers a more diverse range of opportunities that are field-based.

Sakshi shared a advice saying that “If you go into the interview room as an IAS officer, you will come out as one.”

Marks Obtained

 Total Marks  Marks Obtained
Total (Written)  1750 695
 Interview 275  217
 Total  2025  912 (45.04%)

Must Read: Iqbal Dhaliwal IAS – A Dream that Nourished After 24 Years

Family Background

Sakshi belongs to a family with a service background. She is a daughter of an Indian Revenue Services official and her mother is the Principal of a school that caters to the underprivileged children i.e. work as a NGO named ‘Deepalya’. And her sister is a Banker.

Educational Background

Sakshi Sawhney got graduated in BA LLB in 2012 from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and was amongst the toppers of her batch with 8 gold medals.

Optional Paper

Sakshi opted for Law as her optional paper. Because while studying law she realized that she wanted to use her education for a purpose greater than her own self. That is why she first entertained the idea of joining the Civil Services.

Don’t Miss: Suharsha Bhagat IAS, Rank 5 in Civil Services Exam 2015

Attempt by Sakshi Sawhney

Sakshi Sawhney made her first attempt in fourth year and decided to write the Civil Services Examination in 2012. She has missed selection due to very low marks in Essay Paper.

In second attempt, she got some encouragement from result of Gitanjali Brandon (AIR 6; CSE 2011) who also achieved success in her second attempt with Law as one of the optional subject and spotted another similarity that she too could not score good marks in her Essay paper in her first attempt.

Success Strategy

Gitanjali Brandon’s story acted as emotional and psychological comfort. She also had confidence in her abilities and her sustained efforts helped her replicate the result and achieved 6th rank. Persistence, determination, revision and a positive attitude played a key role all through her preparation.

Swati Sawhney says, “same optional subject Law, success in second attempt, same rank in merit­list…we can call it
coincidence or luck, but, her way to IAS has some resemblance to Gitanjali’s outcome”.

Tips to future Aspirants

  • Read the newspaper thoroughly keeping the syllabus in mind and maintain separate notebooks for the notes from the newspapers. Also maintain a glossary page. It will be useful if you do this for every subject.
  • Keep yourself motivated through this long journey.
  • Try not to focus on the outcome as much as on your work but be positive.
  • Constant revision rather than last minute revision will be more beneficial.

Also Read: Sweta Mohanty, IAS Topper Rank 2 of 2011

UPSC Board Interview of Sakshi Sawhney

Sakshi Sawhney: Ma’am may I come in.
Chairperson: Yes. Please do.

Sakshi Sawhney: Good morning Ma’am, sirs (with a big smile). May I take a seat?
Chairperson: Yes. Please be seated.

Chairperson: Is this you (showing photo)? Tell me your roll number.
Sakshi: Answered

Chairperson: Name members of the Cat family?
Sakshi: Cat family? Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Panther, Cat itself. Ma’am, I can’t recall any more.

Chairperson: Come on. There are many more. Sounds like a car, shoes?
Sakshi: Oh sorry Ma’am. Jaguar, Puma.

Chairperson: You are forgetting Cheetah, the poor fellow.
Sakshi: Right Ma’am. Cheetah as well.

Chairperson: What book have you read last? Tell me about it.
Sakshi: Ma’am the last book I read was ‘Khaled Hosseni’s and the Mountains Echoed’.

Chairperson: Okay.

Member 1: Can you tell us the Latin Maxim for no man can be a judge in his own cause?
Sakshi: Answered.

Member 1: How did you choose law?
Sakshi: Sir I used to read a lot of books where young lawyers armed with a sense of justice and fairness were able to take on seemingly undefeatable perpetrators of injustice. I also noticed how many persons in public life had in fact been lawyers. I realized it would help me empower myself and through me others and therefore I chose law.

Member 1: What books did you read? Perry Mason.
Sakshi: No sir, (Member 1 said I thought you were a reading enthusiast). I read John Grisham and Jeffery Archer.

Must Read: UPSC Topper Interview – Alok Ranjan Jha, Rank 1 Civil Services

Member 1: Tell me as a lawyer and not as a woman, how do you see the justice system operating with respect to women?
Sakshi: Sir, there are two things. First, law does not have to be emotional but has to be sensitive to women and thus many changes are being introduced to make justice more accessible to women. For example, women do not go through the same victimization while giving their testimony. Secondly, however, Courts have at times taken decisions that may not be in the spirit of the law, for example – The Shakti Mills death sentence.

Member 1: But then are there no ethics in law? 
Sakshi: Sir, certainly there are. But law cannot be emotional. Ethics automatically mean fairness and justice and not emotions. Sensitivity of course is good.

Member 2: You have been an editor of a magazine, what articles have you published recently. Or else what interesting articles from the field of IPR will you recommend to the board?
Sakshi: Sir, I held the position of editor while I was in University so I have not published anything of late. However, there have been many interesting articles appearing in the newspaper with respect to India’s patent regime and how it is a friction point for Indo- US relations.

Member 3: How many years is patent given for? What is patent?
Sakshi: Answered.

Member 3: What is this special status of J&K?
Sakshi: Answered.

Member 3: From legal view point do you believe this has helped Kashmir?
Sakshi: Certainly sir, first of all it is the link between the Accession Terms and the Constitution of India. Secondly, it has given more autonomy to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and they have their own Constitution, Criminal Code, etc. this has kept the unique position of J&K in mind.

Member 3: Okay. Have you heard of Women’s Representation Bill. Are you in its favour?
Sakshi: Yes sir. I am certainly in favour of reservation for women in Parliament considering we have amongst the lowest number of women in the Parliament.

Member 3: Yes. So, why has it not been passed?
Sakshi: Sir, I believe there are differences of opinion with the provisions of the Act. I understand there are concerns with respect to the rotation of constituency. But there are many solutions, for example – Dual Member Constituency. The Bill should at least be debated.

Member 3: Do you think in the near future this is possible?
Sakshi: Yes sir, I am very hopeful and optimistic. As a woman voter I have voted keeping this issue in mind. Women have even sent a ‘womanifesto’ which included this as an essential requirement of all political parties and a widespread consensus was seen. SO I am very optimistic.

Don’t Miss: UPSC Board Interview of IAS Topper Shubhra Saxena

Member 4: ‘Law is an Ass’, what does it mean?
Sakshi: Sir, Charles Dickens had written that Law is an Ass if it does not operate on the basis of ground reality but rather creates its own legal fiction. If law does this, then it is not being sensitive to what actually exists and may not be a sensible proposition. However, sir I feel we can even look at it in the positive sense that law is an ass because law works hard to keep up with society just like an ass works very hard (Laughter from all).

Member 4: You have done many treks. Can you describe your last trek?
Sakshi: Yes sir, we went on a family trek to Snow View Peak in Nainital last February. It’s called Snow view but even that doesn’t prepare you for the gorgeous sight that appears before you. It was about 3- 4 Kms of a relatively easy trek and thereafter a slightly hard but rewarding climb. Once you reached the top of the peak you could see a vista of beautiful snow clad mountains. It was stunning (Everyone nodding etc).

Member 4: Today a Court decision comes, tomorrow another bench decides something else. So, where is the law?
Sakshi: Sir, precedent is indeed very important. But sometimes if it is blindly followed then it can lead to injustice. For example, there was a case called Mathura rape case wherein Supreme Court gave benefit of immunity to a police officer who had raped a young girl because he was under employment at the time of the incident and Government servants were said to enjoy immunity from prosecution when working in their official capacity. However, sir, this decision was not followed as precedent as it would have led to grave injustice.

At the same time sir I do believe that the Supreme Court specially should strictly follow the rule that only Constitutional benches (5 judge bench and above) can hear questions of public importance, rather than the current practice wherein even 2 judge benches are deciding issues. This will lead to the doctrine of precedent being followed even in the lower Courts.

Member 4: Is retrospective law a good thing?
Sakshi: Sir, it depends. For instance criminal law should not be retrospectively applied but it can be done in civil law. Even in civil law however, for instances such as taxation if applied retrospectively it may not be correct if it greatly prejudices the tax planning. Thereafter there was a discussion between me and M4 on the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance; the Vodafone case and finally Chairperson stepped in and said okay thank you.

Sakshi Sawhney: Ma’am, is the interview over?
Chairperson: Yes you can go before this debate continues endlessly (everyone was laughing- maybe Member 4 was a tax expert).

Sakshi Sawhney: Right Ma’am, thank you Ma’am and thank you sirs.

Also Read: Read UPSC Board Interview of Abhiram G Sankar IAS, Rank-4