IAS Success Story: The Union Public Service Commission’s Civil Service Examination (CSE) is one of the toughest examinations in India. Persons who clear it go on to hold prestigious posts as IAS, IFS, IRS officers and go on to have illustrious careers. Many success stories of IAS officers are widely covered and they don’t just give inspiration to others but also vital advice about preparation.
Passing UPSC is an experience that several officers share with aspirants in order to help them prepare for the exam. One such IAS officer who had an interesting journey during his aspirant years is Ashish Kumar, who aced the UPSC CSE 2019 with an All-India Rank (AIR) of 53.
Kumar made a unique study strategy to ensure he isn’t left behind in his second attempt, after missing the cut off the first time by a mere 0.33%. In 2018, Ashish Kumar reportedly scored 97.67%, but missed out on the 98% cut-off. Instead of getting disheartened, he set out to tweak his strategy and make it fool-proof.
Growing up in Darjeeling, Kumar had his eyes on the UPSC prize since a long time. He graduated in 2017 in the economics field and then set about to prepare for the tough civil service exam. With a focussed aim, he did not take up any work after graduation and gave his heart and soul to the exam preparation.
However, the first attempt did not bring success as he could only reach the prelims stage. Looking back, Kumar admitted to one news outlet last year that the setback helped him by making him more focussed.
The IAS officer said that he welcomed the failed result and acknowledged that there were gaps in his preparation. He planned his preparation for the second attempt with a unique strategy that he himself developed.
Among his strategy was ensuring that the UPSC preparation is not direction-less, as he realised a clear direction having been missing from his plan the first time. This included cross-checking the syllabus and studying from limited source, sticking to test material that is tried and tested. Kumar also closely observed strategy of previous years’ UPSC toppers, not to follow blindly, but to understand them and strengthen his own study pattern.
For the second attempt, Kumar also made notes, which he hadn’t made the first time. He attempted mock tests extensively unless the first time when he had tested himself only on a few occasions. Finally, Ashish’s strategy had a clear timeline to help him have mental clarity. He gave himself three chances to clear the exam and decided that he would look for a different career if he didn’t clear UPSC in the timeline. However, he only needed two.
