Two youth from Nagaland, were among seven from the North East, who were among 685 successful candidates who cracked the prestigious Civil Services Examination, 2021 conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Viku L Achumi, ranked 567th, and Imsennaro Walling, ranked 585th, cleared the exam whose results were announced on Monday. Shruti Shram topped the exam, while the second and third ranks too were bagged by women– Ankita Agarwal and Gamini Singla respectively.
An alumnus of IIT, Kanpur, Viku L Achumi hails from Zunheboto and did his schooling from Sainik School, Imphal before completing his BTech in Civil Engineering from IIT, Kanpur in 2017.
Imsennaro Walling was born and brought up in Mokokchung. She did her schooling from Jubilee Memorial School, Mokokchung and from Pine Mount School, Shillong, before graduating with Physics honours from St Stephen’s College, Delhi in 2018.
Speaking to Nagaland Post, Achumi revealed that his determination to appear for UPSC exam started since the time he was in class 12. He said he took coaching classes after graduation in Delhi for general studies.
He said he relied on planning at least a week ahead and accordingly he would motivate himself to reach those targets. He mentioned that he had initially spent 4-5 hours a day studying and gradually increased the time. Emphasising on perseverance, he said he had been attempting the exams every year since 2017, before finally succeeding in his fifth attempt this time. Sharing tips, he said he always believed in God, dedication and hard-work as the keys to success.
Interacting with this reporter over phone, Imsennaro Walling said she began preparing for the civil services exam immediately after graduation. She revealed that her determination to appear for the UPSC exams started during her college days and began preparing for the exam, instead of pursuing higher education, but with the option that she would pursue masters if she did not make it.
To prepare for the exam, she said she took coaching from Vajiram and Ravi institute for her first attempt and thereafter opted for self-study for her second and third attempts, she added.
Mentioning that she failed to clear the preliminary exam (prelims) on the first two attempts, she blamed this on her lack of proper revision. But for her third attempt, she disclosed that remained focused and followed a fix timetable to study. She said she spent 7-8 hours preparing for the prelims and 9-10 hours preparing for the mains.
Walling advised civil service aspirants to have a proper study plan, go through the syllabus properly, go through previous years’ papers, to be dedicated and disciplined, have faith in God and get away from the laidback mindset.
She said she appeared for the prelims on October 10, 2021, mains in January 2022 and the final interview was conducted on April 29, 2022.
The others who cracked the UPSC exams from the North East include— Ankur Das (52nd rank) from Meghalaya; Shilpa Khanikar (506th rank) and Debajyoti Barma (639th rank) from Assam; Wairokpam Punshiba Singh (238th rank) and Makakmayum Hosni Mubarak (575th rank) from Manipur.
