Tag Archives: Iram Choudhary – UPSC 2024

Kashmir: Muneeb Bhat, Haris Mir realised their ‘yeh dil mange more’ dream by clearing UPSC

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Anantnag District / Kupwara District : JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Two out of 12 aspirants from Jammu and Kashmir who qualified for the UPSC Civil Services 2024 have followed their passion for “Yeh Dil Mange More” (My heart wants more) and improved their rankings in the administrative services for which they had already qualified.

The duo is Mohammad Muneeb Bhat from Anantnag district of South Kashmir (AIR 131) who is already serving the J&K government after clearing the JK Public Service Commission examination; and Mohammad Haris Mir, AIR 314 from Kupwara district of North Kashmir.

Haris Mir hit the All India rank of 345 in the UPSC Civil Services examinations of 2023 and has improved his rankings.

Interestingly, a woman – Iram Choudhary from Rajouri district of Jammu region – is the topper from the UT with AIR 40.

Mohammad Muneeb Bhat, son of the government teachers from Anantnag town of South Kashmir, had set his goal of joining the civil services while pursuing his Civil Engineering degree at the Lovely Professional University in Punjab.

He told Awaz-The Voice that he started preparing for the coveted UPSC exam soon after completing his Engineering degree. He took the exam in 2017. “The motivation for civil services came from those already qualified persons from J&K like Shah Faesal (2009) and Athar Aamir Khan (2016), though there has been a considerable number of UPSC qualifiers over the past about two decades.

“I continued to achieve the goal” till my success in the last attempt this year”, Bhat said. He stayed in Delhi to attend different institutions including the Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) at the Jamia Millia Islamia.

While preparing for the UPSC examination, Mohamad Muneeb Bhat qualified for the J&K (UT) PSC examination in 2023 and was allocated the J&K Police Services. He is presently undergoing probation with the UT government.

His father, Mohammad Ashraf Bhat retired as a Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) last year, while his mother recently retired from service.

Mohammad Haris Mir qualified for the UPSC with AIR 345 last year but made yet another attempt to achieve a higher rank. He was allotted Revenue Services ((IRS) and is presently undergoing probation at the National Academy of Direct Taxes (NADT) in Nagpur.

“To achieve a higher rank, I prepared during my probation”, Mohammad Haris Mir told Awaz The Voice from Nagpur. “The motivation (to achieve a higher rank) was like any other aspirant and the hard work has been fruitful”, he said.

As it’s permitted, Haris took leave fromn the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, to prepare for the mains of the 2024 examinination and later joined the  Uttarakhand, and took leave to prepare for mains of the Civil services 2024. He later joined NADT at Nagpur.

Mohammad Haris was also motivated by the success of senior bureaucrats like Shah Faesal and Athar Amir. He qualified for the UPSC on the first attempt last year.

Though his father is a doctor, Haris opted for the humanities. Hailing from a remote area of Handwara in the border district of Kupwara, Dr Mir had shifted to Srinagar as he was posted in the Oncology Department at the SKIMS Hospital, Soura in Srinagar.

After completing the XII examination, Haris, 26, joined the 5-year degree course in Law, B A, LL.B from the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Though Jamia Millia Islamia offers free coaching to students from minority communities for the UPSC examinations (Residential Coaching Academy) Haris preferred to prepare without joining coaching classes. “Soon after completing his Law degree, I began to prepare through self-study for the UPSC examination….it was a full year of studies involving hard work, which led me to clear the examination in the first attempt”, he told Awaz-the Voice

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Ehsan Fazili, Srinagar / April 30th, 2025

Farkhanda Qureshi: Small town woman achieves big success by securing 67th rank in UPSC

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Balaghat, MADHYA PRADESH :

Farkhanda Qureshi of Balaghat, Madya Pradesh, outside UPSC office in Delhi

Farkhanda Qureshi was in her eighth grade when she saw district Collector B. Chandrasekharan son a local Television channel. This visual ignited a dream in her mind; she too wanted to become a civil servant. Today this Muslim woman from from Balaghat, a small town of Madhya Pradesh, has realized her dream which she nurtured over the years with passion, hard work, overcoming failures and perseverance.

Farkhanda Qureshi has secured 67th rank in the UPSC 2024 Civil Services Examination and would soon join the Lal Bahadur Shashtri National Academy for Administration, Dehradun, for training to become an Indian civil servant.

“I had decided that one day I will also become a collector and work for society.” She credits her success in her fourth attempt to her family’s support.

She started preparing for UPSC in 2021. Despite failures, she did not give up. She says, “My parents did not let me break down; they motivated me and told me that I will get success one day. Had they not supported me, I would have probably given up in the first or second attempt,” she told the told media persons.

Farkhanda believes that for a tough exam like UPSC, studying for 18 hours is not necessary, but consistency and strategy are. “I studied for 6 to 8 hours every day, but I studied every day. Old year papers, standard books, current affairs and newspapers were an important part of my preparation.”

Farkhanda Qureshi flanked by her parents Nikhat Anjum and Abdul Malik Qureshi

Farkhanda, who completed her 10th from St. Mary’s School and 12th from Methodist Mission, says, “Being from a small town like Balaghat has never been my weakness. I believe that if the youth here get the right direction and resources, they can make a name for themselves across the country.”

Farkhanda considers her father Abdul Malik Qureshi, who is a lawyer, and her mother Nikhat Anjum Qureshi, a homemaker, her heroes and credits her success to them.

Her father said, “Today people recognize me by my daughter’s name, nothing can give me greater happiness than this.”

There is a festive atmosphere in the area, the collector congratulated Farkhanda and and wished her a bright future. The local mosque committee (Anjuman( also felicitated her and called her inspiration for the Muslim youth.

Out of the 1,009 candidates recommended by UPSC this year, 26 are Muslims, though none made it to the Top 25. 

Iram Choudhary (Rank 40) and Farkhanda Qureshi (Rank 67) are the highest-ranking Muslim candidates in the merit list. A total of 97 Muslim candidates were selected for the interview stage, and the success rate stands at 2.57%, lower than previous years.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Abdul Wasim Ansari, Balaghat, Bhopal (name error edited) / April 26th, 2025

Jamia’s free UPSC coaching produces 32 civil servants in 2024

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NEW DELHI :

New Delhi :

Turning aspirations into achievements, the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university’s Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) has once again proven to be a beacon of hope for civil service aspirants as a total of 32 students trained there have cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination 2024, one of the most competitive exams in the country.

Of the 78 candidates from the RCA who reached the interview stage, 32 made it to the final selection list, according to a statement issued by the JMI.

Twelve among them are women, reflecting the RCA’s strong emphasis on inclusive and gender-responsive education, the statement said.

Alfred Thomas emerged as the academy’s top performer this year with an All India Rank (AIR) of 33. He was followed by Iram Choudhary (AIR 40) and Ruchika Jha (AIR 51), all of whom have earned praise for their inspiring journeys.

Speaking exclusively to PTI, Jha said, “The Jamia Millia Islamia RCA gave me a healthy competitive environment to push myself to work hard. The peer group I got here kept me motivated through tough times. The JMI RCA has played a crucial role in my UPSC-CSE journey.” She added that service allocation is expected in the next four to five months and her first preference is the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre.

Several of the selected candidates are likely to be inducted into top services like the IAS and Indian Police Service (IPS), while others will join the India Revenue Service (IRS), Audit and Accounts, Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) and other Group-A services based on their ranks and preferences.

Celebrating the achievement, JMI Vice Chancellor Professor Mazhar Asif said, “This result is a matter of great pride. The RCA continues to uphold its mission of empowering students from socially- and economically-disadvantaged backgrounds. The performance of our women candidates particularly underscores the potential of inclusive education.”

Registrar Professor Mohammad Mahtab Alam Rizvi said, “These results are a reflection of the academy’s rigorous preparation model and the unwavering determination of our students. The RCA has built an environment of excellence that consistently delivers.”

Professor Samina Bano, the in-charge of the RCA, was praised for her personalised mentorship and hands-on guidance, which played a crucial role in this year’s success.

Established in 2010 under the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) initiative, the RCA operates through the university’s Centre for Coaching and Career Planning (CC&CP). It offers free coaching and residential facilities to candidates from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities and women. Admission is based on a national-level written test, followed by interviews.

The academy’s legacy includes Shruti Sharma, the UPSC topper of 2021. Since its inception, the RCA has helped nearly 300 students enter elite services such as the IAS, IPS and Indian Foreign Service (IFS), while more than 300 others have joined services like CAPF, IB, RBI, Bank PO and various state PSCs.

According to the statement, the RCA’s structured programme includes more than 500 hours of classes, mock interviews, special sessions with retired civil servants and experts, and mentorship by successful alumni. It also provides round-the-clock library access, free Wi-Fi and secure residential facilities.

The Civil Services Examination is conducted in three stages — preliminary, mains and interview — to select officers for the IAS, IFS, IPS and other central services.

The preliminary exam was held on June 16, 2024, with 9,92,599 candidates applying and 5,83,213 appearing. A total of 14,627 candidates qualified for the main exam held in September and 2,845 reached the interview stage that was conducted from January 7 to April 17, 2025.

This year, the UPSC has recommended 1,009 candidates — 725 men and 284 women — for appointment to various services.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by PTI / Tarique Anwar / April 24th, 2025