Gahana has been allotted in Indian Foreign Service.
Gahana revealed that her biggest inspiration is her uncle Sibi George, who is an Indian Civil Servant of the Indian Foreign Service Cadre.
The Department of Personnel and Training, under the Government of India, issued an allotment list of candidates in May of those who have cracked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Exam (CSE) 2022. Only 784 have been allocated the services, out of the 933 candidates who have qualified. Gahana Navya James is one of the candidates, who has secured the 6th rank in UPSC CSE 2022. Instead of IAS, she has been allotted the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
Gahana Navya James is a resident of Pala, Kerala. She cracked UPSC in 2022 on her second attempt. Her father, CK James is a retired professor from Thomas College. It was Gahana’s childhood dream to be a public servant. According to her, she never went to any coaching centre, nor gave any kind of mock interviews to prepare for one of India’s most difficult entrance exams. Gahana was pursuing her PhD when she cracked her UPSC. She always aspired to clear the exams, she did not expect to get a good rank.
She revealed that her biggest inspiration is her uncle Sibi George. He is an Indian Civil Servant of the Indian Foreign Service Cadre, and an Ambassador of India to Japan. Previously, he served as the Ambassador of India to Kuwait, Switzerland, the Holy See and the Principality of Liechtenstein. He joined the IFS in 1993. Gahana said that her younger brother also motivated her.
For the preparation of UPSC, Gahana Navya James picked up the habit of reading newspapers, which helped her in staying updated with the latest information. Instead of coaching centres, she believes in self-study. She collected materials from newspapers and the internet. She prepared herself mentally and gave her best shot.
Gahana completed her schooling at Chavara Public School, Koyattam in Kerala, and completed her Class 12th from St Mary’s School. After school, she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in History from Alphonsa College, Pala and was the university topper. She did her Master’s in Political Science from St Thomas College and emerged as a topper. She was a part of the Junior Research Fellowship in the UGC NET Examination at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala.