8 Success Mantras from Haritha V Kumar (CSE 2012 AIR 1)

UPSC Civil Services Exam 2012 Topper Haritha V Kumar is the first woman topper from Kerala. The state of Kerala known for its literacy rate celebrated a first rank triumph after 22 years. In this article, you can read all about IAS Topper Haritha Kumar’s UPSC Preparation Strategy and Tips for UPSC Success.

Haritha V Kumar IAS – Background

• Haritha is one of the three children of Vijayakumar and Chithra.
• She is a native of Kerala.
• She completed her schooling from St. Theresa’s Convent School and Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Neyyattinkara.
• After that, Haritha did her engineering from the Government Engineering College, Thiruvananthapuram and specialised in Electronics and Communication.
• Haritha was motivated by her father since childhood who would often tell her that she could be a collector.
• An avid Malayalam movie buff, Haritha is also trained in Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music.
• She also likes to read Malayalam novels and poetry.

Haritha V Kumar – Previous Attempts

• Haritha gave her first UPSC attempt in 2009. She cleared the IAS Prelims but failed to clear the mains.
• In her second attempt, Haritha secured a rank of 179 making her eligible for the IPS, but she opted for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).
• In her third attempt, she secured a rank of 294.
• Before her fourth attempt in 2012, Haritha took a year’s leave from her Indian Revenue Service (IRS) training.
• This paid off as she bagged the top rank gaining entry into her dream service, the IAS, and creating a wonderful UPSC success story.

Optional Subjects

Haritha’s optional subjects were Economics optional and Malayalam Literature.

IAS Topper Marks

Haritha’s UPSC marks are given in the table below:

Haritha V Kumar’s 8 Success Mantras for IAS Aspirants

1. The success of a UPSC aspirant is directly proportional to the intensity of your desire to become an IAS officer.
2. It is essential to stay focused on the goal. This will help UPSC aspirants overcome the hindrances and failures they may face.
3. UPSC aspirants should not get discouraged by any reason and must work with commitment and a strong determination.
4. The aspirant should divide the UPSC syllabus into several parts and decide how much they would cover each day, instead of studying for a particular number of hours.
5. UPSC aspirants should do a lot of writing practice before attempting the Civil services mains examination which is written in nature.
6. Aspirants should be a consistent reader of a newspaper. It will help a lot in enhancing the general knowledge and daily current affairs.
7. Aspirants should be able to communicate in English very effectively.
8. Finally, UPSC aspirants should not allow anything to be a roadblock that averts you from accomplishing your goal. Aspirants have to overcome such obstacles and for that support of family is crucial.

Haritha V Kumar Facts

For more such UPSC success stories for inspiration and motivation, you can check out our segment which posts articles on IAS toppers, Get Inspired.

Related Links: