Noted American author and businessman Harvey Mackay once said, “When you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work, they take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that.” These lines beautifully sum up the whole journey of IFS (Indian Forest Services) topper Anushka Abhijit Lohiya. For her, the biggest motivation was a wish to do something for the environment. And for that, she waited for seven years!
In these years, she went through many ups and downs, but she never let her dream die. Finally, after seven years of hard work, she cracked the UPSC IFS-2022 with AIR 4 in her fifth attempt.
Being an avid bird watcher and very close to nature since childhood, she was always fascinated by the Indian Forest Service. She regularly goes to forests for bird watching as it inspires her to make a career in IFS rather than IAS, because she feels that here, she will be more close to the environment.
Speaking with Indian Masterminds, she shared about her long journey to her dream service.
JOURNEY SO FAR
“It’s been a long journey. But, now, I am satisfied. Life tested me at each and every phase, and I had to fight for my dreams and my wishes for the environment. I will only say that we have to keep going always,” said Anushka Abhijit Lohiya.
She started her civil services preparation in 2016 after completing graduation. In the starting, she prepared for both UPSC CSE and IFS. But she could not clear Prelims in her first two attempts in 2017 and 2018. In her third attempt, she cleared the Prelims and qualified for both the exams’ cut off, CSE as well as IFS. But when writing Mains for both, she realized that she has more interest in IFS than in CSE. And at that time, she made up her mind that if she does not get IAS, she will go for IFS only. Unfortunately, she did not clear Mains examination for any of the exams that year.
Then, in her fourth attempt in 2020, she only gave the IFS exam and reached to the Interview level. She also got the highest marks (2016) in Interview, but due to less marks in Optional in the Mains examination, she could not make it to the final list. She was really heartbroken, but giving up was not her attitude!
However, after analyzing the whole situation, she decided to change the strategy, take a year break, and also change one of her optional subjects. So, she did not give the exam in 2021. And this worked for her well as she got time to work on her weaknesses and harness her strengths. In IFS-2022 – her fifth attempt – she finally cracked the exam and fulfilled her longstanding dream with AIR 4!
MEDITATION CAMPS
In the initial days of her preparation, she felt that was lacking in temperament. Elaborating on it, she said, “I used to panic very quickly. Perhaps that is why I was unable to perform in my two Prelims as you get only two hours to perform.” So, to change that, she took help of meditation and attended spiritual youth camps in Puducherry.
That was a turning point in her life, as meditation not only helped her in concentration and keeping calm, but also enhanced her skills and boosted up her confidence to another level.
BACKGROUND
She belongs to Ambajogai Taluka in the Beed district of Maharashtra. Her father is a retired lecturer of Physics from Dayanand Science College, Latur, while her mother is MD in Medicine and runs a small hospital in their village. She is the only child of her parents. She married six months back, and her husband is a civil engineer.
She did her basic education from Beed till the 10th. Then she did her 11th and 12th from Latur. After that, she completed her B.Tech from College of Engineering, Pune, in 2016.
Her family supported her all along this long journey, keeping her spirits up and morale high on the way so that she never gives up. From her parents to her husband, all of them always told her that she has the potential to do it, and she must do it!
In 2020, she was selected for the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Programme, and she started working as a Research Fellow in skill development under the Amravati Collector. However, she continued with her exam preparation. But, just before the IFS-2022 Mains exam, she resigned.
UPSC IFS
She mostly did self-study and joined coaching for test series only. For interview, she took help of IPS officer Mahesh Bhagwat’s mentorship.
Her optional subjects were Agriculture Engineering (AE) and Forestry.
Her strategy was small targets based. She divided her day into three parts and used to study three subjects in a day.
She solved many test papers and focused on PYQs. For her optional AE, she studied last the eight years’ papers and wrote the last two years’ papers as well.
She said, “Till 2020, I was facing problems in one of my optionals, Civil Engineering. So I left it and choose AE as my optional. In my one year break, I prepared this subject properly and rectified other gaps, too.” She further said that she used to study for eight to nine hours daily.
INTERVIEW
Her interview was not much DAF based. The panel asked her questions on biodiversity and environment.
She was asked why Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar was formerly known as Aurangabad, and why the name was changed.
She was asked many questions from current issues as well. Like: Why is there a conflict in Manipur? What’s the main reason behind it? If you have to resolve the Manipur issue, what steps would you take?
MESSAGE
Giving suggestions to aspirants, she said, “If you are connected to nature and are fully focussed towards it, then this is the career for you. If you plan well, you will get enough time to prepare for this exam. One should take care to focus on personality and health more during this journey of preparation.”
She also put in a suggestion as to what to do if even after hard preparation, one does not get selected.
“You might face anxiety and depression-like situation, but if you are good at your study and have a good personality, then certainly there’s no need to worry.”
