Growing in a town in Katihar district, Bihar, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Bombay) graduate Shubham Kumar always want to work for the rural people, a passion to work for his state, and for developing the village areas, is behind to be a civil service aspirant. "From my young age, I saw the pain of the rural people, to work for them is the sole motivation for me to take civil service," said Shubham.
Shubham's first choice is the Bihar cadre, and as he bagged rank 1, his choice to join the state cadre will get preference. "Apart from working for the rural people, I want to work for the development of education and health sector in my state."
Shubham cleared the UPSC Civil Service in his third attempt. The success, according to him, is due to constant hard work and patience.
Being an engineering graduate in 2018, Shubham's first attempt in 2018 went in vain as he could not clear prelims. In the second attempt in 2019, he secured the All India Rank (AIR 290), and the achievement came in the third attempt, securing All India Rank 1.
Regarding his preparation, Shubham said, "Daily study of 7 to 8 hours, practicing previous year papers, mock tests, making a peer group to discuss and share notes, online materials, and exam strategy by two to three coaching institutes, are all in his preparation for UPSC Civil Service exam."
Shubham took Anthropology as his optional paper in mains as it's quite scoring. "The Mains is the toughest in UPSC CSE, I was focused on my writing skill, make notes from all available books in the market, and want to credit my IIT batchmates who supported me to clear the toughest competitive exam."
Detailing his friend's role, the 24-year-old said, "After IIT, we make a group for the UPSC exam. Though I was solely preparing from Delhi, but we were connected via social media. The online discussion, sharing good notes, and doubt clearance are the role everyone played. We helped each other, and some of my friends already got into IAS last year. This time, it's my turn and I want to thank all my friends for the role played."
The Covid-19 pandemic, though stressful, but did not affect the topper much, as according to him, "with less outdoor activities, he put more focus on his preparation."
Though UPSC aspirants feared the interview a lot, Shubham assured the aspirants that it checks their personality and in-depth knowledge of the subject. "I was asked questions from the rural, agro sector, various policies of the government, and the confident answers helped me to clear the interview."
Shubham advised aspirants preparing for UPSC to be consistent, work hard, and be patient. Consistency according to Shubham, is the key to success.
Shubham also credited the role played by his parents, his teachers in IIT Bombay and others for the achievement.
Congratulating Shubham, Deepankar Choudhury, Head, Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay said, "He is one of the best in his batch, a constant performer in all his academics. We are proud of Shubham, and wish all the success for his future endeavor."
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