“The only thing that may come in between you and your ability to succeed is the fear of risk. It is this fear that pulls you backward from what you are destined to become,” said R.C. Sinha, chief consultant of New Delhi IAS Institute.
Addressing civil services aspirants at a seminar on ‘Careers in civil services’ organised by The Hindu in association with Hyderabad-based Analog IAS Institute at SVIMS Padmavathi Auditorium here on Sunday, he said the prime trait steering one towards success is the ability to believe and respect oneself as having the power within.
The audience comprising an impressive mix of students drawn from various careers like engineering, medicine and chartered accountancy was in for pleasant surprise when Mr. Sinha said that candidates from any academic background would fit in civil services.
He summarised anecdotes and case studies to drive home his message that a candidate should harp on basic traits like believing in oneself, nurturing the ability to excel through constant preparation, gaining control over one’s situation and expressing concern for the society at large.
He also rubbished the general myth that candidates from tier-II cities lagged behind and those in metropolitan cities were high-fliers.
Indicating that ‘bookish knowledge’ turned out to be the main impediment for many candidates, the bureaucrat-turned-trainer lamented that while the competitive examination system had undergone revolutionary changes, the academic system remained rotten, thus creating a stumbling block even for those possessing excellent marks memos.
SVIMS Director and Vice-Chancellor B. Vengamma saw a phenomenal change in the attitude of the present generation of students, which had stopped making a beeline towards engineering and medical streams. She observed that 30 per cent of undergraduate medical students during an interaction said they would plump for civil services instead of medical PG.
Analog IAS Institute Director V. Srikanth answered the queries raised by the students on the mode of preparation for the UPSC exams, while V. Nagendra Sai, an economics lecturer who heads the IAS Study Circle at Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha called The Hindu as a must-read for success in civil services.
The Hindu organises seminar on ‘Careers in civil services’
