Many dream to become an Indian Administrative Service or Indian Police Service officer. But only a handful of candidates get selected. Because the Civil Service examination is one of the most difficult exams in India. Aspirants who are extremely hardworking and determined are the ones who get to taste the success.
Let’s learn about IAS Saloni Verma Biography who is one of the successful candidates, who cracked the Union Public Service Commission exam 2020.
We will learn about the success story of Saloni Verma IAS in this article. She was the topper of batch 2020. Verma always wanted to serve the nation. That’s how she got motivated and started her preparation journey for the Civil Service examination.
Saloni Verma Biography
Indian Administrative Service officer Saloni was born in Jamshedpur state-Jharkhand and brought up in Delhi, India. She generally spends most of her time in Delhi. She secured 70 Rank in the Union Public Service Commission 2020. She didn’t go to any coaching and did her Civil Service preparation by herself.
She cleared the Union Public Service Commission in her second attempt. Her desire to work for the country inspired her to take the step towards the UPSC journey. She did her schooling and completed graduation in Delhi. She is very hardworking, clever and intelligent.
| Saloni Verma Biography | |
| Original Name | Saloni Verma |
| Nickname | Saloni |
| Well Known for | Securing All India Rank 70 in the Union Public Service Commission CSE exam 2020 |
| Batch | 2020 |
| All India Rank | 70 |
| Physical Appearance | |
| Colour of Eyes | Black |
| Colour of Hair | Black |
| Personal Information | |
| Place of Birth | Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Qualification | Graduate |
| Career | Indian Administrative Service officer |
Saloni Verma Success Story
Salon Verma was born in Jamshedpur and most of her life was spent in Delhi. She completed her graduation from Hindu College Delhi University. She did her bachelors in English Literature.
Her UPSC journey started in the third year of her college. She thought she would clear the exam by 2019 when she was about to complete her graduation. She actually started studying in the month of August and September of 2018 when she saw her mates were studying so hard for the exam.
She shared that she wasn’t following proper discipline. Some days she will study and some days she will hang out with her friends. Also, she wasn’t aiming for the ultimate goal; she just wanted to clear the prelims first and focus on the rest later.
She knew her preparation wasn’t good enough but she still tried, she already knew that she wouldn’t be able to clear the exam. She failed the prelims by 50-60 marks.
Second Attempt
After the first attempt, she realized all her faults and disciplined herself. After her graduation, she completely focused on the UPSC exam. Without diverting her mind. She set two goals, the first is to study with full dedication and the second is to see the larger picture and aim for the Mains exam.
She studied by herself. Her strategy was to focus on small things like society in GS-I, internal security in GS-III, topics that don’t have a standard source. She gave more time to it. Because while practising paper she realized this kind of topic holds around 40-50 marks in the exam. So if she focuses on them she will be able to secure more marks.
Secondly, she was very serious about the Essay paper even though she was from an Arts background. She practised 8-9 essays. She wrote things that are relevant to the topic without making it complex. Try to have a unique approach rather than following the crowd. One just needs to have faith in themselves.
Personal Interview
In her Interview stage, the panel was asking her questions related to science. She didn’t have much knowledge about it because she was an English Language student. She wasn’t able to answer the questions properly. But still, she secured good marks in the Interview. She suggested that all you need to do is be confident and try to keep yourself calm. Most importantly, be positive and that will help you a lot.
Optional Subject
The very important part of the Mains exam is an optional subject. IAS Salon opted for Political Science & International Relations (PSIR). She was worried about it as she was from an English Literature background. But she knew it was a good optional subject, also she studied Political Science for 2 years in college. She was having less time for preparation so she decided to focus on a few topics but she would understand them thoroughly.
Also Read: International Relations Books for UPSC: Books That Will Help You Prepare for UPSC
IAS Saloni UPSC Rank
Indian Administrative Service officer Saloni achieved UPSC rank 70 in the year 2020. She cleared the Civil Service exam on her second try without taking any coaching. She prepared for the examination on her own.
Her Strategy
Indian Administrative Service officer Saloni decided to form her own strategy after not being able to clear the Civil Service exam in her first attempt. She learned for her first attempt that preparation that is needed needs to be integrated.
Prepare prelims and mains together and focus more on mains as its syllabus is more huge as compared to preliminary. Also, mains will only bring you to the list and get you your desired post. Focus on the bigger picture. She made up her mind that in this attempt she needs to clear the prelims. So from June to December, she finished her General Studies portion for the Mains exam.
She studied the syllabus wise making sure she covers all the topics. She made notes in a detailed manner. That will help her with the revision. She practised test series frequently. She went through analysis papers to have a better understanding of the topics.
Also Read: How to Start UPSC Preparation from Zero Level? Know the Right Time Management and Strategy
Advice to the Aspirants
Saloni advises the candidates to not be restricted to certain preparation strategies. Because there are many different ways to prepare for the exam. You should follow those preparation methods which are suitable for you. The one which matches your capabilities. Try to take guidance and tips from your mentors. It’s going to help you in the long run.
She said that she wasn’t sure whether she would clear the prelims or not and was having doubts. But still, she prepared the optional subject, ethics and a few more topics. Because these topics are going to be the same next year as well.
So she said to the aspirants that it doesn’t matter if you fail, you can always give the next attempt. Self-belief is very important, have faith in yourself and things will get easier.
Current Posting
IAS Saloni Current posting is not yet mentioned, we will update you once we get notified. So to keep yourself up to date about any important notifications, bookmark UPSC Pathshala.
Conclusion
You need to be disciplined if you want to clear the Civil Service examination. Follow a proper preparation strategy with full dedication. Learn from your mistakes and take failure as the stepping stone towards success. In this article, we learned about another success story of IAS Saloni. Hopefully, it motivated you to chase your goals in life and never back down. For more inspiring articles like this join UPSC Pathshala.
Also Read: Mithun Premraj Biography: The Journey of a Doctor to a True IAS Hero
Thank you so much for this inspiring article.
The driving force for any ambition is hard work and devotion. I have learned a lot from this article.
This article is extremely motivational.