Dr Mannan had done his schooling spread over Haflong, Bongaigaon and Tezpur. He studied in GMCH from 2003-09, including a one-year internship. At the end he was the overall topper in his batch .

 Dr Mannan chose the IAS for he thought of it as an extension of something he liked, a service to people in need. “As a medico I was being limited to just a very few people, and it was more reactive than being proactive. Thus I shifted my focus to ICS so that I can make an impact at a larger level in people’s life”, he said.

In the IAS examination, his subjects were Medical Science and Geography. He selected Medical Science as he was always good in it and took geography as it would help him in general studies and also because it was a subject he had always found interesting.

His preparation consisted of reading newspapers, needed both for current affairs and traditional subjects for GS in both prelims and mains. Then for GS, he gave stress on the traditional subjects like modern Indian history, polity and economics. Preparation for Math’s, Aptitude and Statistics (for mains) required around a month’s time.