Upsc Lucknow Topper Quits Us Government Job To Serve Nation

[jpismahatma]

UCKNOW: Aspiring for a career in civil services, Niharika Bhatt—UPSC all India rank 146— returned to India in May 2014 after quitting a US government job in Washington DCand what better reward than hitting the jackpot in her maiden attempt. Apparently, her first question in the UPSC interview was what made her quit the job and return to India and pursue civil services.

Niharika is daughter of a doctor father and mother is a home-maker. After finishing her electronics and instrumentation engineering from Lucknow's Institute of Engineering and Technology, she pursued MTech from University of Michigan. "I then took up job of a researcher in department of food and drug administration (FDA) of the US government. Here, I worked for one-and-a-half year on how nano particles impacted human health,'' Niharika told TOI.

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"During my US government service, I travelled to China. It was then I realised the biggest impact I can make on the society is being a part of the government machinery. And then it struck me, why US and not my own country...India is a growing power, after all and I must help my country move forward'' said Niharika, adding that the job of a civil servant is the most prestigious, challenging and diverse.

"It not only gives chance to serve people but also helps understand issues and problems of people. With this thought, I decided to quit the job and returned to India to prepare in May 2014," she said.

She settled in Delhi where she didn't attend a classroom coaching and instead studied Sociology—her optional subject in UPSC Mains—on her own. "I only joined the mock tests. During my stay in Delhi, I was cut off from everybody. Except my parents, no one in the family had my phone number,'' she said.

READ ALSO: Meerut boy ranks 13th in UPSC, first in Hindi medium 

Niharika put in 10-12 hours of self-studies daily and made efficient use of internet to understand current issues. For instance, when she read about sanitation drive taken by the government, she consolidated all data such as on sanitation schemes of different governments.

In her interview, she was asked about role of khap panchayats, to which she said, there is good khap and bad khap. The positive side is it held reduce conflicts in societies. The negative side is it takes extra-judicial decisions leading to killings, which should be curtailed.

Since interviews were conducted just before PM Narendra Modi was about to visit China, she was also asked on what should be the priorities of the Modi-led government vis-a-vis China. "Trade deficit was undoubtedly priority number one followed by security issues,'' she said was her reply.

READ ALSO: Kids of cabbie, farmer among UPSC toppers 

Being a women aspirant, she was also questioned on recommendations made by Justice Verma committee, set up after Nirbhaya incident, to recommend amendments to Criminal Law so as to provide for quicker trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women.

[jpismahatma]

good job niharika...

[alpachinao]

Picha lite

[Akkumm_Bakkumm]

Edina nijamena leka MIT student NASA job vadili india poyina story lantidena...??

[tom bhayya]

Edina nijamena leka MIT student NASA job vadili india poyina story lantidena...??