Of the 1122 candidates on the list of people who cleared the Civil Services Examination 2013, more than 100 are from Tamil Nadu.
V.P. Jeyaseelan, who is an official of Indian Revenue Service, secured the 45th rank in all India level and scored the highest among candidates from Tamil Nadu, making it to the prestigious Indian Administrative Service. He was the topper from Tamil Nadu.
The Union Public Service Commission on Thursday released the list of selected candidates who have been recommended for appointment to the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Foreign Service and Group A and B services.
Mr. Jeyaseelan said he got his inspiration from reading about a senior bureaucrat who worked for tsunami rehabilitation after 2004.
“I wrote the civil services examination in Tamil. This is a victory for Tamil. I am a strong advocate of learning in mother tongue. Language is not a barrier to success in civil services examination.”
“My father V.Palanichamy was unable to do higher education after school. My mother P.Pandiammal also did not get opportunity for higher education. But they inspired me to attain the goal of IAS,” said Mr.Jeyaseelan. “I did schooling in a rural area. Facilities in Chennai such as Manithanaeyam Free Coaching Centre, All India Civil Services Coaching Centre, Shankar IAS Academy and Prabha IAS Academy offered me guidance,” he said.
Mr.Jeyaseelan stressed the need for State government initiative of preparing a question bank for civil services examination in Tamil. K.Vertriselvi who secured the 143rd rank said facilities in Chennai played a role in her success. “My father wanted me to become an IAS officer. But my native village in Sivagangai district did not have modern facilities even for telecommunication. I did my post-graduation in Ethiraj College in Chennai. The changing pattern of civil services examination, including questions on ethics, required me to get guidance from Manithanaeyam Free Coaching Centre and T.I.M.E. IAS in Chennai. This success has helped my father realise his dream,” said Ms.Vetriselvi. She pointed to the repeated appearance for test series conducted by various coaching centres in Chennai as the key to her success. But most of the successful candidates who visited Chennai for preparation wanted to go back to serve people in underdeveloped rural areas in the country. “Chennai has emerged as a destination for preparation of civil services examination with a range of free coaching centres and libraries. There is a steady inflow of aspirants to Chennai every year,” said S.Bala, Director of Bala IAS Academy.
