Hearing Loss, No Coaching & 4 Months To Prep: Inspiring Story Of IAS Saumya Sharma, AIR 9 in UPSC
There are a lot of successful Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examination (UPSC CSE) stories. Still, some of them are so unique and special that you must read them over and over again. Here, we bring you one such success story - a story that will inspire those aspirants who get disheartened and complain about any small discomforts they encounter in their preparation.
It is the story of IAS Saumya Sharma, who secured AIR 09 in the 2017 UPSC CSE. Let us get to know more about her background, preparation strategy, optional paper, etc.
UPSC CSE is an examination conducted every year to recruit civil servants for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and Indian Police Service (IPS). It is known for its tough and vast syllabus that tests the in-depth understanding of aspirants with the noble aim of producing bright, daring, and inspirational officers.
Who Is IAS Saumya Sharma?
Saumya Sharma is a native of Delhi. She completed her schooling in Delhi. After completing her higher secondary education, she went on to graduate from the prestigious National Law School, New Delhi.
Both of her parents are doctors. When Saumya Sharma was in 11th standard, she started to lose her hearing power. She was only 16 at the time. Her parents tried everything to help her but to no avail. Eventually, Saumya was recommended to use hearing aids to help her hear things properly. This was indeed a huge setback for Saumya.
A letter to the Delhi High Court by IAS Saumya Sharma
It was in the year 2016, as a final year law student, that Saumya first made headlines when a letter written by her was received by the Delhi High Court. In the letter, she sought an extension of the reservation policy to include hearing-impaired students.
The handicap quota didn’t include hearing-impaired candidates at the time of applying for the Delhi Judicial Services Examination. The reservation policy was extended only to the physically handicapped students, i.e. orthopedically handicapped and the visually handicapped.
Taking into consideration the valid arguments stated in her letter, the then Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, G Rohini extended the reservation without any litigation. This was a milestone achievement made by Saumya Sharma just before becoming an IAS officer.
Saumya Sharma's UPSC CSE Journey
Saumya Sharma started her UPSC CSE preparation with unwavering commitment and dedication. Her uncompromising efforts yielded fruit in her first attempt itself. At the young age of 23, she secured an impressive AIR 09 in the 2017 UPSC CSE.
It must be noted that this great achievement of Saumya was made without any special provisions for differently-abled individuals as she opted to compete in the general category!
IAS Saumya Sharma is currently serving in the Maharashtra cadre as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nagpur Zilla Parishad. As an inspirational and influential personality, IAS Saumya is active on social media and has a good number of followers. She is married to IPS Archit Chandak, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Nagpur City.
UPSC CSE Preparation Strategy
Every successful candidate has their own unique preparation strategy for the exam. IAS Saumya Sharma`s preparation strategy for the exam might help you frame your own strategy, too. Read her strategies carefully:
- Saumya Sharma made sure that she invested quality time and studied for a maximum of 6 hours per day only.
- A major chunk of her study materials came from internet sources.
- She knew about the importance of current affairs in this examination and studied daily for the same.
- Saumya emphasizes that aspirants must not take the CSAT paper lightly though it is a qualifying paper; taking mock tests of CSAT papers will greatly help clear the exam.
- Going through previous years question papers along with taking test series to get the feel of the examination will boost aspirants’ motivation and confidence.
- According to Saumya, reading the daily newspaper to keep track of the happenings in the country and around the world must be inculcated as a habit by all aspirants.
Tips For Choosing Optional Paper UPSC
Choosing the optional papers for the UPSC Mains exam is very important. Every aspirant must thoroughly be aware of the importance of this paper when it comes to getting into the merit list, as a bulk of the marks from the optional papers make a huge difference.
Saumya Sharma`s optional papers were of law since it was the subject of her graduation. She was quite well-versed in the subject and confident that the paper could fetch her good marks.
Recommended Booklist for UPSC
Some important general study (GS) books that Saumya Sharma studied during her preparation are listed below:
- Current affairs: The Hindu newspaper & other relevant online sources
- Polity: Laxmikant & DD Basu
- Ancient History: RS Sharma, old NCERT & new NCERT books
- Medieval history: 7th NCERT & some selected chapters from old NCERT books
- Modern history: Bipan Chandra & Spectrum
- Art & Culture: 11th NCERT books on Art, NIOS, etc.
- Geography: GC Leong, NCERT books, Oxford India Atlas
- Environment: Down to Earth magazine
Key Takeaways
Having read the success story of IAS Saumya Sharma, we have extracted these few gems for you to treasure throughout your preparation:
- Success is all about your determination, hard work, and perseverance.
- One`s physical limitation becomes a source of strength and inspiration when success is achieved despite tough moments in life.
- In UPSC CSE, quantity does not make sense if the quality investment of time is not realized.
- Coaching is just an option; aspirants can crack the exam through self-study by extracting quality study materials from the internet.
- Do not go after too many study materials; select a few relevant books and master them.
- Do not make the mistake of taking the CSAT paper lightly though it is a qualifying paper; it will cost you dearly.
- Take as many quality mock test series as possible.
- Go through the previous years' question papers in order to get an idea of how UPSC tends to set or change the question pattern every year.
All the best aspirants!
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