Remaining confident and genuine helped Tanmay Vashistha Sharma to take hold of Rank 10 in Civil Services Examination 2018

With an outstanding performance, it is time for Tanmay Vashistha Sharma (AIR 10; CSE 2018) to relish the joy of achieving the goal he had set for himself.

Talking about realisation of worthwhile goal Tanmay said, “I desired to go for Civil Services as a career with a clear mind and the reason was diversity that these services offer and I wanted to serve the nation and masses.”

When I started, I had hope that in one or two attempts I will reach my destination; but, one cannot be sure because of the uncertainties that are involved.

My foray commenced with Civil Services Examination 2017 and I was fortunate to crack it in first attempt with AIR 215 that got me Indian Police Service (IPS). This success gave me all the strength in the world.

Commenting on it Tanmay said, “To put things into perspective, after success in very first attempt, I immediately decided to put in more efforts. Truly this experience gave me sense of satisfaction that in turn created the perfect mindset for pushing to the next attempt. I was sure that I will be able to make it if I continue hard work.”

“In Civil Services Examination 2018, with 10^th rank I am able to accomplish the task and fulfilled the aspirations of my parents” he added.

Disclosing foundation of this success Tanmay said, “We rarely reach levels of exceptional performance without the support of family. It is my family that gave me confidence and inspired me to think big."

"My parents live in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh. I was preparing with my elder brother Rahul, he is an engineer working with Bharat Electronics Limited."

While planning my endeavour in the beginning, I clearly understood exam-plan; we all know there are 3 aspects of examination Preliminary Examination, Main Examination Written and Interview. Each phase require different approach to tackle it successfully.

For guidance and the right advice there are many sources on the internet. One can read the strategy of toppers and it helps in decision making regarding reading material and how to go about it.

In Preliminary Examination that is objective type; there are two aspects: One, static content and the other, Current Affair part. So, for each sub-topic we have to read the material available that is standard books and for current affairs; newspaper and compilations we develop with self-notes.

For Main Examination, writing skills and time management is required; whereas for interview, it’s about personality.

My plan for General Studies was simple – an integrated approach.

For General Studies Paper 1 all the material I used for Preliminary Examination was common.

For General Studies Paper 2 and 3, besides static portion, my focus was more on current affairs and international relations as this is quite dynamic.

For General Studies Paper 4, one should understand more content by using internet and even ARC report can be used. Apart from this writing skills are also important.

For Essay, all you need is One, Content, Second, Writing skills and Third, Use answer scripts of previous selected candidates to get an idea about the style and presentation.

When it comes to Interview; one should read as much as newspapers as possible, one should be generally well aware of the world around. Remain confident and genuine; you will get rewarded.

Secret of Success

It is combination of God’s grace, parents, family, elder brother and friends. Every one contributed in some way and the last - my efforts.

Credit for Success

My family contributed the most in my success.

Advice to future aspirants

First, be clear about the requirements; then, doing the things that are required to be done is the next step.

It is all about amount of effort one puts in.