Unlike UPSC CSE, the Rajasthan Administrative Service exam is not held every year. It comes approximately once in three years. That’s why, people have fewer opportunities and in order to qualify they have to persevere and work really hard to come in the list of successful candidates. One such name in the list is Ms. Priya Bajaj, who seems to posses both perseveration and the capability for hard work in perfect ratio. She pursued her dream more than 9 years and finally achieved it this year, becoming a guiding light for all.
Priya comes from a rural background and studied in government primary school, but she always dreamt big. She cracked the most prestigious exam of Rajasthan, RAS, in her third attempt with Rank 2.
Speaking exclusively with Indian Masterminds, she said that although the journey was very long, she feels happy and blessed as what she has achieved (referring to her rank) was beyond her expectation.
THE LONG JOURNEY
Priya gave a total of three attempts in RAS. Her first attempt was in 2016, after two years of her graduation. She cracked prelims, but failed in mains. Her second attempt was in 2018 where she got 274 rank. Hereafter, she was appointment as Special Auditor in the Assistant Registrar Office in 2021. But, her dream was to achieve a higher level post, so she continued her preparation to give the exam again.
And, she cracked RAS 2021 with rank 2, something that even she had not expected.
She said, “RAS exam is different from others. It is lengthy and demands deep study and understanding of every topic. You cannot guess what question would come. So, you have to prepare comprehensively.”
HER BACKGROUND
She hails from a remote town called Kesrisinghpur in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. Her father runs a shop of building materials, while her mother is a homemaker. She has two elder brothers. She completed her basic education in her home town. After that, she did her B.Sc. from Maharaja Ganga Singh University in 2014, and later completed MA privately.
Just ten days after her graduation, she had joined a coaching institute, Bhatia Ashram, for civil service exam guidance.
RAS PREPARATION
The RAS exam structure is different from UPSC and other state’s civil services exams. Before 2012, there was an optional paper, but now there is no optional. Also, there is no CSAT in prelims. Whereas in mains exam, there are 3 papers of GS and one mix of Hindi and English. That’s why this exam demands a different preparation strategy.
Priya said, “I had understood that one will have to give full time effort to this exam, only then it can be cleared. It cannot be passed by studying in bits and pieces. Here, you will have to give your 100 percent.”
Initially, she studied for 16 to 17 hours. She attended coaching and then came back home to prepare again. But, gradually, she understood that just studying is not enough, it is important to study in the right way.
Therefore, she started discussing and practising with other aspirants. She studied together with peer groups in her friends circle and analyzed situational questions.
After getting her posting in 2021, she also learned a lot on the job as she developed new perspectives which came handy in her RAS interview.
She studied NCERT and other foundation books, made short notes, and revised them 3 to 4 times. About online study, she said, “During the pandemic, I was more dependent on online sources. But when everything became normal, I again focused on books and notes.”
INTERVIEW
Her interview went quite well. She was asked many questions on the highlights of that day’s newspapers. Like, “Why are there so many suicides in Kota? What will you do if you are the SDM there?”
She was also asked few questions related to her locality, like “The problems of Sri Ganganagar and how to solve them.”
There were some interesting questions as well, like: “As an SDM, how will you manage your family and job? “What problems do girls face after joining a job?”
MESSAGE FOR ASPIRANTS
Giving her suggestions for RAS aspirants, she said, “Use all the energy you have in the exam, because it requires your complete dedication. Yes, there are many people who crack it the first time but most are probably like me who give many attempts. So, do not be disappointed and just keep going.”
She added that there are many examples of candidates with not so good educational background becoming toppers in this exam, which again proves that with proper planning and strategy, and 100 percent effort, this exam can be cleared easily.
FUTURE AIM
When asked about her future goals, she replied that since she has already achieved her first and main goal, she will now focus on getting into service and serving the people with integrity and all of her skills.
“Now I will do what I always wanted to – work for the common people with full devotion,” she summed up.
