Finally there is a glimmer of hope for thousands of youths in the nondescript district of Banka, as new District Magistrate Deepak Anand has taken it upon himself to try and reform their lives by helping them crack the Civil Services examination, all for free.
Becoming an IAS officer is the sole ambition of thousands of young people in Bihar and many clear the main examination, but don't know how to face the interview board.
Anand Mohan was one of them. His apprehensions about appearing in the IAS interview, however, disappeared once Banka DM began guiding him over the phone and through e-mails.
“It was my last chance to clear the Civil Services examination, but I did not know how to face the interview board. Someone then told me about Deepak Anand, who prepares people for the interview for free, in his own unique way and enhances the confidence of candidates significantly,” Mohan told The Pioneer.
The Banka DM, a 2007 batch IAS officer, also provides free IAS coaching on the premises of a school in the district. Some senior officers besides another young IAS officer, Mithilesh Mishra, help him in his endeavour.
When contacted, Deepak Anand said that three candidates who had cleared the Civil Services mains examination had been coached by him for the interview this year and Anand Mohan was one of them.
Anand Mohan, who had studied in Ara and Ranchi before completing his engineering course in Mathura, secured 539th position in the Civil Services examination and hopes to get inducted into the Indian Customs and Central Excise Service.
At present on pilgrimage to express his gratitude to God for his success, he commented: “The Banka DM made me realise that I am worth getting into the Civil Services. It really gives me a great feeling that an IAS officer made me aware of my inner source of strength. Without him, I could not have made it to the Civil Service.”
The preparation through mobile conversations and e-mails worked well for him as Mohan secured 197 out of total 300 marks in the Civil Services interview.
“I did not need to go to Banka as the DM used to coach me over the phone and through e-mails. He used to counsel and motivate me for the interview,” Mohan said. “You can master your subjects, you can also master your knowledge on current affairs but how you can master your confidence levels is something that Deepak Anand taught me,” he added. At present, 12 students are studying at Deepak Anand's coaching centre and all of them will appear in the Civil Services preliminary examination on May 26.
The Banka DM says he wants to help more candidates prepare for their IAS interview and hoped that the number of students at his coaching centre will increase from next year.
The DM said that since Banka district does not have good educational facilities, he wanted to do something to
help the youth who dream of clearing the Civil Services examination. He spread the word around and many applicants approached him for guidance. However, after testing them, he chose just 60 candidates out of the 354 students who sought his help for the main test. After the main examination he shortlisted 21 candidates but finally chose 12 students as his protégés.
The coaching centre for the Civil Services Examination was opened on December 12, 2012. The students were given study material and taken on a week-long tour of well known coaching institutes for civil services in New Delhi to give them more exposure.