Meet IAS officer Simi Karan, an IIT Bombay alumna, who secured AIR 31 in UPSC exam

Simi Karan belongs to Odisha and did her schooling done in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. Her father used to work at Bhilai Steel Plant, while her mother was a teacher. 

Simi was a good and sincere student since childhood. She then decided to go for engineering after her Class 12. She got admitted to IIT Bombay in order to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering. But her dream of becoming an engineer changed when she got to meet children in slum areas there. She then decided to prepare for UPSC.

In order to prepare for UPSC, Simi watched interviews of UPSC toppers with a great concentration. She then read UPSC Syllabus thoroughly on the internet and started collecting books accordingly. With a limited number of books, Simmi decided to start her preparation. Also, she divided her syllabus into small parts so that she can study properly. After completing her syllabus, she started revising it. Finally, in the year 2019, she secured All India Rank 31 in UPSC and became an IAS officer. 

Simi always focused on the quality of studies and said, “I never focused on the hours of study but rather set short term goals (daily, sometimes even hourly) to focus on completion. Hence, the schedule fluctuated accordingly but on average, I studied for 8-10 hours. I also want to highlight that I focused on the quality of studies, limited resources and took out time for recreation like jogging, watching stand-up comedy to relax my mind".

According to Simi, deciding on a goal is very important. After deciding on a goal, be ready to face challenges. You need to focus on strategy and give importance to every subject. In an interview, Simi said, “I strongly believe in a quote – ‘Be brutally honest with yourself’ - be your greatest critic, evaluate your efforts and correct your course as required. This way you can achieve success.”

(Photos: Twitter/social media)