Ashima Mittal, attained 12th Rank in 3rd attempt Civil Services Examination, 2017
“Strong Self confidence in my ability and immerging deeply in preparation are the secrets of my success.”
–Ashima Mittal
‘Pratiyogita Darpan’ arranged an exclusive interview with Ms. Ashima Mittal who has been selected in Civil Services Examination 2017, conducted by UPSC. She deserves high admiration and our heartiest congratulations on her splendid success. This important, thought-provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.
PD—Achieving top slot in the coveted Civil Services Examination is no small feat; accept our heartiest congratulations on your splendid success.
Ms. Ashima—Thank you.
PD—Medium for writing in examination.
Ms. Ashima—English.
PD—In how many attempts have you achieved this success ?
Ms. Ashima—3 attempts.
PD—You achieved the desired success in this attempt; how do you visualize your previous attempts ?
Ms. Ashima—In my 3rd attempt, I had higher level of confidence as I’d already cleared exam. in 2nd attempt with 328 Rank. Also, I was quite clear on my strategy and timeline. In previous attempts, I had lack of guidance and understanding about the exam. Also, I couldn’t balance all subjects well.
PD—What was your optional subject ?
Ms. Ashima—Optional Subject : Anthropology.
PD—While making final choice for optional subject, what’s important and what’s not ?
Ms. Ashima—The most important things are :
(1) Interest in the subject as one may have to read it several times.
(2) Ability to understand it well as in depth study is needed.
(3) Background edge/command should be considered (e.g., graduating subject).
PD—Give the basis of selecting the optional subject.
Ms. Ashima—The basis for me was :
(1) Capability to understand subject or comfort in subject.
(2) Interest in subject.
(3) Length/Scope of syllabus.
(4) Availability of guidance in the subject.
PD—What preference in services have you opted for and any particular reason for that priority ?
Ms. Ashima—IAS is my first preference which I am hopeful to get with AIR-12. The development sector such as health, education etc. are close to my heart. Further, I love working for children and women and therefore opted for IAS.
PD—‘Success is sweet’–were you confident of your success with top ranks and how did you react to this news ?
Ms. Ashima—I felt great confidence after writing mains and after facing interview as both of them went well. So, I had high hopes from result. However, I wasn’t completely sure of a top rank. I thought of settling down with IRS(IT) if I could’t get into IAS this year.
PD—Today, IAS Toppers are icons and lots of media coverage makes them popular. Before your success, what was your opinion about these toppers ? Any particular success story which influenced your journey to this result ?
Ms. Ashima—In my school days, Ashima Jain had secured 6th Rank in CSE and her journey inspired me a lot. Then, Gaurav Agarwal’s journey and Ira Singhal’s journey were strong motivations for positive attitude.
PD—Can you recall the exact moment when you realized the importance of Civil Services ?
Ms. Ashima—Sometime in the final year of college, while working in social sector (education initiative), I realised the challenges society is facing and role of Civil Services in the same.
PD—Finally, at what point of time did you make up your mind to make career in ‘Civil Services’ ?
Ms. Ashima—While I was working in a private company after graduation, I made up my mind to pursue CSE as I was not enjoying the private sector job.
PD—Was CSE a planned decision or your parents’ wish ?
Ms. Ashima—CSE was a planned decision for me after exploring several other areas like engineering, foreign studies, MNC job etc. It made me confident about my decision without regretting about it.
PD—Did you keep in mind some time-frame for the examination preparation and number of attempts ?
Ms. Ashima—When I started I had 2nd attempt as a unit in my mind. However, I decided to change it later as my resolve to get into IAS strengthened during the course of preparation.
PD—‘Time Management’ is a key factor. How did you manage things ?
Ms. Ashima—I managed time by making study schedules and sticking to them. I used to maintain such schedules in hard copy (in a diary). I also used to study with friends to have better understanding quickly for several topics like World History, Geography, Polity current issues etc.
PD—The first step is the most difficult; from where did you get the right advice ?
Ms. Ashima—I had several seniors from college preparing for this exam. who really helped me in making such choices initially. I also joined a coaching in Delhi to understand the basics which provided further guidance.
| Bio-Data |
| Name—Ashima Mittal
Father’s Name—Mr. Manish Mittal Mother’s Name—Mrs. Namita Mittal Date of Birth—30 June, 1992 Educational Qualifications— 10th—2008, CBSE, (94%) 12th—2010, CBSE, (93·4%) B.Tech—2010-14, IIT Bombay 8·4 (CPI) M.A.—2015-17, IGNOU (71%) Previous Selections—CSE 2016–328th Rank; IRS (Income Tax). |
PD—What was your approach towards Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Aptitude Test) during Preliminary Examination preparation? How long time and how much effort did you divide for each?
Ms. Ashima—For GS Paper I (General Studies): Ist attempt— a Complete focus for 2 months before Prelims. Attempted 40-45 questions and did multiple revision.
IInd attempt—2·5 months complete focus as I realise that Prelims is unpredictable Attempted 60 Tests.
III attempt—20 days’ preparation Attempted 15-20 tests.
For GS Paper II (Aptitude Test) : Every year, about 10-12 hours of preparation only attempted previous years’ question papers (1-2).
PD—What shift did you adopt in your strategy for Main Examination (Written)?
Ms. Ashima—In my 3rd attempt, I incorporated a lot of changes :
(1) Apart from analytical answering, I incorporated factual data to substantiate answer e.g., Cases, Articles, Data Sets etc.
(2) Added Flowcharts, graphs etc. wherever relevant in the answers.
(3) Added more dimensions to the answer and practiced interlinking with other topics.
(4) Wrote a way forward (Solution Oriented) in every question possible.
(5) Drew maps/diagram wherever relevant.
PD—Was there any special effort for effective preparation for Essay Paper? Which topic did you pick up this time and why did you choose this particular topic ?
Ms. Ashima—Yes, in 3rd attempt, I prepared for Essay separately as in 2nd attempt, I scored Less marks in Essay :
(1) Practiced Multiple Essays.
(2) Structuring was improved by using subheadings.
(3) Practiced and prepared introduction and conclusions using yojana Magazine.
Topic I. The destiny of a nation lies in the classroom.
Topic II. New Women of India.
Chose the above topics as they are my favourite topics—Education and Women and I’had prepared well on them.
PD—How did you prepare yourself for Interview (Personality Test) ?
Ms. Ashima—I prepared while undergoing IRS (IT) training in Nagpur through interaction with colleagues.
Board : R.S. Bassi
Duration : 35 minutes (23 April, 2018).
It went really well and I cherished the interview forever.
Some of the questions :
(1) Are you a leader or a mana-ger ?
(2) 3 strengths and weakness ?
(3) Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya.
(4) India’s performance in CWG Vs Olympics ?
(5) Medals India won in CWG 2018.
| Personal Qualities |
| Favourite person—My brother is my favourite.
Strong Point—Resilience, opti-mism, strong family support. Weak Point—Mood swings, stress taking tendency. Hobbies—Playing Basketball, TT., Learning new skills, Volunteering for child welfare activities. |
PD—Were you preparing for other career opportunities as well while preparing for your ultimate goal i.e., Career in Civil Services ?
Ms. Ashima—No.
PD—While the changing economic environment offers immense lucrative career opportunities in various sectors, still what kept you motivated towards Civil Services ?
Ms. Ashima—I had the clarity that Civil Services is the best job/ career for me.
PD—In your opinion at which Educational Level should one start preparing for Civil Services and what should be the minimum period of time required to prepare for Civil Services Examinations ?
Ms. Ashima—One can start preparing during or after graduation (definitely after 12th class).
Minimum period : 1·5 years is needed.
PD—What is your opinion regarding the general view that Science subjects have better chance to score than Humanities ?
Ms Ashima—I don’t think so. Both disciplines rise and fall periodically and equally.
PD—What is the importance of medium of examination for exams like CSE ?
Ms Ashima—As material available is largely in English, it seems that other mediums may have a lack of content/guidance.
PD—Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation ?
Ms. Ashima—CSE gives a level playing ground to all aspirants. However, I feel that the struggle/challenges one faces in this journey do depend on educational and family background.
PD—In your opinion what role do the Competition Magazines play when you are preparing for an examination like Civil Services ?
Ms. Ashima—(1) Increasing awareness of students about toppers’ strategies.
(2) Great motivation source.
(3) Augment knowledge base.
PD—How do you find Pratiyogita Darpan ? Do you find it close to your expectations ?
Ms. Ashima—I find it extremely comprehensive and useful for CSE preparation.
PD—What is the secret of your success ?
Ms. Ashima—Confidence in my own ability along with faith in God are the secret of my success in this exam. The above helped in converting hard work into result.
PD—To whom would you like to give the credit for your success ?
Ms. Ashima—Definitely, it goes to my family. My parents and my brothers have made great sacrifices to support/facilitate my studies. They kept me cool and motivated.
PD—Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants.
Ms. Ashima—(1) Believe in yourself that you can clear it.
(2) Put in 100% effort/hardwork with discipline.
(3) There is no scope for com-placency.
(4) Develop strength of mind and be ready to face any challenge.
PD—Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for your future endeavours.