Give a fresh perspective

Jayesh Ranjan, the all-India topper of the 1992 batch of Indian Administrative Services examination, is currently appointed as the managing director of Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC). He previously held the post of secretary in the Tourism Department and was also the vice chairman of the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA).

Ranjan undertook various rural assignments in different parts of the state for over 12 years, working in diverse sectors like tribal development, natural resources management, poverty alleviation and other related social development sectors. Talking to Young Hans, Ranjan speaks of his Jayesh Ranjan was born and raised in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and attended Colvin Taluqdars' College.

"The school was open only to children of taluqdars. My great grandfather was a warden in this school but his children could not study in Colvin's as it was not open to commoners. Only after the British left India, the school opened its doors to the general public," says Ranjan, who always aimed for the top spot in school.

"I was a topper till class VII. Later, I suffered an injury and had to stay at home for a few months. So I could not maintain my track record in subsequent class," he says. Ranjan’s degree majors were maths, statistics and psychology. "I was very interested in psychology," says the gold medalist from Lucknow university.

He also obtained a masters degree in Psychology from Delhi University (DU) and was again awarded the gold medal for his academic excellence. His bent of mind took him next to Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and it was here he decided that he would appear for civil services.

"During my internship with ICICI Limited, I realized I did not want to take part in the rat race”, he says, adding that the unhealthy corporate nature did not appeal to him. “I wanted to take up teaching as a profession but that required me to take on a long journey to PhD. So I chose appear for civil service examinations," Ranjan recalls.

"I was not a regular student. I never mugged. Candidates appearing for civil services study long hours, neglect sleep and face many hardships to crack exams. Each year, lakhs of aspirants throng to Delhi for tuitions. I wanted to be different from them”, Ranjan recollects. "I realised it was more important to provide a fresh perspective in my answers than merely be correct. My strategy helped me and I topped the exam".

Jayesh Ranjan affirms that his experience at IIMC helped him crack the civils successfully. The subjects he chose in his second year aided his preparation. "I would study all night long and sleep during the day. Luckily for me, IIMC did not stress much on classroom attendance”. One might be surprised with what he has to say about preparations for civils. Ranjan insists that aspirants join coaching classes to identify what not to write.

"Since I topped the exam, many papers and magazines interviewed me. My comment on civils coaching then created a flutter. But I would always advise people to be original and have fresh ideas," he stresses. Ranjan trained for one year in Mussoorie and one year in Kadapa. He was later posted as sub-collector in Nandiyal, Kurnool, after which he was transferred to various parts of Andhra Pradesh where he involved himself with a lot of developmental work. "I always believe in pro-people policies. I would guide rural people to effectively utilise government schemes and would urge them to send their children to schools," Ranjan says.

By:Navin Pivhal