Our Correspondent
Kohima, May 30 (EMN): In a commendable achievement, two candidates from Nagaland cleared the prestigious Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil services examination 2021 on Monday.
Viku L Achumi from Dimapur secured the All India Rank (AIR) of 567 and Imsennaro Walling from Mokokchung secured 585th position.
As many as 685 candidates qualified the examination; Shruti Sharma topped the AIR, followed by Ankita Agarwal, Gamini Singla and Aishwarya Verma.
The two successful candidates from Nagaland on Monday shared Eastern Mirror how their sheer hard work, commitment, and never giving up attitude paid off.
Achumi, who studied at Sainik School in Imphal and graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in 2017, cracked the exam in his fifth attempt.
While the UPSC is yet to allot the services to the successful candidates, he shared his aspiration to emphasise on quality education of the upcoming generations.
He believed that he could clear this examination because of God’s grace, and his parents, relatives and well-wishers who have been consistently praying and encouraging him throughout his journey.
So, he dedicated his success to God, his parents and well-wishers.
Achumi encouraged the aspirants to “dream big and always trust in the Lord and He will help you to achieve your dream”.
‘But most importantly, you have to work hard with consistency and dedication as you embark on the journey to compete in any competitive examinations,’ he said.
“You may face setbacks in the journey but those setbacks will only make you stronger and those will act as a pillar for the achievements in the times to come,” he said.
He encouraged the younger generation and fellow aspirants to “never give up and pursue their dreams”.
Born and brought up in Mokokchung, Walling did her high school at Jubilee Memorial School in Mokokchung, higher secondary in Shillong and BSc. (Physics) in Delhi before started preparing for the civil service examination. She cracked the exam in her third attempt.
She is elated and glad her hard work had finally paid off. Her first preference is Indian Administrative Service, followed by Indian Foreign Service and Indian Revenue Service but she is also open to taking up whatever service is allocated to her.
The 24-year-old shared that she made daily, weekly, and monthly plans during the course of her preparation for the exam.
“I would normally plan a day ahead so that I have a gist of whatever I had to do the next day," shared Walling, who also cleared the Nagaland Public Service Commission prelim, the result of which was announced recently.
She made sure that at least 65%-75% of her plans were completed even though she was not able to complete 100%. That way, she didn’t lag behind. "I just stuck to those plans and gave regular mock tests and proper revision,” she said.
While expressing the need for “more representation in the bureaucracy since there has been a decreasing trend over the years”, she said that she has “complete faith” in the younger generation.
Walling encouraged the civil services aspirants to “have faith in themselves, have faith in God, have faith in whatever you are studying, giving the fact that you are putting in your hard work and dedication, and be disciplined”.
“Don’t go with that Naga (attitude); we Nagas have a very laid back attitude so I wouldn’t advise them to be like that when they are sitting for this (UPSC) examination. I would advise them to be very dedicated and disciplined so that we don’t disappoint ourselves in the course of the preparation. Because, eventually when we don’t put in our effort or when we don’t put in our 100%, it will show in our results. So, I want to advise them to be dedicated and committed to whatever they are doing,” she said.
Meanwhile, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio has congratulated the two successful candidates from the state.
“Wish you good health and wisdom in the service of the nation as you step into a world of challenges and opportunities,” he wrote.