Civil Service Topper Divyadharshini

In her first attempt, this 24-year old law graduate from the School of Excellence in Law, Chennai couldn't clear the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary but in her second attempt, she emerged the first ranker! Daughter of V Shanmugam, a customs consultant and homemaker S. Padmavathy, Divyadharshini was working at SBI for the past six months. She shares her journey.

Q.How did you hear the good news?  
A.I was in office when the results were declared, and a friend informed me of the results. It came as a shock! At first I did not believe but it but confirmed it through my brother. It took a while to realise that it was not a dream.

Q.Who is the inspiration behind your success?
A. My mentor Prabhakaran sir (Director of Prabhas IAS Academy) and my parents. All have given me ample confidence, motivation and have placed belief in me.

Q.How different was it in the second attempt? What made you crack it?
A.I think one year’s consistent preparation made the difference between the two attempts.

Q.What were your optional subjects and why did you choose them?
A.Prelims – I chose Public Administration due to easy availability of books and study materials, availability of guidance and above all my interest.
Mains - I chose Public Administration and law, as law was my graduation subject and I felt comfortable with the syllabus.

Q.How was the interview? Can you recall any questions from the board members?
A.The interview board was cordial. I answered to my satisfaction. There were one or two questions for which I didn’t know the answer but I was frank with the board and told them the truth that I did not know.

The questions were based on my profile and were based on the RTI Act, Lokpal Bill etc.

Q.How good are coaching institutes and what to be cautious of if you choose one?
A.Coaching centres are a guiding light but it all ultimately comes down to your individual effort. Attending mock tests would help a lot to ascertain where we stand. Choosing the right centre would have to be made cautiously.

There are many money sucking institutes and we need to be careful not to get into their hands and waste our money and time

Q.Do you have any priority areas where you would like to see you making a difference in the administrative services?
A.IAS gives a wider scope to serve the society and make a difference. I think bridging the rural – urban developmental divide would help in the longer run.

Q.Your message to future CSE aspirants…
A.I would like to wish them all the very best for the exam. It’s a way to go forward with confidence and belief in yourself. It’s not too easy but neither too hard. Right amount of effort would pay good results

Q.What was your strategy for optionals, GS and Essay?
A.Optional - I covered the entire syllabus and prepared concrete points for each topic and always revised before exams. Notes are really helpful especially during exam times.

GS - In addition to prelims preparation, adding personal view and analysis of the questions

Essay - I think there is no need to special preparation for essay. Preparation for general studies help in writing the essay paper. Newspaper reading builds ideas which helps in essay.

Study Materials used
Public administration
Books by Lakshmikanth and Maheshwari
Solved previous years question papers
Journals by Indian Institute of Public Administration on current topics like RTI and Civil Society
Law
Constitution by Jai Narayan Pandey and M P Jain
Contracts by Avatar Singh
Torts by Atchudhan Pillai
International Law by Kapoor and Agarwal
Indian Economy
Dutt & Sundaram, Economic & Politically Weekly, Yojna
Indian Polity
DDBasu, NCERT
Science & Technology
Spectrum, NCERT
Indian History
NCERT, Bipan Chandra
Geography
NCERT, Atlas
Current Affairs
The Hindu, Frontline, India Year Book

Civil Services Exam 2010

The Civil Services Examination is the most important and prestigious examination amongst various examinations conducted by the UPSC. It attracts largest number of candidates from the entire length and breadth of the country. The selected candidates are appointed to the higher Civil Services of the country.

Following are the important highlights of the Civil Services Examination, 2010, for which final result has been declared yesterday:

= A total number of 5,47,698 candidates applied for this examination, 2,69,036 candidates appeared for the Preliminary examination, which was conducted on May 23, 2010.

= 12,491 candidates qualified for the Main written examination held in October- November, 2010. 2589 candidates were short listed for the Personality Test conducted in March-April, 2011.

= Finally, 920 candidates (717 male and 203 female) have been recommended for appointment to the IAS, IFS, IPS and other Central Services.

=  S.Divyadharshini (Roll NO.014421), a female candidate, has topped the Civil Services Examination, 2010. She has done B.A., B.L.(Hons.) from Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, Chennai. This is her second attempt.

= The second ranker is Sweta Mohanty (Roll NO.316736). She has done B.Tech (Computer Science) from GRIET, JNTU, Hyderabad. This is her third attempt.

=  RV Varun Kumar (Roll No.021490), is the topper among male candidates. He has secured overall third rank. He has done BDS from Ragas Dental College, Chennai. This is his third attempt.

= The Top 25 candidates consist of 20 males and 5 females.

= Educational qualification wise the top 25 candidates comprise of 15 candidates belonging to Engineering; 5 candidates belonging to Commerce, Management, Humanities, Science & Social Sciences; and 5 candidates belonging to Medical Science background.

= Out of the Top 25 candidates, 8 have made to the merit list in their first attempt, 4 in second attempt, 9 in third attempt, 3 in fourth attempt and 1 in fifth attempt.

= Of the 920 candidates recommended, 28 are physically challenged candidates ; 14 orthopaedically challenged; 5 visually impaired and 9 hearing impaired.

Civil Services Exam 2010 Toppers

Chennai-based law graduate S Divyadharshini has topped the prestigious Civil Services Examination 2010 for which the results were announced today.

The second position was also secured by a woman, Sweta Mohanty, a computer engineer, while R V Varun Kumar, a dentist from Chennai, got the third rank.

A total of 920 candidates, including 203 women, have been selected for the Civil Services, which attracts the largest number of candidates from the entire length and breadth of the country.

Divyadharshini, who has done BA, BL (Hons) from Dr Ambedkar Law University in Chennai, cleared the exam in her second attempt. Mohanty cleared the exam in her third attempt.

Kumar, the topper among men, has done his BDS from Ragas Dental College in Chennai. This is his third attempt.

An elated Divyadharshini said she was surprised to find herself topping the exam as she was not expecting it. "I was expecting some result but not as a topper," she said.

As congratulatory messages poured in, she said the achievement was the result of "tedious" exercise and hard work of one year coupled with luck.

The top 25 candidates consist of 20 men and five women -- 15 of whom are engineers, five belonging to Commerce, Management, Humanities, Science and Social Sciences; and five belonging to medical science background.

Of the top 25, eight have made to the merit list in their first attempt while four made it in their second attempt, nine in third attempt, three in fourth attempt and one in fifth attempt.

Among those selected, 28 are physically challenged candidates while 14 are  orthopaedically challenged, five visually impaired and nine hearing impaired.

A total number of 5,47,698 candidates applied for this examination and 2,69,036 candidates appeared for Preliminary examination, which was conducted on May 23, 2010.

12,491 candidates qualified for the main written examination held in October- November 2010.

2,589 candidates were shortlisted for the personality test conducted in March-April 2011 out of which 920 were selected.

They have been recommended for appointment including 428 General (including 19 Physically Challenged), 270 OBCs (including 8 Physically Challenged candidates), 148 Scheduled Castes (including one Physically Challenged candidate) and 74 Scheduled Tribes candidates.

There are 151 vacancies in IAS, 35 vacancies in IFS and 150 in IPS.