21 October 2026
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Meet the Top Five of UPSC CSE 2023, Know Their Journey

Indian Masterminds Stories

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), on Tuesday, declared the results of Civil Services Exam-2023. A total of 1016 candidates have been selected for the services this year which includes 664 men and 352 women. This year, three men secured positions in the top five. Aditya Srivastava has secured the first position while Donuru Ananya Reddy became the female topper by bagging AIR 3. 

Animesh Pradhan secured AIR 2 while PK Sidharth Ramkumar and Ruhani got AIR 4 and AIR 5 respectively. 

Indian Masterminds presents the top five toppers, who are soon going to be part of the most prestigious service in the country. 

AIR 1, ADITYA SRIVASTAVA

Mr. Srivastava hails from Lucknow and has secured rank 1 in his third attempt. Last year, i.e. UPSC CSE 2022, he secured rank AIR 236. Aditya’s father is an assistant audit officer in CAG, while his mother is a homemaker. His father was his motivation all throughout his journey. 

Aditya Srivastava

He did his primary schooling from CMS, Lucknow. Then, he did his graduation (B.Tech) in electrical engineering from IIT Kanpur in 2019. After that, he joined Goldman Sachs, an American Investment Bank, in Bengaluru. He worked there for 15 months only. He quit the job in 2020 and started preparing for UPSC CSE. He qualified the examination with ­­­­­­­­ Electrical Engineering as his optional subject. 

“I would say that there is a lot to be learned in this journey. Some mistakes also happened, like when I failed in my first prelims. Life taught me a lesson. Also, leaving a job for preparation was really a tough decision for me,” he told Indian Masterminds. 

AIR 2, ANIMESH PRADHAN 

Hailing from Angul, Odisha Animesh Pradhan is a graduate (BTech.) in Computer Science from NIT Rourkela. His mother works in a PSU, and he too cleared UPSC CSE 2023 while working in the PSU, Indian Oil Corporation Limited. Mr. Pradhan chose Sociology as his optional subject and cleared the exam in his first attempt while doing a full-time job. 

ANANYA REDDY, THE FEMALE TOPPER

Donuru Ananya Reddy

Donuru Ananya Reddy, who hails from Mehboob Nagar, Telangana, is a graduate in Geography from Miranda House, Delhi University. Her father is self-employed and her mother is a homemaker. After graduation, she decided to appear for UPSC CSE. She chose Anthropology as her optional subject and cleared the exam with rank 3 in her first attempt. 

AIR 4, PK SIDHARTH RAMKUMAR 

PK SIDHARTH RAMKUMAR 

Ramkumar secured rank 4 in his fourth attempt and made his dream of becoming an IAS officer come true. He did his graduation in Architecture from College of Architecture, Trivandrum. In his last year, while doing internship, he decided to appear for the CS exam. He couldn’t clear the prelims in his first attempt in year 2019. 

He came back strongly and cleared UPSC CSE 2020. He was selected in Indian Postal & Telecom Account and Finance Services. But, the journey did not end for him there and he gave another attempt in 2021 and secured AIR 189. He is currently under training at the National Police Academy. As the results for UPSC CSE 2023 came out, he came to know that he has secured the fourth rank this year with Anthropology as his optional subject.

Here is the interview of Mr. Ramkumar with Rau’s IAS:

AIR 5 RUHANI 

Ruhani

A graduate in Economics from St. Stephens College, Delhi University, Ruhani hails from Gurugram Haryana. Both her parents are lecturers. After her graduation, she completed her Masters from IGNOU and simultaneously gave competitive exams. She first cleared Indian Economic Services and worked there for three years, including two years in NITI Aayog. 

She then cleared UPSC CSE 2022 with AIR 159 with Economics as her optional subject. She was under training at the National Police Academy when the result for UPSC CSE 2023 came out and she got to know that she has secured AIR 5.


Indian Masterminds Stories
Join our WhatsApp Channel
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
UPSC time certainty pm modi
Police Commemoration Day 2026: PM Modi Pays Tribute to Personnel Who Died in the Line of Duty
Gujarat AI for Every Student Mission
Gujarat Plans AI Training for 5 Lakh Students Under ₹20 Crore Mission, Targets 5,000 Faculty Trainers
UDAN Scheme turns 10
UDAN Turns 10: 687 Routes Operational, ₹28,840 Crore Plan Targets 100 Airports and 200 Helipads
UP Police
UP IPS Transfer: 2 Senior IPS Officers Get New Postings, Ashok Kumar Singh Named DG Civil Defence
IAS Officer Harshal Pancholi
Who Is Harshal Pancholi? 2015-Batch IAS Officer Facing Suspension Recommendation in MP SEIAA Dispute
Dr. S
Who Is Dr. S. Senthil Kumar? 1998-Batch IFS Officer Appointed DG of Forest Survey of India
BrahMos-2 Hypersonic Missile
BrahMos-2: India-Russia Missile Project Eyes Export Market with Zircon-Inspired Hypersonic Technology
Rajnath Singh SCO Meeting 2026
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Calls for Unified Action to Dismantle Terrorism Ecosystem at 25th SCO Meeting 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
Beyond Tigers and Safaris: How Corbett Literature Festival Wants to Change the Conservation Conversation
PK Jena
Why Technology Cannot Replace Human Connection in Governance: P.K. Jena
PK Jena
The IAS Officer Who Put People Before Paperwork: How PK Jena Challenged Corruption and Reformed Governance
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Mavis tak
From Dropping Out of School to Becoming an IPS Officer : How a Father’s Unwavering Support Helped Mavis Tak Achieve Success
For Mavis Tak, becoming an IPS officer once seemed like a distant dream. Despite financial struggles...
Bhikan Rojekar UPSC
He missed MBBS by 1 mark in 2016; Maharashtra’s Bhikan Rojekar secures UPSC AIR 812
Bhikan Rojekar secured AIR 812 in UPSC CSE 2025 in his third attempt. Read how the son of a farm labourer...
Umar Janj UPSC CAPF
15+ Failures Couldn’t Stop Him: Umar Janj Secures AIR 160 in UPSC CAPF 2025
After multiple SSB setbacks, a CAPF interview miss by 12 marks and more than 15 failures, Umar Janj secured...
CSR NEWS
HPCL Gorakhpur cricket stadium
HPCL Commits ₹10 Crore Under CSR for International Cricket Stadium Development in Gorakhpur 
The CSR contribution aims to strengthen sports infrastructure, promote grassroots cricket, create employment...
nhpc csr
NHPC Tanakpur Power Station Provides Vehicles Worth ₹40 Lakh and Medical Equipment Worth ₹28 Lakh Under CSR
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami Flags Off Three Vehicles for Forest Divisions and Inaugurates a Phacoemulsification...
NBCC India CSR Award 2026
NBCC India Wins Award for Excellence in CSR at 4th Fortune Leadership Awards 2026
The recognition honours NBCC’s community welfare initiatives and efforts to improve healthcare accessibility...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
UPSC time certainty pm modi
Police Commemoration Day 2026: PM Modi Pays Tribute to Personnel Who Died in the Line of Duty
Gujarat AI for Every Student Mission
Gujarat Plans AI Training for 5 Lakh Students Under ₹20 Crore Mission, Targets 5,000 Faculty Trainers
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
PK Jena
PK Jena
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT