Meet IAS officer Siddharth Shukla who cracked UPSC to fulfill his father's wish, his AIR...

Every UPSC candidate has a different and distinct motive, whether it comes from childhood dreams or financial obligations. A proud father, who had trained for and desired to work as a civil servant but was never given the opportunity, was overjoyed to learn that his son had achieved AlR 18 in the UPSC CSE 2022.

Following his unsuccessful attempts in 2002–2003, the father turned to journalism and relocated to Delhi with his family from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Although everything was good, the unrealized desire remained in his heart, and he hoped his son would one day realise it.

Siddharth Shukla achieved just that, bringing the long-ago ambition to life. The young man even went on to rank among this year's top scorers. But it took him four tries, and the journey was not simple. Shukla, an Assistant Commandant (CISF) candidate, talked about his approach to handling setbacks.

He failed miserably in the Mains on his first try, and he was unable to get good marks in the interview on his second try. In an interview with Indian Masterminds, he disclosed that he failed to interview in the third attempt.

Who is Siddharth Shukla?

Originally from Azamgarh, Siddharth Shukla attended St. Xaviers of Rohini in Delhi for his education. After that, he completed his history degree at Delhi's Khalsa College, ranking top in the class. He decided to follow in his father's dream and began preparing for the UPSC CSE.

Mr. Shukla's mother, a former teacher who is now a homemaker, and father, who works for a newspaper, felt fortunate for their son's success. While Mr. Shukla did receive tutoring for the first few days of his General Science preparation, he independently studied his elective subject, history.

Shukla decided to look into other options when his efforts failed to produce the desired outcomes. He also participated in the UPPCS in the interim and advanced to the interview round. He eventually passed the CAPF test in 2020 with an AIR 27 after passing the CDS and SSB.  He began training and was appointed Assistant Commandant of the Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF).

While preparing, Mr. Shukla refrained from using any social media. Talking to his friends, he might use his mother's phone. According to him, social media is a distraction with few benefits, thus candidates shouldn't use it.

In response to the setbacks, he stated, "It is useless to make UPSC preparation your entire goal after my second attempt. While preparing, one might be at ease and calm, but they shouldn't waste time aimlessly. Rather than worrying about grades and position, he concentrated on getting ready and administering assessments. He suggests that others follow suit.