Varun Baranwal has seen it all. From being a cycle mechanic, sending hard-earned earnings to his family after the untimely death of his father to becoming an IAS officer, his story now inspires many to surge ahead despite personal tragedy, financial crisis, and adverse times.
Varun was born in a small, far-flung village called Boisar in the state of Maharashtra. His father used to run a small bicycle repair shop there, which earned them a living. Then suddenly one day, his father died. Varun had to carry all the responsibility of running the family for himself which further strained the already fragile situation of his family.
He had thought at one point of quitting school to manage his father's business. But after being a star in Class X exams, his mother convinced him to continue further education even if it wasn't easy on the pocket. A very fortuitous moment came when a doctor who had treated his father from time to time came forward with help and inducted him into a scholarship at MIT College, Pune for engineering studies.
Though he had initially targeted to pursue medical school, the very high cost of training towards a medical career led him to make career targets shift to engineering. He did well; he was placed in a very competitive multinational company.
Yet, behind all of this professional success lay the struggles in life that had sown the seed of his wish to serve civil services. This actually motivated him further to prepare for the UPSC exams. He had very few resources available as he juggled his corporate job with gathering study materials. Books, study materials, and other resources he needed came mostly from NGOs because he was on a tight budget.
Varun had to rely only on his determination and old notes for guidance as he could not afford to take proper coaching due to his limited budget. His dogged dedication has paid a great prize -Varun secured an all-India rank of 32 in the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2016. He fulfilled his dream by working as an IAS officer since he is devoted to serving the country and inspiring many others.
