For years, Abhimanyu Balyan lived with a feeling familiar to many UPSC aspirants — coming painfully close to success but missing the final list by narrow margins. He performed consistently and spent years preparing for one of India’s toughest examinations, only to see the result slip away repeatedly.
In 2025, that long journey finally changed direction. Abhimanyu secured All India Rank 13 in the UPSC Indian Forest Service (IFS) examination, earning his place in the All India Services after years of setbacks, self-doubt, and recalibration.
Originally from Rohtak, Abhimanyu grew up in a family rooted in academics. Both his parents were technical professors and teachers who are now retired. A strong student from the beginning, he was an NTSE scholar and also received the NCC scholarship during school.
He later joined the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, completing his B.Tech between 2014 and 2018. Like many IIT graduates, he had promising corporate opportunities waiting after graduation. But he decided against taking that route.
“I had a couple of job offers, but I didn’t take them because I wanted to do something more meaningful and socially impactful,” Abhimanyu shared in an exclusive interview with Indian Masterminds.
That decision marked the beginning of a long and demanding UPSC journey.
MISSING SELECTION BY JUST A FEW MARKS
After graduating from IIT Delhi, Abhimanyu devoted himself fully to civil services preparation. The effort was intense, but the results were heartbreaking on more than one occasion.
“I appeared for the UPSC interview twice — missed by 7 marks once and by 16 marks the other time,” he says.
Those near misses were difficult to process, especially after years of preparation. Yet he continued pushing forward. In 2023, he cleared the Haryana civil services. Allied the examination and secured rank 41. He joined the administration as a Tehsildar, gaining valuable field-level governance experience while still carrying the dream of entering the all-India services.
Unlike earlier years, however, his approach toward the Indian Forest Service examination changed completely in 2025.
“This was my first proper attempt at Forest,” he says. “Earlier I used to fill the form casually. This time, I prepared consciously.”
BALANCING GOVERNMENT SERVICE AND UPSC PREPARATION
Preparing for UPSC while working full-time in administration is often exhausting, but Abhimanyu says the support of seniors and colleagues played an important role.
“They knew I had higher ambitions and didn’t create any hurdles,” he says. “I was very fortunate in that sense.”
With only four to five months available for dedicated preparation, he focused sharply on optional subjects. On the advice of seniors, he chose geology and forestry.
His preparation strategy was simple but disciplined: prioritise geology heavily while ensuring forestry remained manageable.
“I devoted around 80% of my time to geology and 20% to forestry, and that strategy worked really well,” he explains.
The result reflected that clarity. Abhimanyu scored 250 marks in geology, one of the highest scores in the subject. He also performed exceptionally in English and general knowledge, scoring 158 out of 200 in English and 161 out of 200 in GK.
Interestingly, he says he did not prepare separately for those papers.
“English has always been my strength, and GS was built through years of UPSC answer writing,” he says.
RELIEF BEFORE CELEBRATION
When the final result was declared, Abhimanyu says the first emotion was not excitement but relief.
“It was more of relief than pure joy,” he says. “Sometimes you feel luck is not on your side. Luck is a matter of probability. But this time, things finally aligned.”
For his parents too, the result carried emotional weight. They had watched him spend years chasing the examination, enduring disappointment after disappointment while continuing to prepare.
“My parents had always hoped I would clear UPSC,” he says. “When I cleared IFS, they felt relieved that I had finally reached where I wanted to.”
The jump from State Civil Services to the All India Services made the achievement even more meaningful for the family.
REAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE HELPED IN THE INTERVIEW
Abhimanyu’s interview board was chaired by Ajay Kumar on April 6. According to him, much of the discussion revolved around his practical experience as a Tehsildar in Haryana.
The panel questioned him extensively about stubble burning and ways to control it at the ground level. Instead of theoretical answers, Abhimanyu relied on real administrative experience.
He explained how the Haryana government balances incentives and penalties while dealing with the issue, combining support for farmers with enforcement measures.
“They seemed quite impressed with the ground-level knowledge,” he recalls.
For many aspirants, interview preparation often revolves around mock sessions and current affairs. For Abhimanyu, however, field experience itself became the biggest preparation tool.
FITNESS, FRIENDSHIPS AND MENTAL BALANCE
During years of preparation, Abhimanyu found stability outside academics through fitness, chess, and close friendships.
His daily gym routine became a way to disconnect from exam pressure and reset mentally.
“At the gym, my brain becomes completely calm,” he says. “I put on music and lift weights — for me, that is meditation.”
He also believes that a strong support system is essential during competitive exam preparation. According to him, aspirants should maintain different kinds of friendships — mentors, preparation partners, friends outside the UPSC ecosystem, and people with whom conversations have nothing to do with careers or exams.
One of his closest companions during preparation was Siddharth, who secured Rank 3 in the same IFS examination. The two prepared together, met regularly, and often went for evening walks to manage stress.
“My friends and family were my biggest support system,” he says.
“DON’T ATTACH YOUR SELF-WORTH TO THIS EXAM”
After years of trying, Abhimanyu now speaks less about success and more about perspective.
“I just want to say one thing — a lot of people attach their entire self-worth to the result of this exam,” he says.
According to him, the unpredictability of UPSC makes it dangerous to equate exam outcomes with personal value.
“Failing this exam doesn’t make you a failure as a person,” he says. “At the end of the day, it’s just a job — a service. There’s life beyond it.”
For Abhimanyu Balyan, AIR 13 is not merely the story of clearing a prestigious examination. It is also the story of learning how to continue after repeated disappointments, how to refine strategy with maturity, and how to protect mental well-being while chasing an ambitious goal.
And after years of uncertainty, the feeling that remains strongest is simple.
“The burden is off now.”
