IAS Success Stories

People from various backgrounds – engineers, government servants, doctors, teachers, students, science graduates, humanities graduates clear the IAS exam. Candidates following the correct preparation methods and reading the suitable study material can succeed, irrespective of whether they were straight-A students or just moderate. Here are a few IAS inspirational success stories. Candidates can also check UPSC Interview Transcripts.

Shubham Kumar Secured AIR 1 with 52% marks

Shubham Kumar from Katihar district, Bihar, secured the all-India rank 1 in UPSC IAS 2020 with 52.04% marks. He had completed his bachelor's from IIT Bombay in 2014. Becoming an IAS officer was his childhood dream, which he achieved with his dedication and hard work. to work for the upliftment of rural India to improve people's education and financial condition.

Check Shubham Kumar’s Preparation Strategy in detail here.

Anudeep Durishetty IAS 2017 (AIR 1)

Anudeep Durishetty cleared the UPSC IAS exam by securing an all-India rank of 1 in 2017. He completed his bachelor's from Bits Pilani in 2011. He studied non fiction books and magazines in his free time for the preparation of essay writing. Anudeep's ambition, perseverance, patience, and never giving up attitude made him successful in achieving his dream.

Read more about the Anudeep Durishetty AIR 1 IAS (UPSC CSE) 2017 preparation tips.

Ankita Jain UPSC IAS 2020 (AIR 3)

Ankita Jain, a resident of Agra, cleared the UPSC Civil Service examination 2020 by obtaining an all-India rank of 3. She did her bachelor's from Delhi Technical University and also appeared for the GATE exam, in which she secured the first rank. Ankita's dream is to do something meaningful and worthwhile for children and women's development. She believed that subject and conceptual clarity can be achieved from the NCERT books.

Read more about the Preparation Strategy of Ankita Jain (UPSC AIR 03) in UPSC CSE 2020

K Jayaganesh: From Waiter to an IAS Officer

K Jayaganesh is a resident of Vinnamangalam village in Tamil Nadu. He completed his higher education at a polytechnic college with a 91% score. After completing his education, he decided to become an IAS officer and started his preparations. Due to financial problems, he did a part-time job as a computer accounting clerk and a part-time waiter during his break time. Besides all the struggles, Jayaganesh’s dedication, hard work, and patience made him succeed in achieving his dream.

Read more about K Jayaganesh: From Waiter to an IAS Officer here.

Arpit Gupta: UPSC CSE 2021 AIR 54, Maths Optional

Arpit Gupta (AIR 54, CSE'21), belongs to Gorakhpur (UP). He did his graduation in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Roorkee, worked as a Financial Market Analyst for 3 months, then left his job in Aug'19. He started his preparation in Sept'19 with Mathematics as optional.

Check out UPSC CSE 2021 Topper AIR 54, Arpit Gupta (Maths Optional) Preparation Strategy

Bokka Chaitanya Reddy: UPSC CSE 2021 AIR 161, Anthropology Optional

Bokka Chaitanya Reddy, secured AIR 161 in CSE 2021. Her 6 years of journey, 6 attempts, 3 mains, and 1 personality Test - was a long journey of ups and downs, trial and errors, mistakes and corrective actions, and most importantly a journey of patience and persistence.

Check out UPSC CSE 2021 Topper AIR 161, B. Chaitanya Reddy’s Preparation Strategy

More UPSC Success Stories

Adarsh Kant Shukla

A 22-year-old boy, Adarsh Kant Shukla, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki district, cleared the Civil Services Exam 2020 in his first attempt and secured Rank 149 without any help from coaching classes. He is appointed as an IPS officer.

Read more about the Adarsh Kant Shukla who Cleared the UPSC at First Attempt, without Coaching

C M Saikanth Varma

C M Saikanth Varma is an IIT alumnus who cleared the IAS exam in 2014 by obtaining AIR 18 in his first attempt. Saikanth got the inspiration of becoming an IAS officer from a bureaucrat, Mr. Srivasta Krishna. He did his preparations from online sources and read two newspapers and magazines daily. He studies for three hours for the optional subject and the rest for the General studies. Saikanth took several online test series, available in soft copy and analyzed his errors, and solved several previous year's question papers.

Check the Topper’s Interview: C M Saikanth Varma (AIR-18/ CSE 2014) Cracked IAS in First Attempt

Utsav Gautam

Utsav Gautam is a resident of Agra in Uttar Pradesh. He did his bachelor’s from IIT Patna. He achieved his dream of becoming an IAS officer by securing the all-India rank of 33 in 2017.

Utsav chose his optional subject Mathematics. Utsav relied on self-study and didn’t take any coaching. He believed that solving the previous year's question papers in the stipulated time would help candidates score.

Check the UPSC Topper Utsav Gautam’s Preparation Strategy for IAS (UPSC CSE) here.

UPSC Preparation Strategy by Toppers

There are a few common things in all the inspiring stories. IAS aspirants associated with the guided preparation plan will help the UPSC aspirants to top the exam. Here are the following preparation tips:

Planned approach

The first step is to prepare a good preparation plan. The civil services exam involves three exams: Preliminary, Mains and the Interview. Aspirants must spend a fixed number of hours every day on the IAS preparation.

Check the Foundation Course For UPSC CSE 2023/24 here

Coaching

There is a demand for intelligent work besides hard work to clear the IAS exam. The mentors will help the candidates in the syllabus to be covered for all the subjects, selection of important news from the newspapers for preparation and how many previous year's question papers are needed to be practiced. A good mentor can assist the candidates in every way to achieve success.

Check the Free 100 days course for UPSC Prelims 2023 here.

Right Study Material

It is important to study only from the suggested sources. Here are recommended books suggested by the mentors to prepare well for the exam. Studying from the wrong sources will affect the preparations. The trickiest part is the IAS exam’s current affairs, and it is necessary only to learn from a few familiar sources.

Check the UPSC IAS Prelims Test Series 2023 by Prepp IAS

IAS Test Series

Prelims and the mains test series are important for the UPSC exam. There are many benefits of enlisting in a good test series. They offer accurate exam simulation and teach how to manage time during the exam. Candidates learn to avoid negative markings and do intelligent guessing for the prelims. A good series also gives candidates feedback and helps in analyzing the weak points.

Check the IAS (UPSC CSE) Mains 2023 Syllabus for Optional Subjects here.