All efforts taken for the civil services examination of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC-2011) have proved rewarding for V. Prasanna Venkatesh, a 23-year old Central government employee in Tuticorin.
Mr. Venkatesh, an Assistant Plant Protection Officer in Plant Quarantine Station, Tuticorin, has been ranked 123 in the national level and sixth in Tamil Nadu. It was his second attempt. His perseverance has been rewarded with success. Constant motivation and moral support from my elder brother was an added advantage on this feat, he says.
Self-confidence, positive thinking, proper planning in studies and time management were key factors in achieving results, he says.
With dedication and perseverance while preparing for the examination for a period of one year, anybody could taste success. Language was not a barrier, says Mr. Venkatesh, whose medium of instruction was Tamil, while recounting his school days in Tiruchi, his native place.
A 2005-2009 batch agriculture graduate from Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore, he said one could prepare for this examination at any place. There was a myth that if they were based in New Delhi or somewhere else in North India, they could come out with flying colours. “A.P.J. Adbul Kalam, former Indian President, a man of simplicity, who exhorted the younger generation to dream big and bring about transformational changes to take our nation to great heights, is my role model. I have been dreaming of becoming an IAS officer from an young age and it has turned into a reality”
Amid a feeling of elation, though, he misses his mother very much. Just a few days ahead of the main examination, during the next round of selection procedure after getting through preliminary exam, he lost his 55-year-old mother who died of cardiac arrest on October 26, 2011. It was a testing time, he said.
