Meet Vivek Choudhary, IIM-L student who topped CS exam 2016
Vivek Choudhary, a first-year student at IIM Lucknow, has secured the top rank in the examination of The Institute of Company Secretaries India (ICSI) that declared the results of its executive and professional programme on Thursday.
The company secretaries examination were held in June 2016.
“The feeling of seeing the word ‘Pass’ on the mark sheet is a very big achievement in itself as it is one of the most competitive examinations of the country. I did not expect to get any rank. I was really not bothered to check the rank. For me, becoming a company secretary itself was a huge success,” Choudhary said.
The 21-year-old commerce graduate from Kolkata’s St Xaviers’ College said he got the news about his rank from one of his friends who checked the results on the website.
“At first, I could not believe him. Then I personally checked the website to confirm, and to my surprise, I was there on the top. The rank glorified it and gave me a very big reason to celebrate,” Choudhary, who is from Haryana and has been living in Kolkata for the last 10 years, said.“My first call was to my mother as she has been a constant support and a source of inspiration to me. My parents are my ideals as they have given me guidance at every point of time in my life. Whatever I have achieved today is because of their blessings,” he said.When asked how difficult the examination was, his reply was immediate. “Unlike most professional courses, CS has a very comprehensive syllabus. There are nine subjects, multiple laws and thousands of provisions which sometimes get on your head. But all that is required to ace this challenge is a commitment, hard work, focus and a lot of sacrifices in terms of social media, parties, etc.”
He said CAT or CS are different ballgames. “CAT tests analytical, qualitative and logical skills while CS deals with applications in various domains of business, like law, taxation, and governance. Both are highly competitive but comparing them is not justified,” he said.
For now, he wants to become an investment banker. “But that is not my ultimate goal in life. My dream is to contribute towards the development of the society through education. I believe education is the guiding light for improved standards of living. If I am asked to define my ultimate goal concisely, it would be to bring out a revolution in education,” he said.
For Choudhary his alma mater, Don Bosco School in Liluah, changed him as a person – from an introvert to a man of values who understands the importance of interpersonal relations. “While in Class 9, I developed an interest in commerce as a subject and decided to choose it as my career option,” he said.
A finance enthusiast, Choudhary is also pursuing chartered accountancy and chartered secretary courses to shape up his professional and technical knowledge.
A movie buff, Choudhary watches one every weekend and is also associated with Dasnagar Freedom Welfare Foundation, an NGO that helps underprivileged children, for the past one-and-a-half year.
“I had taken up the responsibility of garnering sufficient funds for the organisation by actively organising its periodic events and I also taught and mentored five such students,” Choudhary, who also loves to play badminton, said.
Source: Hindustan Times, 29-8-2016
