Ayodhya boy cracks UPSC with Rank 5, dreams of a country with empathetic bureaucrats

He has now made these dreams come true by bagging All India Rank 5 in the UPSC civil services exam results released on May 30. “My end goal is to contribute to the country’s development in every possible manner,” says the UPSC fifth topper in a conversation with India Today Education. “My idea of governance is to have a country with empathetic bureaucrats and administration which stands strong for the ones in need,” he adds.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Originally hailing from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Utkarsh and his family of four now reside in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His father is a senior manager in an FMCG company and his mother is a homemaker. “I am the elder son, and my younger brother is pursuing BCom currently from a leading college in Indore,” says the UPSC topper.

PREPARATION STRATEGY

The Covid-19 pandemic tripped up a lot of aspirants preparing for major competitive exams and Utkarsh says he faced challenges as well. “Due to the pandemic, the exam schedule was uncertain; however, I ensured that I do not deviate from my goal. The key was to stay persistent and follow a rigid self-study schedule,” he says. As his strategy, he prepared a timetable on the basis of his subjects and followed it every day. He was consistent with his study schedule and routinely monitored his progress. “Apart from this, I did a thorough analysis of all subjects and categorized it priority-wise. Lastly, I sought guidance and support wherever needed. As a practice, I also used to solve PYQs and mock tests,” Utkarsh explains. He had also enrolled for Unacademy’s Interview Guidance Programme - Last Mile which he says helped him crack the personal interview stage.

HOW TO DE-STRESS

Preparing for UPSC civil service exams is no joke. To de-stress, Utkarsh used to go for long evening walks. “Also, talking to my friends over the weekend and going out to my favourite places helped me relax,” adds the UPSC topper.

DECLINING A JOB TO PREPARE FOR UPSC

Utkarsh Dwivedi completed his schooling from DPS, Indore and then went to VIT, Vellore for BTech in mechanical engineering. “Post my graduation, I decided to opt for civil services and this is my first competitive exam. In Class 10, I scored 91.6% and 89% in Class 12,” he says. After his graduation from VIT Vellore, Utkarsh was offered a job at SJVN (Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). “But I declined the opportunity to prioritise my goal. My focus was only on UPSC preparation. Hence, I did not take up any job,” explains the UPSC topper. (Source: India Today)