Dr. Ruveda Salam, hailing from a small district of Kupwara and having successfully cleared the UPSC exam twice. That’s true! Once she was recruited under IPS, and the next time she bagged a rank for IAS. She has proudly become the first woman to successfully clear the IPS exam in 2013 from the then state of Jammu & Kashmir( It is now declared as a Union Territory by the Government of India).
Ruveda Salam Biography
Dr. Ruveda is an MBBS graduate from Srinagar. She completed her graduation from the government medical college, Srinagar. After that, she did not seek further specialization in medicine. Instead, she ventured into preparing for the Civil Services Exam. She cleared the Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) exam before taking up UPSC Exam.
She credits the greater part of her success to her parents, especially her father. Her father, according to her, was the biggest motivational factor in her life amidst the not-so-healthy conditions prevailing in Jammu & Kashmir for a very long time. He motivated her to dream big of becoming an IAS officer right from her childhood days only.
It is truly inspiring to know that she cleared the exam in her very first attempt. All this, when in her state, there are violence and mob clashes every other day. After her recruitment to the IPS cadre, she flew to Hyderabad for further induction and training purposes. Later she served as the Assistant Commissioner of Police in the state of Tamil Nadu in Chennai.
The IPS tenure, according to her, was a very exhaustive one, physically challenging, tough and made for a very challenging career for her. Though she made it to the top cadre in the first civil service exam attempt, she always aimed for more. Hence, she took up the exam and cleared successfully in a much higher ranking. So, she jumped to the IAS cadre.
Dr. Ruveda Salam’s tenure as an IPS officer
For eight months, she served as an IPS officer in Chennai. As part of her service as ACP, she performed night patrolling activity for almost three rounds per week. She begins her tasks early in the day, as early as 7 AM, by reporting to her senior police officials, gathering reports and miscellaneous records from her junior subordinates, handling high-level meetings and traffic surveillance.
Everything a man does of her calibre and ranking, she too performs with the same ease and earnestness. A top performer and tedious lady at work, she was approached by many women seeking help and support for their problems.
She was very proactive in guiding them and supporting them morally in her way. She made sure to handle women issues with a lot of sensitivity and extra care. As part of the youth 20 summits held at the G-20 nations meet, she got the fabulous opportunity to present a paper in Sydney.
IAS Preparation Strategy by Ruveda Salam
Dr. Ruveda is of the strict opinion that candidates shouldn’t be misguided by the myth that certain subjects in the IAS exam are scoring, whereas others are non-scoring. Every subject has its own beauty and standing, so none of them should be treated differently.
According to her, General Studies is one such paper that has been given more importance in recent years. So, more importance needs to be given to that section. One good habit that should be taught to all children, irrespective of their educational backgrounds, is newspaper reading.
The best time to begin preparation for the IAS exams is from a student enrolling himself for graduation. Patience, perseverance and most importantly, love and dedication for the subject will take candidates certainly to the top scores.
Apart from school studies, a candidate should also look into business news materials, editorials, chronicles, journals, international news reports, keep himself updates with the latest trends in science and technology to stay ahead of the rest in competition.
She took up Public Administration and Sociology as her optional subjects. She spent at least 5 to 6 hours on the subjects in a day apart from General Studies preparation. A good basic understanding is essential in every subject that the candidate chooses for preparation.
Coaching centers are not necessary for a student who believes himself in himself and his practice. But rigorous training in subjects chosen for the exam, understanding in depth, internet searching for core concepts, newspaper mining for every small detail is quintessential parts of preparation.
Recommended Book List
- NCERT Books
- Lakshmikanth’s Indian Polity
- Bipin Chandra’s Modern India
- Pratiyogita Darpan
- Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong
- Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – RS Aggarwal
Ruveda Salam’s Contribution to Women Empowerment
She has motivated many girls from her own state to take up their career seriously and live independently. She has guided many of them to take up training and coaching for IAS exams. During her Hyderabad training, she conducted many workshops specially meant for women to encourage them and bring them in the right direction to build a prosperous career in the civil services area.
Talking of her journey, she stresses the need to maintain a balance between personal priorities and career calls. Both personal and working life needs a good balance in her opinion.
She talks about the need and privilege of women becoming independent decision-makers and encourages them to step out of their comfort zones to achieve something in life. She is a tough taskmaster and explains that women need to venture out into the world to see and experience their lives in totality.
Latest Update: Dr. Ruveda is currently working as Deputy Commissioner Income-tax department Jammu.
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