Kolkata :
Several aspirants from Kolkata cracked the civil services final exam, the results of which were declared on Friday. Among the successful candidates were Azar Zia, who ranked 97th, Shekhar Kumar Chaudhary, who bagged the 216th position and Purnava Ganguly 498th.
Son of a retired state civil servant, Tiljala resident Zia was confident of clearing the exam in his third attempt. “The first time I took the exam in 2015, I was unprepared, and during the next attempt in 2016, I was down with chikungunya. This time I prepared well,” said the St James’ School alumnus. Finishing plus-two in 2005, Zia scored over 90% in both ICSE and ISC. “I did my BTech in electronics and communication engineering from a private engineering college in Kolkata. Though I got placed, I didn’t take up a job immediately. I studied for CAT in 2009. I pursued MBA from FMS Delhi and in 2012, landed a job in a corporate biggie. But I quit in 2015 and from 2016, started preparing for UPSC,” he said.
What made him shift to civil service? “After three years in the corporate sector, I realized money was not my motivation. I wanted to contribute to society,” Zia said. He studied at a residential campus in Delhi for UPSC. “I was mostly dependent on online material.” The two main areas Zia wants to focus on are alleviation of poverty and uplift of kids through education.
Shekhar Kumar Chaudhary cracked UPSC even last year and is now undergoing IPS training at Hyderabad. He did his MTech from IIT-Delhi in communication engineering, before studying physics at Presidency College and BTech at Rajabazar Science College. “Earlier, I worked as a state civil service cadre in the commercial tax department.
After I cracked UPSC last year, I joined IPS. But since my rank is better now, I will probably move to a different service,” said the Teghoria resident. “I will work to help generate more employment.”
For Purnava Ganguly, success came at the fifth attempt. “I went to Patha Bhavan, after which I graduated in civil engineering from JU in 2010. I did my Masters in international business from Delhi School of Economics. I currently work at a central government undertaking at Jharsuguda, Odisha.” Ganguly expects to get through IRS or Indian Audit and Account service. “I am also interested in Indian Trade Service,” he said, adding his parents living in Garia were happy with his performance.
“My advise to youngsters is get into civil services. The more aspirants we have, the better for Bengal,” said Jyotirmoy Pal Chaudhuri, who runs a civil service coaching school here.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Kolkata News> Schools & Colleges / by Somdatta Basu / TNN / April 29th, 2018