UPSC 2023: TWO FROM NOIDA MAKE IT TO TOP 20

Two residents of Noida have secured ranks among the all India top 20 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil services examination 2023, the results of which were declared on Tuesday.

Wardah Khan (24), a resident of Sector 82, and Akash Verma (29), a resident of Sector 93, secured the 18th and 20th rank, respectively.

Swarmed by relatives, well-wishers and media persons, Khan was beaming with pride and joy after she learnt that she secured the 18th rank in the UPSC CSE 2023 list of qualifiers.

Hailing from Prayagraj, Khan resides in Vivek Vihar colony in Sector 82, Noida, with her relatives since 2021 to prepare for the examinations.

“This is a huge moment for me and my family, because when I began the preparations, my sole aim was to qualify the examinations. However, I had never imagined that I would secure a rank in the Top 20, all India,” said Khan, adding that this was her second attempt. In her first attempt in 2022, she could not even clear the prelims, she said.

“I was quite confident during my first attempt and it was a huge setback when I couldn’t clear even the prelims. However, I took it as an opportunity to assess my flaws and drawbacks and I worked on these for my second attempt,” she said.

Khan’s mother Afsar Khan is a retired government school teacher based in Prayagraj while her father passed away nine years ago. She is the only child of her parents.

“I used to study for eight to nine hours daily on average, but more than the hours of studying, I used to focus on consistency. It is important that you study every day, even if it is for two-three hours. There were some days when I studied for three hours while on some days I studied for over 12 hours,” said Khan, who completed her 10th from St Mary’s School in Prayagraj with 9.1 CGPA and her 12th from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Old Cant, Prayagraj, securing 95% marks in commerce.

“I came to Delhi in 2017 to pursue BCom (honours) from Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, University of Delhi. Following this, I was working with a corporate company after graduation in 2020. However in 2021, I quit the job and started preparing for civil services, while staying in Noida at my relatives’ home,” said Khan.

When asked why she chose to leave a corporate job for a career in civil services, she said, “While I got quite lucrative opportunities in the corporate sector, I felt I was unable to make an impact on society. A career in civil services can help me do that, as well as help me transform lives of people and make my country proud.”

Calling social media a double-edged sword, Khan said she used social media to her advantage in her preparations.

“In the age of social media, everything is available online. I believe that excess or dearth of anything is not good. Hence, I used social media to my advantage and followed previous rank holders who shared their tips and mentoring videos on social media. I believe that it helped me a lot in understanding concepts and preparation strategy,” said Khan, adding that her interest is in foreign services.

Akash Verma, who is in Leh under training at the National Academy Of Defence Financial Management Institute, said his aim to become an Indian administrative officer (IAS) is now finally achieved, after his fourth attempt at UPSC.

Verma resides in Express View Apartments in Sector 93 with his father, who is a general manager with Punjab National Bank, and his mother, a homemaker. He has a younger brother who works with an MNC.

“I completed my schooling from Rainbow School in Janakpuri, Delhi in 2012, following which I got selected to IIT Delhi for BTech in electrical engineering. After graduating in 2016, I got selected to IIM Calcutta for MBA. After postgraduation in 2018, I started preparing for civil services examination and gave my first attempt in 2020,” said Verma, over call from Leh.

In his first attempt, Verma reached the interview stage but couldn’t clear.

“In my second attempt in 2021, I cleared the examination and got selected for Indian Defence Estates Service. Since then, I appeared for 2022 CSE as well, while under training at the services, as I wanted to improve my rank. However, I couldn’t clear the prelims. Then in 2023, I gave my fourth attempt again, and now am finally content with the 20th rank,” said Verma.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2023 was conducted on 28th May, 2023.

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2024-04-17T01:25:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd