Success Story: Ms Debasmita Das, Rank 84

At a time when the common perception is that attending private tuition or coaching classes is essential to secure good marks even in school examinations, Ms Debasmita Das (photograph right) has gone and proved it wrong.

Ms Das, a resident of Belgharia, has cracked the UPSC civil services examination this year at the age of 24 without attending any coaching classes or seeking the help of private tutors.

She did not just crack the most prestigious civil services examination in the country, she ranked 84 too. But Ms Das, who took her Honours in Chemistry from Jaipuria College in 2006, had to leave Kolkata and shift to Chennai to crack.

In her words: “I moved to Chennai to prepare for the exam as the state does not have the right ambience for facilitating preparation for such tough exams. Students from the state don't have the mental make up to take up the challenge ~ they are more academically oriented. But I can say that the exam can be cracked without the help of coaching centres.” But Ms Das' success has virtually gone unnoticed in the state. This is because she had taken the examination in Chandigarh. After the UPSC results were published on 5 May, newspapers in Chandigarh and Punjab claimed that Ms Das was a daughter of the Punjab soil.

But after coming back to the city, Ms Das told The Statesman that her preferred place of posting was West Bengal, her home state.

“Newspapers in Chandigarh and Punjab made the claim because I had sat the mains examination there,” she added. She had taken up Public Administration and Geography as her optionals for the exam. She cleared the UPSC in her second attempt for which she devoted 10-12 hours a day to preparations. And text books and not notes proved her mainstay.

Ms Das has a piece of advice for IAS aspirants from the state. “Once you decide to go for the exam, go till the end and put in all of your efforts,” she said.
When asked what would be her priority after joining the service, Ms Das said: “If I get posted in West Bengal, I would lay stress on public distribution system first because it is not in a good shape in the state.” pranesh sarkar

Courtesy : Thestatesman.net

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