Failure is the stepping stone to success

Candidates appearing for civil services or any other competitive examination should have a sporting spirit. There are candidates who achieved their goal in the first attempt but few others have succeeded at the later attempts. Few were toppers in Civils examination. In 1972 Duvvuri Subbarao from Andhra Pradesh was a topper. His wife Urmila Subbarao was also an IAS officer. Subarao held the position of governor of the Reserve Bank.

After a long gap in 2007, Muthyala Raju was at the top at the age of 27. He hails from a small tiny village of Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh He did BTech in mechanical engineering and later MTech. In 2003 he was selected for Indian engineering service as a topper. In 2005 he was undergoing training at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel police Academy, Hyderabad as an IPS trainee. In 2007 he stood at the top with IAS. He worked as district collector Nellore and West Godavari. Presently he is in the Chief Minister's office of Andhra Pradesh.

2008 topper-Dr Karteek Adapa

In 2008 a medical graduate Dr Karthik Adapa achieved first rank in civil service examinations. He is from Khammam district in Telangana. After completing a degree in medicine he got scholarships for higher studies at Harvard and Cambridge universities. But his main goal was to achieve rank in civils. He was selected for IPS in 2005and 2007. In the third attempt he got the IAS and opted for Uttarakhand cadre. His wife Rupanjali is also an IAS officer of the same batch Punjab cadre. Both of them are working in Punjab state. He didn't opt for home cadre. He was Special Principal Secretary to chief Minister, Punjab during June 2021to August 2021.

3rd rank holder Ronanki Gopalkrishna (1987)

Gopalakrishna hails from a small village, Parasamba of Srikakulam district. He secured 1101 marks in 2016 examination and was allotted Andhra Cadre. After his training at Mussoorie, he was posted as sub collector Gudur, Nellore district. Presently he is the project officer, ITDA, Paderu. His option was Telugu and the medium of writing answers was also Telugu. So the candidates who are inclined towards taking Telugu as optional can treat him as a role model. I was also a guiding force for him during the mock interviews. Karthik Kollabathula 2020 batch IAS officer Based on the results of civil services examination 2019, Karthik a BTech graduate from Visakhapatnam was allotted Andhra Cadre (428th rank) and has completed his two years training at Mussoorie.He had training at Kadapa district as a trainee assistant collector. I was also a guiding force for him.

Sruti Sarma-Topper 2022

It is amazing to note that in the first attempt even without any coaching she could stand at the top in the 2021 examination. Around 685 candidates have been selected for the different services in 2022. Shruti Sharma is a history student. She did her post graduation from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She belongs to Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh. Her optional was history. She has undergone coaching at Jamia Millia Islamia residential coaching Academy. She has struggled hard for four years with dedication and determination.

There are so many candidates who struggle hard to get a rank in civil services. Anukriti Sharma is one among them. She never had coaching from any Centre. She never attempted any competitive examination before. Her desire and dream was to get IAS. In 2014 she got 355th rank. In 2018 she got 133rd rank.. she hails from an ordinary family of Jaipur in Rajasthan district. Her father retired from government service and her mother returned from a degree College. In 2012 she got a degree in geology from Indian Institute of science education and research. She prepared herself for the competitive examination based on the internet material. She could not win in the first attempt. She waited for the fourth attempt to get her rank. She is the best example for a person who can depend upon internet material also.

Arugula Sneha-2021 examination

She got 136 th rank in the 2021 examination and she hails from Nizamabad district of Telangana. In the fourth attempt she could achieve her goal. From her childhood her target was to become a district collector. Her mother was a single parent. She studied at Nirmala high school from third class to 10th class. Always she got 90% marks. She did her BTech from NIT Nagpur. Her backup was teaching. She takes civil services as a platform. Her interview was mostly on current affairs.

Ranjitkumar 2022

Ranjit Kumar got 574th rank in the 2021 examination. He studied at Jawahar Navodaya school, Warangal. He graduated from NIT Raipur in 2018. Later he worked for two years. In the first attempt he could not win. In the second attempt he got this rank. His father is a local businessman. Navodaya school study gave him the idea of serving the public. Strategic preparation is his success mantra. He suggests three pillars for success. 1. Study the syllabus thoroughly and grasp the orientation. 2. Answer previous question papers, at least 10 years (2011-2021) 3. Practice makes a man perfect. These are the main points to be noted by the aspirants. Best of luck.

(Author is retired Additional Director General Doordarshan, Delhi)