CHENNAI: While the entire nation was shuddered by the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, B Sivachandran’s eyes were fixed on the NSG commandos tasked with the rescue operations. Glued to the television set, on that day, this teenager made up his mind to join the police service and serve the nation. On Tuesday, when the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE, 2024) results came out, Sivachandran kept the promise he had made to himself, securing All Indian Rank 23 and emerging the state topper.
“I still remember NSG commandos landing on the terrace from helicopters to carry out rescue operations. At that moment, I decided to become part of some security agency. That incident in a way shaped my career,” said 28-year-old Sivachandran, who has opted for the Indian Police Service (IPS) instead of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), despite securing AIR 23.
What makes Sivachandran’s victory more inspiring is that he managed to crack the most coveted and one of the most complex examinations in the country, without any commercial coaching. It took him five attempts to secure the rank, but that did not deter him from opting for self preparation. Moreover, he is the first candidate under Naan Mudhalvan to achieve the feat in the state.
A qualified chartered accountant by profession, Sivachandran, was against the concept of spending lakhs of rupees at coaching centres for his CSE preparation, from the very beginning. “It is a myth that you can’t clear civil services without coaching. You just need to be determined and sincere in your efforts,” he told TNIE. In all these years of preparation, he only attended mock tests conducted by various coaching centres.
In 2024, Sivachandran was selected for the state government’s Naan Mudhalvan scheme, which provides residential coaching facility for civil services aspirants and financial assistance.” The guidance I got from experts at the Naan Mudhalvan coaching helped me immensely. The scheme is a boon for underprivileged students in the state,” said Sivachandran, who initially studied for 11-12 hours a day, and gradually reduced it to 6-7 hours.
Stressing that aspirants should prioritise their mental health during preparation, Sivachandran opined, “This exam is very uncertain. Many a time, you don’t get the rank or scores that you expect. Sometimes, your peers get qualified and you won’t. Despite this, you need to keep your mind sane.”