For Aryan Chaudhary, the road to a career in uniform began long before he appeared for the UPSC CAPF Assistant Commandants examination. It began on the roads leading to his school, with a journey that took him 40 kilometres away from home every day.
Growing up in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, Aryan experienced firsthand how access to education could become a challenge when opportunities were limited by geography. He completed his schooling locally, travelling nearly 80 kilometres daily to and from school because suitable educational facilities were not readily available in his area.
He scored 93.6 per cent in Class 10 and 95.8 per cent in Class 12. Although he considered moving to Chandigarh or another nearby city for coaching to prepare for JEE Main and Advanced, he eventually continued studying from home and performed well enough in the examinations to secure admission to the Electronics and Communication Engineering programme at NIT Jalandhar.
Those years taught him an important lesson: circumstances could make a journey longer, but they did not have to decide its destination. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, he shared details about the same.
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Discovering the World of Uniformed Service
Aryan’s interest in the armed forces and Central Armed Police Forces took shape during his second year of college. While exploring student societies and clubs, he learnt about an Air Force station in Jaipur. He interacted with personnel there and had the opportunity to visit the station twice.
Those visits gave him a closer understanding of life in uniform and prompted him to explore the examinations through which he could enter the forces. He began seeking guidance about the selection process, the examinations involved and the preparation required.
Rather than enrolling in a coaching institute, Aryan chose self-study. He started with NCERT textbooks for Classes 11 and 12, supplemented them with freely available study modules and collected PDFs through Telegram. He studied previous examination papers, identified recurring question patterns and prepared his own notes, focusing particularly on the Common Defence Services (CDS), Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) and CAPF examinations.
The absence of readily available local guidance meant that he had to piece together his preparation from different sources. Online lectures and mentors became his guides, while his own notes became the foundation of his study routine.
His efforts began producing results. Aryan cleared CDS four times and AFCAT four times during his preparation journey. More importantly, he developed familiarity with the different stages of competitive examinations and learnt to prepare for them systematically.
AIR 182 in His First CAPF Attempt
Aryan completed his engineering degree in July and appeared for the UPSC CAPF Assistant Commandants examination the following month. Preparing for the examination while finishing college was already demanding, but the next phase of his journey brought an entirely different challenge.
He cleared the written examination in his first attempt, securing All India Rank 182 in CAPF AC 2025.
However, a written examination was only one part of the selection process. He still had to clear the physical tests, interview and medical examination. Meanwhile, he secured a job with a multinational company in Gurugram, beginning a new phase in which professional responsibilities and preparation had to coexist.
His nine-to-five job offered little room for an easy routine. College examinations, laboratory work during his student years, office responsibilities and preparation for competitive examinations all competed for his time. Yet he continued working towards the same goal.
For Aryan, getting through the written examination was not the finish line. It was the beginning of another test: whether he could sustain the discipline required to reach the final stages of selection.
Preparing Beyond the Books
One of Aryan’s biggest challenges was physical fitness. He has spoken about how he was overweight when he began preparing for the physical requirements of the CAPF examination.
He started running in the mornings before heading to work. After completing his office hours, he would return to the ground for further physical training rather than allowing his job to disrupt his routine.
Over the course of his preparation, he reduced his weight from 88 kg to 64 kg, a loss of 24 kg. The transformation required him to work on a part of the selection process that could not be mastered through textbooks or mock tests.
His experience also highlighted an important reality of the CAPF examination: candidates must prepare for its different stages together. A good written score alone cannot replace physical readiness, just as fitness cannot substitute for the knowledge and composure required in the interview.
Aryan cleared the physical examination and appeared for his CAPF interview in May. In June, he also received a recommendation from the Air Force selection process after continuing his CDS and AFCAT attempts alongside his CAPF preparation.
By then, a young engineering graduate who had begun with little formal coaching had secured a place in the selection processes of two different uniformed services.
One Dream, Two Roads to Service
Aryan’s success in both selection processes has left him considering two possible futures. He has also been declared medically fit for the Air Force and is awaiting the final outcome of the CAPF medical process.
The prospect of joining the Air Force, with joining expected in January, has made it a leading preference for him. Yet his interest in the CAPF remains rooted in the same aspiration that first drew him towards a career in uniform.
He had begun preparing for CAPF while already studying the General Studies component in college. Having cleared CDS twice by the time he appeared for CAPF, and twice more afterwards, he continued exploring opportunities across the services rather than restricting himself to one examination.
For Aryan, the choice is not between two unrelated ambitions. It is about finding the right path to a shared goal.
“My dream was to serve the nation. If I get the privilege of serving the country in any way possible, I would consider it an honour,” he shared with Indian Masterminds.
That outlook reflects the thinking behind his preparation: focus on the opportunity to serve, remain open to different routes and keep working towards the goal even when the final destination is not yet certain.
His Message to Aspirants: Start Where You Are
Aryan is particularly conscious of the difficulties faced by candidates who do not have access to established coaching centres or extensive guidance. His own experience of studying from home, using free resources and learning from online mentors has shaped his advice to those preparing for competitive examinations.
He believes that a lack of expensive coaching should not become a reason to abandon an ambition. NCERT textbooks, previous-year papers, freely available PDFs, online lectures and even AI tools can help aspirants build a preparation strategy when used thoughtfully.
He also cautions candidates against treating the examination as a short sprint. The CAPF selection process demands preparation across written papers, physical tests, interviews and medical examinations, and candidates must be ready to face each stage.
“Believe in yourself and begin. The most important thing is to establish a routine and follow it consistently. You may not know how many attempts it will take to clear a government examination, but you have to keep showing up and prepare yourself for every stage,” he advises.
His journey from daily school commutes in Kangra to AIR 182 in UPSC CAPF AC 2025 offers a practical lesson for aspirants: a successful preparation strategy does not always begin with a coaching classroom or a perfect set of circumstances. Sometimes, it begins at home, with a few textbooks, freely available resources and the willingness to build a routine from scratch.
Aryan’s next chapter remains open as he awaits the final selection outcomes. But his journey so far has already brought together academic achievement, professional responsibility, physical transformation and success in competitive examinations.
For those wondering whether they can prepare without ideal facilities, his experience offers a clear answer: begin with what is available, make the most of it and keep moving forward.
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