—Ms. Anu Kumari, IAS Topper 2017-18, First Among Women (2nd Rank)
Ms. Anu Kumari, IAS Topper 2017-18, First Among Women (2nd Rank), honoured with the CSR Gold Medal and Trophy.
Ms. Anu Kumari has secured the all-India 1st Rank among women candidates and the 2nd Rank in the overall list of successful candidates in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2017-18. She made it into the prestigious IAS in her second attempt. Ms. Kumari is a B.Sc. (Honours) in Physics from the prestigious Hindu College in Delhi. She has also completed an MBA in Finance and Marketing. She did her schooling from Shiva Shiksha Sadan in Sonipat. Ms. Kumari credits the secret of her success in CSE to perseverance, time management and support of her family members. For General Studies and other papers, she consulted Competition Success Review, General Knowledge Today and CSR Year Book apart from online sources. According to Ms. Kumari, Competition Success Review covers a wide range of subjects relevant for preparation, not only current affairs but also portions of CSAT. She finds the interviews with successful candidates very helpful for CSE aspirants. She advises future aspirants to keep dreaming and working hard.
Here, we publish an exclusive interview which she gave to Competition Success Review.
CSR : What is the secret of your success in the Civil Services Examination?
Ms. Anu Kumari : Perseverance, time management and support of my family members.
Q. How much time do you think one requires for serious preparations for this examination?
A. One and a half years of dedicated preparation.
Q. Which journals have you been reading for the General Studies and other papers?
A. Apart from Competition Success Review, General Knowledge Today and CSR Year Book,I mainly referred to online sources.
Q. Do you remember any remarkable incident in your life that motivated or prompted you to go for a career in the Civil Services?
A. Monotony and drudgery in private job and a feeling of meaninglessness.
Q. Competition Success Review, the largest selling youth magazine in English for 35 years, has been extremely helpful because
A. It covers a wide range of subjects relevant for preparation—not only current affairs but also CSAT portions. It also focuses on interviews of successful candidates which is very helpful for aspirants.
Q. How did your parents, family and friends contribute to your success?
A. Immense contribution. My mother took care of my son. My brothers helped me with doubts in studies.
Q. Had you not been selected in the Civil Services Examination, what would have been your reaction? Which other service/career would you have gone in/opted for?
A. I would have gone for teaching.
Q. How do you visualise your success?
A. I am very happy and see this as a great responsibility.
Q. What were your strong points which enabled you to achieve spectacular success in the Civil Services Examination?
A. Combination of current affairs + statistics + diagrams + schemes + committee names to enrich my answer.
Q. What was your Optional at the Civil Services Examination?
A. Sociology.
Q. How many attempts had you made earlier before you got selected?
A. One.
Q. What was your criterion for the selection of the optional subject?
A. Short syllabus + guidance availability.
Q. How did you prepare for your compulsory papers?
A. Mainly, answer writing practice and content coverage through NCERTs.
Q. What is your impression about the Interview Board?
A. Very very cordial and cooperative.
Q. Competition Success Review has been the largest selling ABC-certified magazine in English since 1981. How do you visualise the role of this magazine in moulding the careers of the youth.
A. It provides coverage of current affairs in a lucid and comprehensive manner.
Q. How did Competition Success Review help you in your preparation for the interview?
A. I referred the magazine for brushing up some current affairs.
Q. How do you look upon the publication of CSR magazine in Hindi? Do you think that the mindset and basic approach of English medium students are fundamentally different from those of the Hindi medium students ?
A. Very inclusive approach, helps Hindi medium students.
Q. What is your opinion about Competition Success Review?
A. Great work by your team, keep it up to help fellow students.
Q. Since when have you been reading Competition Success Review ?
A. On and off during the course of my preparation in the last one and a half years.
Q. What is your opinion about General Knowledge Today ?
A. It is a nice, holistic magazine.
Q. To prepare for this Civil Services Examination, did you join any Coaching Institute(s)? If so, name them.
A. Not for GS papers/Optional etc., but only test series for Optional at Nice IAS. For mock interviews, several institutes.
Q. What do you think is a better way of preparation between selective intensive study and wide extensive study?
A. Both are needed for Mains and Prelims respectively.
Q. Is this pattern of the exam appropriate for selection? Would you recommend any other improvement?
A. Good pattern, no change.
Q. Do you feel that there should be no restriction on the number of attempts ?
A. There should be a restriction.
Q. We have been awarding CSR Gold Medal to top 50 Rank Holders of CSE who have been our readers. Do you think that our gesture has been a source of inspiration for the Civil Services aspirants?
A. Of course, it is a source of inspiration.
Q. We have been publishing essays every month under Current Issues and CSR Essay Contests and CSR Super Brain Youth Contest by adding eight more pages to encourage our readers not only to write better, but also to know what the top competitors could be writing. Besides, we offer CSR Gold Medal & Trophy to the winners of the CSR Super Brain Youth Contest. Is this focus-oriented approach helpful for the IAS aspirants?
A. Yes, Essay plays a very crucial role in the success of students. So, yours is a nice initiative.
Q. How do you think Competition Success Review could be more useful to the candidates appearing in the Civil Services and various other competitive examinations ?
A. It acts as a good guidance mechanism.
Q. Do you think that the UPSC needs to be more transparent in its examination and evaluation ?
A. I agree with the current method of evaluation.
Q. What is your advice to the future aspirants?
A. Keep dreaming and working hard.