UPSC conducts the CSE every year for the selection of the services of India i.e. IAS, IPS, IFS, and IFoS. The exam begins around June and the results are announced in March.
When the results are announced toppers get maximum coverage in our popular media news channels, newspapers, and even on social media. Moreover, they get the privilege of choosing their cadre. Everyone looks at success, but not at how it is achieved. Success is achieved through hard work, dedication, and staying motivated in all ups and downs.
Here is an inspiring story of such an inspiring and dedicated personality, Haritha V Kumar. In this article, you will find her success mantra, and strategies to follow.
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IAS Haritha Vijaya Kumar Biography: AIR Rank 1’s Backstage of Success Story
“Your success is proportional to the intensity of your ambition. Therefore, stay focused on your goal.”- Haritha Vijaya Kumar
Haritha Vijaya Kumar ranked first in UPSC 2012. She became the first Keralite to top the UPSC CSE examination in the last 22 years. She is also the first woman from Kerala to top CSE.
Success Mantra of IAS Haritha V Kumar
Haritha claims that success is never a product of one night; it is achieved by hard work slowly and consistently. There are many distractions in the world but with your perseverance, you can achieve anything.
Moreover, according to her, UPSC is not about mugging several books and notes, but a journey of self-transformation.
Haritha VijayaKumar Profile: Family
Haritha comes from a small town named Neyyattinkara which is 20 kilometers away from the capital city of Kerala. She belongs to a typical middle-class family in Kerala.
There are 4 members in Haritha Vijaya Kumar’s family excluding her. Her father’s name is Vijaya Kumar, and he is a contractor for the Kerala Water Authority. Her father was a supportive person and supported her thoughts to pursue her childhood dream.
Her mother is Chitra, a simple homemaker. Moreover, she has twin brothers, Sadrarsh and Satheerth.
Education
# Haritha completed high school at St. Theresa convent. It is a girl’s high school in Malayalam medium.
# Then she joined Boys Higher Secondary School at hospital junction Neyyattinkara. It was an English medium government school.
# Later she moved to Thiruvananthapuram for her higher studies. She pursued Btech for electronics and telecommunication from Barton Hill Engineering College.
IAS Haritha V Kumar’s Family Support
To support her daughter in her education, her family moved to Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram. Her father and mother supported her throughout her journey.
Like every other parent, her father wanted his daughter to join the civil service and for the same purpose, he planted the seed in her daughter from early childhood. Her mother also inspired her daughter to achieve her dream.
IAS Haritha V Kumar’s Childhood Dream
Her father planted the seed of civil service in her daughter’s young mind. When she was in class 1, her teacher, Sister Jasmine asked her what she wanted to do in her life. To this, she replied that she wished to become a collector. Though she didn’t know what she meant by it.
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IAS Haritha V Kumar’s Journey Begins
Haritha began her UPSC CSE journey in 2012. But this turned out to be a bitter one as she could not clear the main examination.
She gave her second attempt and ranked 179. She was eligible for IPS and IRS. And she opted for IRS i.e. Indian Revenue Service.
Then she gave her third attempt and got a 294 All-India Rank.
At last in 2012, she took a year’s leave from the IRS training period at National Academy for Customs, Excise, and Narcotics in Faridabad and gave her 4th and last attempt and this was worth all the hard work and failure.
She bagged the top rank of the CSE rank list and became the first woman Keralite to rank first and also became an inspiration for others aspirants.
UPSC CSE: 2012 Batch IAS Haritha V Kumar Wiki Details
#1. AIR Rank
Haritha V. Kumara ranked AIR 1st in UPSC 2012 batch with 51.8% at the age of 27.
#2. Optional Subject
She opted for Economics and Malayalam Literature as her optional subjects.
#3. Marks
#Mains:- 1013/2000
#Interview:- 180/300
#Total:- 1193/2300 (51.87%)
#4. Current Posting
CEO of Additional Skills Acquisition Programme and Director, Collegiate Education.
Optional Subject: Why Economics and Malayalam Literature?
Haritha opted for Economics and Malayalam literature as her optional subjects. She was accustomed to Malayam from her childhood owing to her schooling in the Malayalam medium. Also, it is her mother tongue.
Moreover, she chose economics as her classmates were research scholars and graduate students of Economics who helped and guided her. Also, she believes Economics can solve all basic problems of India.
Failures are Stepping-stones to Success
Haritha’s journey to UPSC CSE rank 1 wasn’t a smooth journey. It was full of ups and downs. She had to face many failures but she kept learning from her past mistakes and improved her rank and performance with every attempt.
And at last, she did it. Her parents’ sacrifice, hard work, persistence, and dedication all paid off very well. Therefore you should learn from her journey and learn from your failures.
Failures can be followed by negative thoughts and depression, but true heroes will be able to overcome and convert their failures into stepping stones.
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Tips and Strategy
#1. Determination
According to IAS Haritha V Kumar, anything can be achieved through determination. It is the most essential aspect to have. If you have determination, you can accomplish all your goals in life. If you are dedicated enough to make your ambitions come true, you need to choose the best online coaching for IAS to brush up your skills and practice the most.
#2. Motivated
UPSC is a long and tiring journey, aspirants will get up and down. Sometimes they will feel like leaving everything but at such a time, they should stay motivated. You can use videos, songs, or inspiring autobiographies to stay motivated.
#3. Allocate Your Time Strategically
Rather than mugging every subject, you should read every syllabus once carefully and divide it into several subtopics. Then you should allocate your time strategically so that you can cover all the topics.
#4. Family Support
Her family played a big role. Her father and mother were supportive and her siblings were loving and this is the reason why she was able to achieve success after continuous failures.
#5. Focus
According to her, while staying focused on your goal, you can achieve anything you want.
#6. Writing Answers
Writing answers means writing answers is very important. She could not clear her mains in her first attempt and therefore she gives importance to writing.
You can practice writing by solving previous year’s question papers and by looking at the answers of toppers. Moreover, you can join the best coaching for IAS online to practice answer writing and to become perfect in that.
#7. Newspaper
A candidate should develop a newspaper reading habit in preparation for current affairs.
#8. English
English plays a very important role in your interview in your preparation, as well as after your selection. English is the connecting language and therefore, one should start their English preparation from an early stage. Moreover, for the interview, your English should be nice and understandable.
#9. Interview
In the interview, your personality and mind alertness is evaluated even more than your subject knowledge. Therefore you should develop a well and clear English skills and stay alert and focused throughout your interview. The board will resort to many tricks and tactics to evaluate your potential as an IAS officer.
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Conclusion
This was an inspiring journey for Haritha. She is a true inspiration for many aspirants out there who are getting demotivated by their failures. She used her failures as strength and became unstoppable.
For more preparation tips and such inspiring stories, you can visit the UPSC Pathshala website. There you will find all materials, courses, and tips that you will require to write your own success stories.
If you are inspired by the journey of this incredible officer, you need to make wise choices for your dreams too. You should learn from the toppers to inculcate similar behaviour, passion, and learning habits. You need to work on your weaknesses rather than being sad about them. If you wish to crack the UPSC exam on your next attempt, you need to join the best coaching for IAS online. The best online coaching for IAS will provide you with the right amount of mentorship so that you can move in the right direction and make everything possible.
Start your preparation now, we are eagerly waiting to publish your success story.
This IAS lady has made the country proud by her efforts. I will ensure to do more preparation and become like her. Do you guys have inspired by her?