THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The civil services exams are regarded one of the most difficult tests to crack. With students across the country toiling hard to earn themselves a spot in the prestigious all India rank list, Express speaks to some of the youngsters who made a mark in the UPSC Civil Services exam 2018.
Anjali S, who stood second in Kerala with All India Rank 26, says that she juggled her exam preparations with her job. An NIT-Calicut alumna, she managed to ace the test in her third attempt. She says that the last four months leading to the main exam were spent in fervent preparations. It was only after she cleared the prelims examinations that she enlisted the help of a coaching institute.
It was after her long stint in Germany as a research associate at the University of Bonn that Sameera S decided to attempt civil service. Clinching the 28 rank, Sameera says: “ The desire to join civil services was always at the back of mymind. My stint at a civil service academy at Pala helped me crack the exams in my second attempt.” A masters graduate from IIT- Dhanbad, Sameera hails from Muttampalam, Kottayam.
Bagging the 58th rank, Hari Kallikat who achieved this feat in his fourth attempt said that his parents and teachers from his civil service training academy kept him motivated to keep at it. Hari, a
BTech graduate hailing from Thrissur, used to give lectures in various civil service academies in Trivandrum to financially support his quest. He says teaching also helped him immensely in his own preparations.
Ramit Chennithala, an engineering graduate who topped the list of achievers from Thiruvananthapuram says that it was his dream to join the civil services. “My dream is to become an IAS officer in Kerala,” says Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala’s son who has bagged the 210th rank.
“I feel that politics and civil service are two sides of the same coin. They do the same job of developing the country. I think civil service is much tougher and it offers a great opportunity as well. It is a direct leap to leadership position compared to politics and that itself is a great boost,” says the youngster on choosing the bureaucratic path.
He admitted that he received several pointers from his father whilst preparing for the interview.
“He used to enquire about my preparations on a daily basis and his support helped a great deal. In fact, my father’s contribution helped during my preparation for the interview,” he added. Although there are a plethora of issues that Ramit feels needs to be addressed in the society, one issue that he is highly sensitive about is women empowerment.
“Women have always been sidelined from the major walks of life. Even statistics prove that. It is the same in politics as well. That is always a sensitive issue for me and I have always wanted to work for them in my own way,” said Ramit.
This was his third attempt at the Civil Services exam. The youngster feels that the rank need not fetch the prestigious post of IAS. In that case, he would consider writing the exam again, he said.
State Topper
Shikha Surendran from Ernakulam became the Kerala topper. The 24-year-old won the rank in her second attempt. She is also placed 16th at the all India level. Shikha, who did her BTech in civil engineering at Mar Athanasius College in Kothamangalam, had failed to clear her prelims in the first attempt.