It is said that persistence paves the way for the tallest dreams to come true. That has been true for several UPSC aspirants who did not give up after unsuccessful attempts. Such is also the story of Anudeep Durishetty, who refused to bargain for anything less than the prestigious position of Indian Administrative Services officer.
While most settle at the first opportunity they successfully land, Durishetty set his eyes on the ultimate prize and ensured he was never distracted by anything less. He was recruited by Google, a dream corporate opportunity for many, but his desire was to achieve UPSC success.
Hailing from the newly formed state of Telangana, he pursued his Bachelor of Technology (BTech) from the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS), Pilani and graduated as an engineer in 2011. It was while studying engineering that he took interest in civil services and decided to take up the UPSC challenge. However, Anudeep was unable to clear the interview round in his first UPSC attempt.
Not one to be bogged down, Durishetty joined the global multinational corporation Google as a Software Engineer and continued his UPSC preparations.
Durishetty first cleared UPSC exam in 2013 with an All-India-Rank of 790 to join the Indian Revenue Services (IRS). But with his eyes set on becoming an IAS officer, he continued with more attempts until achieving the extraordinary feat 4 years later by becoming the first UPSC AIR 1 from the state of Telangana.
Anudeep reportedly spent up to 18 hours a day preparing for what is one of the toughest competitive exams in India. Not satisfied with the envious success achieved by cracking into the Indian Revenue Services, he kept preparing for the UPSC examination with enhanced confidence and dedication. In the next two attempts, success shied away.
Then in his last attempt, Anudeep put his heart and soul into the preparations. Persistence, patience and hard work paid off in 2017 when he topped the country in the UPSC Civil Services Exam in his fifth and final attempt.
