'Never give up', second topper Anu Kumari advises IAS aspirants

Coming from a state where crimes against women haven’t dipped, Kumari said, “Haryana is a patriarchal state. In the current circumstances there are a lot of crimes against children and women. It will be my priority to give women a safe environment wherever I am posted. I believe a change of attitude is the need of the hour.”

Anu Kumari with her 4-year-old kid.

NEW DELHI:  Haryana's Anu Kumari who secured second rank in UPSC exams has said an IAS officer she wants to give first priority to safety of women. Kumari found success in her second attempt. She was short of just one mark in her previous UPSC preliminary examination but that didn’t crash her hopes. Speaking to ABP News about how she balanced her personal life and studies, Kumari said, “I had overcome a lot of emotional attachment, especially with my child. I always had in mind that I had limited attempts to crack the exam.” Advising IAS aspirants, the mother of a four-year-old said that ‘one has to be persevering and should never give up in achieving the desired goal.’ Coming from a state where crimes against women haven’t dipped, Kumari said, “Haryana is a patriarchal state. In the current circumstances there are a lot of crimes against children and women. It will be my priority to give women a safe environment wherever I am posted. I believe a change of attitude is the need of the hour.”

हरियाणा की बेटी अनु कुमारी को संघ लोक सेवा आयोग की परीक्षा में दूसरा स्थान प्राप्त करने पर हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं। आशा करता हूँ कि आपसे प्रेरणा लेकर प्रदेश की बेटियाँ निरंतर उच्च लक्ष्य प्राप्त करने को प्रेरित होंगी। #UPSC #BetiyonKaHaryana

— Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) April 27, 2018

To a question on many hours she devoted for studies, Kumar said, “I studied for a minimum 10-12 hours each day. Sometimes it went up to 14. I used to sleep between 10 pm – 4 am. My dark circles are an indication that I never slept much” On why she didn't choose the Indian Foreign Service, Kumari said she 'wants to serve India'. Kumari also did not take any coaching for her preparations so didn’t Telangana's Durishetty Anudeep, who secured the first rank. She has studied Physics from Delhi University and completed MBA from IMT, Nagpur.