• Garima Lohia, a resident of Buxar (Bihar), achieved AIR-2 in UPSC CSE 2022 in her second attempt.
• She used Commerce & Accountancy as optional, obtaining a total of 1063 marks (876 in written and 187 in the interview).
• She is a B.Com graduate from Kirori Mal College, DU.
• Her primary sources of preparation were disciplined self-study, NCERTs, online resources, PYQs, mocks, and focused note-making, as well as her homemaker mother's support after the death of her businessman father in her early life.

Educational Background

• Garima Lohia, who secured AIR-2 in UPSC CSE 2022, comes from a Commerce background, having done her schooling in Buxar and Varanasi.
• She graduated with a B.Com from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, in 2020, directly aligning her optional subject of Commerce & Accountancy.

Family Background

• Garima Lohia, who secured the second position in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2022, is from a middle-class and business family in Buxar, Bihar.
• She lost her father, who was a businessman, in 2015 and after that, she relied for both emotional and practical support on her mother, who is a housewife, and the extended joint family during preparation.

• Garima Lohia's tactic to achieve AIR-2 in the UPSC CSE 2022 consisted of a combination of self-study, internet sources, coaching (mainly for the test series), and daily devotion of 7–9 hours of focused study plus PYQs and disciplined revision, where each stage was treated differently for the prelims, mains and interview.

Prelims Strategy

• Instead of pursuing heavy coaching resources, she used NCERTs, standard basic books, and daily online news for General Studies and current affairs to build a strong base for the prelims.
• She practiced the elimination method and simulated the exam by solving multiple previous year question papers and full-length mock tests to understand the UPSC prelims pattern.
• She laid emphasis on core subjects’ concept clarity and repetition in her preliminary strategy after she could not clear the prelims in her first attempt.

Mains Strategy

• Garima’s approach to the examination was content-intensive, and she prepared detailed yet concise notes for each GS paper and for the optional of Commerce & Accountancy closely linked with her B.Com background.
• She practised daily answer writing, joined a mains test series, and wrote under strict time limits to improve structure, speed, and analytical depth.
• She used PYQs and topper copies to refine her presentation, focusing on clear introductions, subheadings, diagrams/flowcharts where needed, and value addition with data and examples.

Interview Strategy

• She worked on her DAF areas (hometown Buxar, education, family background, commerce) and current affairs to the point where governance issues were the opinion-based questions that she could handle most easily.
• Mock interviews, the most focused ones, were attended mainly to get feedback on communication, body language, and structuring answers, not for spoon-feeding content.
• Calmness, authenticity, and balance in views were communicated, and the aim was to reflect maturity, empathy, and readiness for field realities which helped her to secure the 187/275 interview score.