Vadodara boy Valay Vaidya who cracked UPSC Civil Services Examination 2020, clinching AIR 116, wants to get into Indian Foreign Service (IFS) to promote the country’s interests abroad. In conversation with INDIAN MASTERMINDS, he speaks about his IFS aspirations and how he proposes to fulfil them.
CIVIL SERVICE NOT A CHILDHOOD DREAM
During his school days, Valay Vaidya did not have any aim to join civil services. It was only after he became the general secretary of the Student Body Government (SBG) at Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology while pursuing his BTech, that he first thought of taking up a job that would allow him to work for the people. Around this time, he also went to Uttarakhand to work on a project, which finally helped him to make up his mind about the kind of job he would like to do. “I did internship in an Uttarakhand Flood Rehabilitation Project in Kedarnath, where I realised that government service is very important in disaster management, and so I wanted to be a part of it,” he said.
He took a decision there and then, to go for a career in civil services, so that he would be able to work on the ground and solve people’s problems.
DISCONTINUED COACHING IN LATER STAGE
After the decision to join civil services was taken, Valay started his preparation in 2016 for the UPSC CS exam. After three unsuccessful attempts, he finally nailed the 2020 exam. He revealed that he took coaching only during the initial phase of his first try, and ever since then, he had studied on his own for the next few attempts. He said, “The coaching gave me the direction in the initial stage when I needed it, especially for my optional subject, Political Science and International Relations. However, I was able to manage on my own later and use to dedicate five to six hours daily to studies.”
ENJOYED THE PREPARATION PROCESS
Valay started keeping smaller and achievable goals and, also, set targets to complete them within a specific time. This method helped, as he became more efficient in time management and successful in reaching his targets. He also started analysing his mistakes and improving his writing skills. Eventually, his unique approach clicked. “I was mainly process-oriented and enjoyed whatever came my way. My mantra was to enjoy the process and not really worry about the results,” he said.
FUTURE ASPIRATIONS
He hopes to get into the Indian Foreign Service and work for the country’s interests abroad. His areas of interest are trade and commerce, and cultural and public diplomacy. He outlines how he plans to discharge his duties if he gets his dream job: “I want to find out the indigenous products of India that can be promoted abroad. For this, I want to make use of social media aggressively to reach more and more people. I also want to explore the tourism possibilities of places which have largely remained unexplored, so that more tourists visit our beautiful country.”
