Comply with daily schedule of preparation to face civil services exam, Dakshina Kannad ZP CEO tells aspirants at ‘The Hindu EducationPlus Career Counselling 2025’ session

Fear of failure is part of life's journey; discipline and daily preparation are key to cracking civil services exams.

Fear of failure is a part of the journey in one’s life. It is necessary to push oneself daily and do the daily routine preparation in a disciplined manner to make a mark in the all-India civil services examination, said Chief Executive Officer of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat K. Anandh in Mangaluru on Saturday.

Speaking on the civil services’ examination at ‘The Hindu EducationPlus Career Counselling 2025’ session, Dr. Anandh said it is strange that only a few from Dakshina Kannada, which is known for its highy literacy rate, enter the all-India civil services.

The period of the civil services examination is one year, and aspirants should have a lot of patience during this period. Aspirants should not be swayed away by what others comment. There will be helpless times, which may let the aspirants down. “Stick to the daily routine of preparation. Yes, it will be difficult. But do the routine of preparation in a disciplined manner, which will help you crack the civil services examination,” he said.

Aspirants can start writing the examination after the age of 21, and they can continue to do so till they are 32. While those from the general category have six attempts, no such specification is prescribed for those from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The general studies paper has questions from core subjects, namely history, economics, politics, geography, and environment. Aspirants can choose any one of 25 subjects as an optional subject. Dr. Anandh said the optional subject should be the one in which one should be proficient and capable of submitting a thesis.

Dean of the Department of Paediatric Surgery, K.S. Medical College and Hospital, B. Sandeep Rai, spoke on the career in medicine, while chartered accountants K. Vinayak Pai and Upendra Shenoy spoke on career as chartered accountant.

Crynal Dmello, associate professor, NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte, spoke on engineering career. Ameen-e-Mudassar, founder and CEO of Cigma India, who spoke on general education, mentioned the emerging and new bachelor’s degree and skill development programmes. Dakshina Kannada district nodal officer of the Karnataka Examinations Authority Sacheth Suvarna spoke on changes made by the KEA in the present year’s examination and seat selection process.

Earlier, speakers released the Career Guidance Handbook 2025 brought out by The Hindu. Students from several schools and colleges participated in the session held at the Canara High School’s Sri Sudheendra Auditorium.