IAS Topper Rukmani Riar - Failed Standard VI, but Cleared UPSC

A strong and unbeatable determination is the cornerstone of success.

Here we give the inspiring story of Rukmani Riar who bagged the second rank in UPSC Civil Service Exam 2011.

This feisty and determined IAS topper, who had incidentally failed in her VI standard, hails from the state of Punjab and currently serves as an IAS Officer in the state of Rajasthan.

UPSC Topper Rukmani Riar – Background

• Rukmani Riar is a native of Chandigarh. She wanted to become an IAS officer so that she could use her experience and training to serve the nation in a better way.
• Her father is a retired Deputy District Attorney of Hoshiarpur, Baljinder Singh Riar and her mother is Takdeer Kaur, a homemaker.
• Having failed in Class VI once, Rukmani had been afraid of failing ever since. The disheartening experience, however, taught her not to sulk and complain. She strongly believes that if one decides to persist and come out of that dark phase, nothing can stop one from attaining victory. For her, it was being an IAS topper.
• After her schooling, Rukmani completed her graduation in social sciences from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
• Later, she joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for post-graduation in social entrepreneurship. She secured a Gold Medal in her post-graduation.
• She interned with the Planning Commission of India and also worked with NGOs such as Ashodaya in Mysore and Annapurna Mahila Mandal in Mumbai. She has also worked under social activist Harsh Mander at the Centre for Equity Studies in New Delhi.
• Rukmani then took the IAS exam in 2011 and secured an amazing second rank in her very first attempt.

The UPSC topper 2011 (AIR 1) was Shena Aggarwal. Read her story here.

Preparation Tips for Aspirants

• Rukmani recommends NCERT books from 6th to 12th as the basic reading books for UPSC IAS Examination. You can download NCERT books for UPSC at the linked article.
• She also suggests reading newspapers comprehensively for the UPSC interview. If you want to stay abreast of the daily current affairs, you can also go through the daily video news analysis which we update on a daily basis.
• Rukmani also appeared for mock sessions to be more confident and reduce her apprehensions.
• She also recommends enrolling for a good test series for IAS exam.
• She also says that collecting good editorials that come in the daily newspaper can help in the essay paper immensely. At BYJU’S, we also cover editorials daily on our Comprehensive News Analysis segment.
• Rukmani’s optional subjects were Political Science and Sociology. From the table below, you can get strategy and tips for both these optionals.

Check out the UPSC success stories of the latest IAS toppers 2018:

Rukmani Riar Facts

Rank: 2

CSE: 2011

Attempt: First

Optionals: Political Science and Sociology

Native: Chandigarh

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