Haryana’s Anu Kumari has become a new hero after she secured the 2nd rank in the prestigious UPSC civil services exams 2017. She was also the topper amongst the women.
Thirty one year-old Kumari’s story is inspiring in so many ways. Mother to a four-year-old child, she had quit her Rs 20 lakh job to prepare for the civil services exam. And it took her only a second attempt to crack the prestigious competition.
Unlike Hyderabad’s Durishetty Anudeep, who secured the All India top rank, she did not take coaching and relied on 10-12 hours of study every day. Kumari said that she did not even have access to newspapers in her village in Sonipat forcing her to take to the internet for preparations.
“I used to study 10-12 hours a day. This is like a dream come true. This feeling has still not sunk in. My first preference will be IAS as I want to stay in my country & serve the people here,” she told news agency ANI.
Kumari has a degree in Physics from Delhi University and an MBA from IMT Nagpur.
The Mains exam was conducted from 28 October to 3 November, 2017 for selection to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and other Central Services (Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’). The personality test started from February onwards. Every year, over 11 lakh candidates appear for the prestigious exams every year.