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3 Civils toppers say: "Only sincerity, hardwork pays"

Updated: 09 May 2014 by: Team Careers

Sweta Mohanty
Dr. RV Varun Kumar

Divyadharshini Shanmugam

In her rst attempt, the 24- 27-year old Sweta was A dentist from Ragas
year-old-law graduate from born and brought up in Dental College Chennai and
Chennai, could not clear the Hyderabad where her an avid follower of world
Civil Services Preliminary father PK Mohanty, an cinema, Varun achieved his
but in her second attempt Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS aim to qualify the Civil
she emerged as the rst ofcer, was posted. Her Services Examination in his
ranker. Daughter of V mother, D Mohanty is a third attempt. His passion
Shanmugam, a customs School Principal. A B.Tech to join the Indian Police
consultant and homemaker graduate from JNTU, Services saw him attaining
S. Padmavathy, Hyderabad, Sweta rst 67th rank in Central Police
Divyadharshini was working cleared the Civil Services Force Exam in 2008 and
at the State Bank of India in 2007 and made it to the also made him opt for the
for the past six months. Indian Customs and Indian Police Services as
Securing First division Central Excise Service. his rst choice. His father
throughout her academic Currently posted in Siliguri Dr. R Veerasekaran is a
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career, Divyadharshini as Assistant professor in Economics
 couldnt believe her luck Commissioner, Central and mother Smt. RV
when she was told that she Excise, Sweta is married to Kalpana is a homemaker
was number 1 Rajat Saini, an IAS ofcer

Q. Who gave the good news of your success?

DS: I was in ofce when the results were declared. A friend informed me of the same. It
came as a shock! At rst I did not believe but later conrmed it through my brother. It
took a while to realise, it was not a dream.
SM: My husband called me up to tell me the results. I was in ofce and needless to say,
completely thrilled.
VK: Nobody told it to me. I checked it myself and felt very unhappy that I missed Rank
1. This was not the best result but I am still happy. As inspired by Sachin Tendulkar, I
will always do my best and be hungry to be a winner.

Don't miss: Read full interview with Divyadharshini

Q. Who is the inspiration behind your success?

DS: My inspiration has been my mentor Prabhakaran sir, my parents and my friends. All
have provided ample condence and motivation and placed belief in me to crack the
toughest exam in the country.
SM: My inspiration is my parents. As a child, I have seen my father who is a senior IAS
Ofcer of Andhra Pradesh cadre. I believe that this service gives you work satisfaction
that few other professions can give. My mother Debasmita Mohanty has been a
constant encouragement and has always believed in my ability, even when my morale
was down. They are a huge factor in my success today. If my husband and my mother
were not supportive enough I could not have got such a good rank. They helped a lot in
taking care of the baby even as I did my routine studies.
VK: I was inspired by a movie and a personality. The movie was Kakha Kakha and
personality is Sachin Tendulkar (not as cricketer alone, but his personality in general). It
is not a mistake to be inspired by a movie. The ultimate result should be to serve the
people.

Q. In how many attempts did you crack the Civil Services?

DS: This was my second attempt.
SM: This was my 3rd attempt. In my 2nd attempt I was selected for IRS.
VK: It was my third attempt

Q. How different was it in this attempt and how did you succeed?
DS: One year of consistent preparation made the difference between the two attempts.
In my very rst attempt I could not even clear the prelims of this exam, this was like an
alarm bell for me.
SM: In my second attempt, I had more clarity of the subjects; I was more thorough and
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understanding helped
me in analysing things. My husband who is an IAS Ofcer was also a big support as I
could have discussions with him and look at a problem from another perspective.
VK: For all practical purposes every attempt is different in its own way as knowledge is
always expanding. First attempt I could not clear because I read just for 3 months.
Second attempt I cleared prelims but did not write Mains exam because I did not want
to land up in 100s or 300s. I wanted to secure a single digit rank and hence gave my
heart and soul to CSE 2010.

Q. When did you realise the importance of civil services?

DS: When I was in college, I felt many things about the system of government. So, I
decided to be a part of this system and try to change it. Only Civil Services provides you
bigger and a different platform to serve the society.
SM: As my father Mr P.K Mohanty was an IAS ofcer so obviously his inuence on me
was immense. I belong to a family of bureaucrats so since childhood I realised the
importance of a Civil Servant.
VK: I cannot recall the exact moment now but I assure that it is a gradual process and
the realisation gets bigger and better as a candidate progresses from Prelims to Mains
to interview. The maturity also commensurately improves. I advise the candidates to
thoroughly enjoy the process of transformation.

Q. You must have read IAS Toppers interviews in newspapers/magazine, what

inspired you the most?
DS: Dedication, working on a good plan for studies, honesty and determination despite
the different kind of obstacles they faced. These are some of the qualities that inspired
me.
SM: I have read many interviews like every other candidate. Though I do not remember
any particular interview, one thing that stood out was that every candidate with
dedication and sincerity has a good enough chance. The exam is no doubt difcult, but
it is not impossible.
VK: Not many inspired me. I always felt toppers are not reaching to candidates with the
frame of mind they had before the results were declared. The time for change has
come and I think CSE 2010 candidates will communicate to the aspirants in a better
manner and inspire them. We can inspire the prospective aspirants by just speaking the
truth.

Q. What were your optional subjects and any specic reason to choose them?
DS: For Prelims it was Public Administration. I chose the optional paper due to easy
availability of books and study materials, availability of guidance and above all my
interest in the subject. For the Mains, I chose Public Administration and Law. I opted for
Law as it was my subject in graduation and felt comfortable with the syllabus.
SM: My optionals were Public Administration and Anthropology. Both subjects were
chosen because I had an interest in them and books/material was easily available. In
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my opinion it is very difcult to master a subject in which one has little interest. Once
you have an interest in the subject, the learning process becomes very enjoyable. That
was a major reason in choosing my optionals.
VK: Public administration and Sociology are my optionals. The logic behind choosing
them was my interest in these after perusing through the syllabus prepared by UPSC.

Q. What was your strategy for optionals, GS and Essay? How much time and effort did
you devote for each?
DS: For Optionals - I covered the full syllabus and prepared concrete points for each
topic and made it a point to revise before exam. Notes are really helpful during exam
time.
For GS-In addition to Prelims preparation, adding personal view and analysis of the
questions, helps a lot. I devoted equal time for both GS and for Optional papers.
For Essay- I think there is no need to specially prepare for essay. Preparing for general
studies helps in essay paper. Newspaper reading builds ideas which also help in essay.
SM: For Optionals- Cover the entire syllabi. Each topic must be thoroughly understood
and where possible , prepare some relevant examples/case studies (especially in
Public Administration). In Anthropology, It is important to link Paper 1 and Paper 2
which is helpful while answering questions. For optionals, the syllabus must be referred
to while preparing, to interlink topics.
For GS- Firstly, I would like to advise candidates not to get unnerved by the paper. Study
the Prelims syllabi; basic textbooks; newspapers; magazines. Internet is another
source for building knowledge.
For Essay- Have a broad idea of what the major issues are at the point of time.
Magazines such as Frontline; India Today; newspapers all help in building up a broad
base. Take time to think out the frame of the essay and ensure that there is no
deviation from the issue asked.
VK: For optional papers - I read too many sources (although I never tried completing
any book) and that helped me develop a holistic and comprehensive view about the
subject. Always keep syllabus as your guiding principle. Never ever deviate from the
syllabus. It is beautifully framed and can give a direction to the preparation. Note down
in your syllabus paper as to where you read which topic. That will save a lot of time
during revision. It is advisable to join some test series and practise writing in answer
sheets which are very similar to the answer sheets provided in UPSC exam. It will take
some time to get used to writing in such a small space. It will also help in keeping a
watch on the word count. Do not waste time in drawing diagrams or owcharts etc. I
never drew any of them. Candidates should focus on understanding the question
properly. Most of the candidates fail to understand the question properly and it results
in poor marks.
For GS - I refrain myself from giving any strategy for GS as my marks are extremely low
in GS. This clearly sends a message that my strategy is not so good for GS.
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I attended It was very
useful; not only for essay but for general answer writing. Use the strategy he gives you
in a tailor made manner. His style might not work for everybody but it can denitely help
us in rening our own style of writing.

Q. Did you take any coaching for preparation?

DS: Yes, I approached Prabhakaran sir, the Director of Prabhas IAS Academy for
guidance. It helped me a lot.
SM: Yes, I have taken guidance for preparation from Braintree Coaching Institute,
Hyderabad and Vajiram & Ravi, New Delhi for my earlier attempts. I joined Vajiram for
GS In the present attempt, because of various constraints, I could not take any
guidance.
VK: Yes. I attended coaching for Public Administration and Sociology. I also attended a
wonderful module for essay under the guidance of Mr. MR Abhilash. His classes were
very useful, not only for essay alone but for the whole examination.

Q. How was the interview? Can you recall any questions from the Board members?
DS: I was condent before I entered the interview room. The board members were very
cordial. They asked me some tricky questions but I faced them with honesty,
condence and to my satisfaction. There were 1 or 2 questions for which I did not know
the answer and told them the truth. I think honest attitude inside the room reects the
true character of an individual. I was frank with the board. The questions were based on
my prole, about RTI Act, Lokpal Bill, etc.
SM: My interview was quite good. I had Rajni Razdan Madams Board. The Chairperson
as well as other members were very cordial. Most questions were related to my service
experience. I also had a few questions on corruption.
VK: Interview is the easiest part of the examination and for me it was a beautiful
experience. You can deduce it from my marks, which was 234/300. The questions
were:

Is Anna Hazares demand implementable?

What are the problems you foresee if Anna Hazares requests are agreed to by the
government?

The image of the police is nefarious in the society. As a police ofcer how will you try
to change it?

Tell us the rank hierarchy of Indian Army

Who is the Japanese lm director who is world renowned for his style? Name two
movies which he directed.

What is judicial activism? Is it justied? Quote two examples of judicial activism.

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 You completed your dentistry. then became an Assistant Commandant in CRPF. Now
you want IPS. Why is your career plan so confused?

Is there a need for police reforms? If so tell the reforms.

Situation Reaction Test: You are an ofcer in Railway Protection Force. One poor man
does not have travel ticket. One University Professor who has bought a ticket has lost
it. How will you handle both of them?

Based on a survey mapping, it is found that the number of SCs are very less in areas
where STs are concentrated. Why is it so?

What is Phishing?

If you become an IPS ofcer, which organisation do you aspire to join: BSF, CBI, State
Service?

Q. Do you have any priority area where you would like to see you making a difference
in the administrative services?
DS: IAS gives a wide scope to serve the society and make a difference. I think bridging
ruralurban developmental divide would help in the longer run.
SM: As far as I am aware, the rst few postings in a district are that of a policy
implementation. I think every State and every area has problems and solutions that are
localized. Therefore, I would like to rst understand the problems given the local
conditions and then look for a solution. As for priority area, I would be interested to
work in the elds of education and women welfare. I think both these areas need a lot
of focus.
VK: The Police. Indian Police does not have a clean and distinguished image among the
public. I want to lead by example and be the change I want to see. I will inspire my
colleagues and ensure that the image of Indian police is restored to a place where it
deserves to be. In 21st century I want the Indian Police to function with a modernized,
service-oriented and clean image.

Q. How do you usually spend your time if you are not studying?
DS: I spend time with my family and hang out with friends. I also watch cricket, listen to
music and watch movies.
SM: I have a one -and-a- half year old daughter, so I like spending my free time with her.
Otherwise, I like reading, cooking, watching lms etc.
VK: I watch world cinema and a lot of documentaries. I also attend a lot of seminars
and conferences happening in the city. Most of the newspapers carry a column on daily
programmes in which you can attend ,the ones which are relevant to civil service
preparation. It is an intelligent work to juxtapose ones preparation and hobby so that
even while relaxing his/her preparation is continuing without much effort.
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 Q. Your message to the future CSE aspirants...
DS: I would like to wish them all the very best for the exam. Its a way to go forward with
condence and belief in you. It is not too easy but it is neither too hard. Right kind of
effort does pay good results.
SM: There are three things that would lead to success in this exam passion;
dedication and sincerity; and hard work. If one wants to give it an honest attempt, the
exam should be on your mind 24x7. There is no short cut to success.
VK: This system of examination could be very punishing if you are not sincere and
persistent about your goals. It can kill your time, age and condence if you are lazy. So
always set standards for yourself and keep proving to yourself that you are working
hard and really motivated. Every candidate has to show results and improvement to
himself/ herself on a timely basis to sustain the motivation. If you can keep your morale
on the positive side during the three stages of this examination, no one can stop you
from getting what you want.

As told to Vachaspati

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