The Triumph of Perseverance: How IAS Topper Gamini Singla Secured Rank 3 with the Right Attitude and Hard Work

February 29, 2024

4 Minutes

IAS Gamini Singla

Introduction

“Jo log mehnat ka saath nahi chhodte, Qismat unka haath nahin chhodti.”

The above dialogue truly inspired Gamini Singla against the hardships that she faced in her journey as an IAS officer. She secured All India Rank (AIR)-3 in the UPSC CSE 2021. She went through the harsh process of this exam with the utmost patience, and her journey ended on a successful note due to her certain and resilient attitude towards life.

Choosing her Career: A Huge Dilemma

Unlike many others, being an IAS officer was never Gamini’s childhood dream. However, both her parents were government doctors under the government of Himachal Pradesh. Her father was the one who motivated her to be a civil servant and explained to her about the impact that an IAS officer can create for the masses. As soon as she joined college, there were numerous options for her on the menu. However, she wanted to be absolutely sure about what she really wanted to do in her life.

During her time in college, she worked as an intern for corporate firms and experienced the private world. She, even later on, got a full-time offer as well.

Turning Point and UPSC

Gamini once went for her driving license, and there she met the District Collectorate madam. She had an insightful discussion about the corporate vs. private world with Madam, and she learned a very important thing from the conversation. The District Collectorate madam told her that happiness is not derived from any particular job; it is all about how you take it. This conversation proved to be a turning point for her in choosing her career path, which was later strengthened by her internship at JP Morgan, where she finally decided to do UPSC. After her internship, in her 4th year of college, she started her actual preparation.

Gamini’s Struggles as a College Student in UPSC Preparations

Gamini Singla started her preparations with basic books and laid a huge emphasis on NCERT. As the UPSC examination gets tougher, aspirants are focusing less on NCERT, which is not the right thing to do. She further talks about the struggles that many college students face while preparing for college. She speaks about how college students have to sacrifice their weekends and short-term enjoyment plans.

Amidst all this, she even got a pre-placement offer from a company, which she rejected, and her parents supported her decision. Gamini was always clear about what she wanted to do. She also got guidance from a local teacher during this time as well.

First Attempt to Learn a Lot of Things

Gamini Singla failed her first prelims by 26 marks, and in her first attempt only, she realized that the mistake was on her part. She never blamed the toughness of the examination and deemed problems to be constant in this journey. All she worked on after her first failure was her attitude and strategy. After her first attempt, she went through toppers’ strategy videos and found loopholes in hers. These loopholes can be simplified into technical as well as non-technical improvements:

Technical Improvements

First, Gamini couldn’t give enough time to revision, which she considers very important.

Second, she did mock papers, but not properly. Therefore, in her second attempt, she sat for fixed periods of time, trying to create an examination environment around her while solving the mock paper. For example, she used to go to a nearby government school to solve mock papers. She even increased the number of mock papers.

Third, she left the newspaper reading near her first attempt. Gamini restarted reading newspapers in her second attempt. She also read the basic books again.

Fourth, in her second attempt, she never neglected her mains and did a lot of answer-writing practice even before prelims.

Non-Technical Improvements

First, it is very important to keep your attitude right. For example, in her first attempt, Gamini used to be very guilty of not giving her best, which was not a good thing. She even talks about the importance of being confident a lot.

Second, a UPSC aspirant should not make excuses. For example, in her first attempt, she used health as an excuse to justify her failure, which she avoided in her second attempt.

Gamini Singla to IAS Gamini Singla in Second Attempt

When Gamini cleared her first prelims in her second attempt, before her mains, her grandfather passed away. This hampered her mains preparation a lot, but she was prepared in advance for mains. For the interview, she gave her collective knowledge a perspective and read a lot of newspapers. After 15-20 days, on May 29th, she got her result and secured rank 3. Gamini’s journey is a true example of how the blend of the right attitude and hard work truly creates magic.

In the end, as Gamini says:

“UPSC is surely mentally and physically taxing, but the journey is worth it.”

Click here to know more about how Gamini Singla scaled the UPSC heights and fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an IAS officer.