“Faith and confidence in myself coupled with immense hard work are the secrets of my success “
-Apoorva Rana
‘Pratiyogita Darpan’ arranged an exclusive interview with Ms. Apoorva Rana who has been selected in Himachal Pradesh Judicial Services Examination 2017. She deserves high admiration and our heartiest congratulations on her incomparable achievement. This important, thought-provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.
PD—Pratiyogita Darpan congratulates you on your amazing performance in the HP and MP Judicial Services Exam.
Ms. Apoorva—Thank you so much.
PD—How and when did you experience the dignity and importance of the Judicial Services ?
Ms. Apoorva—I had decided to become a judicial officer way back in my school days. I drew initial inspiration from the success of my relatives in this field. Thereafter, while in law school, this dream grew even stronger once I started studying law.
PD—When did that moment come when you started looking for career options in the Judicial Services ?
Ms. Apoorva—Like I mentioned before, this was a childhood dream. I was always focused on becoming a judicial officer.
PD—What did you think of the toppers before your result came out ?
Ms. Apoorva—I used to really look forward to reading the interviews of toppers not only in the field of judicial services, but even toppers of UPSC exams. I believe that though the two fields are different, the focus, hard work, determination and zeal to clear both the exams are similar. These interviews serve as a great source of motivation, inspiration and fill in that confidence in you that by putting in sincere efforts, even you can clear the exams.
PD—Judicial Services- Was this your only goal or did you prepare for an alternative career option along with it ?
Ms. Apoorva—No, this was my only goal. I never had any another alternative or backup in mind.
PD—To whom would you like to give the credit of your success ?
Ms. Apoorva—I give the credit of my success to the relentless hardwork that I have put in for the past couple of years. I also give the credit to my parents, my family and friends. I also extend my gratitude to the Rahul’s IAS Coaching Institute for their constant guidance, and my alma mater ILS Law College and CJM, Ambala.
PD—What was your first step after deciding to sit for the exam. ? From where did you get the direction and guidance regarding your preparation ?
Ms. Apoorva—I had started giving serious thought to preparation in the final year of my college. I started revising my legal concepts in the final year and brushed up my knowledge. Thereafter, I joined the Rahul’s IAS Coaching Institute in Delhi, where I spent the next 1 year preparing for the exam.
PD—Were you satisfied and hopeful for success with your preparation and performance in the exam in this attempt ?
Ms. Apoorva—Yes, I was satisfied with my performance in this attempt of HP judiciary exam, and was hopeful of clearing it. But I hadn’t thought that I would ace it with the 1st rank. That was a pleasant surprise for me and a dream came true.
PD—After how many attempts did you finally succeed ?
Ms. Apoorva—It was my first attempt in HP judiciary exam and 2nd attempt in MP judiciary. In my first attempt in MP judiciary, I reached up to the interview stage, but missed clearing the exam by a few marks. But, I feel that that entire journey up till the interview and my first interview experience in any exam, gave me loads of important lessons to learn which I carried forward for the later exams.
PD—Time-management whether it is the preparation or the answer writing, is an important factor. Did you face any problem related to time ? If yes, then how did you overcome it ?
Ms. Apoorva—Yes, time-management is the key to any exam and these two exams were no exception. I did not face time related problems because I had gone through the previous years’ papers and worked upon time management in answer writing. I had made a proper chart as to the time in which I had to attempt various questions based on their marks.
| Bio-data |
| Name—Ms. Apoorva Rana
Father’s Name—Shri Rajinder Singh Rana Mother’s Name—Mrs. Anita Rana Date of Birth—10 October, 1992. Educational Qualifications— 10th—2009, CBSE, Convent of Jesus and Mary Ambala (93%) 12th—2011, CBSE, PKR Jain, Ambala (94·6%) BSL, LL.B.—2011-16 Savitribai Phule Pune University, ILS Law College, Pune (67·4%) Previous Selections—MP Judiciary 2017 (34th Rank) |
PD—What were your strategies for Preliminary, Mains and Interview ?
Ms. Apoorva—Prelims is mostly bare act based. I thoroughly revised the bare acts a good number of times. For mains, I revised the notes provided by my coaching mainly and focused on the way to write answers in the exam. For interview, I went through the main portions in law subjects and focused on GK and Constitution, as those are two key areas that questions are asked from, in the interview. I also read about the interview experiences of a few past year’s toppers.
PD—How did you prepare for essay-writing? Which topic did you choose and why ?
Ms. Apoorva—In both the exams, essay writing was a part of the language papers. I read the current topics in both legal and social spheres and made points of each topic. I attempted the essay on the theme Utility of Books in Forming a Culture. I chose this topic as I could associate with it by virtue of having an interest in reading books and thus could give a personal touch to the essay.
PD—How did you prepare for the Interview and what were the questions asked ?
Ms. Apoorva—I revised my notes and focused on GK and Constitution in particular, for the interview. In the interview focus was on the current know-how, apart from the regular legal questions. HP GK was one major focus and also international relations and events. I was asked questions related to South China Sea dispute.
PD—At what stage of education should a person start thinking for the preparation of Judicial Services Exam ? According to you, how long time does the preparation require?
Ms. Apoorva—For me, judiciary was in mind right from the very beginning. So, throughout college, I focused on studying well, which not only helped me secure University ranks in the merit list but also strengthened my legal knowledge. I started focusing particularly from the final year of college onward. I feel, a full-fledged one year preparation is needed to ace the exam. But, at the same time, I would also mention that this is personal to every individual and may vary from one to the other based upon one’s grasping power and level of concentration.
PD—What are your expectations from a standard magazine for competitive exams ?
Ms. Apoorva—A standard magazine for competitive exams should cover a diverse range of topics, should be in an easy to understand language and should focus on quality rather than quantity. At the same time, it is also essential that the information is properly structured and presented to the reader in an organised manner.
PD—How close do you find Pratiyogita Darpan to these standards which is the most widely read magazine in India ?
Ms. Apoorva—Pratiyogita Darpan lives upto these standards very well. I feel it presents the information in a very sorted manner. To add to it, the monthly competitions, interviews of toppers, previous year questions papers of various exams etc, give that impetus to the reader to opt for this magazine over any other.
PD—Keeping the future in mind, did you set any limits on preparation and attempts ?
Ms. Apoorva—My foremost aim was to clear the exam for any state in the first attempt itself. While I missed my first MP exam by a whisker, I gained further motivation out of that experience to brace myself up and clear the next exams that I attempted. That worked and I was able to ace the HP judiciary exam in my first attempt.
PD—What is your mantra for success ?
Ms. Apoorva—I believe that faith and confidence in oneself coupled with immense hardwork till the goal is attained, is the key to success in any field.
PD—For your preparation of General Knowledge, which books and magazines did you use ?
Ms. Apoorva—I referred to Pratiyogita Darpan monthly English issue, the GK notes from my coaching institute and brushed up certain topics by browsing the internet. For the polity section, I always chose the Pratiyogita Darpan Polity extra issue, which I believe presents the information in the most systematic and the easiest way on the subject.
| Personal Qualities |
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Favourite Persons—Roger Federer (the all time great lawn tennis player). I have followed him from the initial years of his career and he stands as an epitome of how extreme hard work, passion for your work, patience and the never give up attitude in life can make you the best in your field. Strong Point—I am a very hard working person. Weak Point—I can worry a lot sometimes. Hobbies—Lawn tennis, listening to music, reading |
PD—Tell us about some tasks from your daily routine which were an important part in your preparation.
Ms. Apoorva—A study time of about 7-8 hours per day, taking adequate sleep and eating healthy, played an important role in my preparation.
PD—What would you like to suggest to the upcoming candidates ?
Ms. Apoorva—I would say that the field of competitive exams is a vast arena with a large number of strong competitors toiling hard to achieve success. In this scenario, consistent hard work is the only way out for any person aiming to make a mark. Perseverance is the key to success. At the same time it is also equally imperative that you have faith in your abilities, stay honest to yourself in your efforts and always aim at learning and improving yourself every single day. If all this is ensured, so will your success be. My best wishes to everyone preparing out there.
PD—Best wishes for your bright future.
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