‘Never lose hope’ was the only mantra Deepak Dwivedi followed religiously to achieve success in UPSC CSE. His name figured in the reserve list of CSE 2021 against AIR 25. This was his fourth attempt, and, understandably, the pressure was high to crack the exam. Facing three failures on the way till here, he never gave up on hope, and himself. He worked hard, gave his best, and never ever compared himself with others.
Currently working as an Assistant Director in Sports Authority of India (SAI), Mr. Dwivedi shared his UPSC CSE journey with Indian Masterminds.
BACKGROUND
Son of journalist Janki Sharan Dwivedi, Deepak Dwivedi was born and brought up in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh. He did his schooling from Navodaya Vidayalay, Gonda and, thereafter, did his graduation in Civil Engineering from Motilal Nehru National University of Technology, Allahabad.
He got the first position in the district in the high school examination. His marks were the highest ever scored by any student since the inception of the school. Apart from being a topper in studies, Mr. Dwivedi has also been ahead in extracurricular activities. He was awarded the Governor’s Award in Scout and was sent to Japan at official expense by the Government of India under the Japan East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youth Mosham.
INSPIRATION AND PREPARATION
Mr. Dwivedi’s motivation for joining civil services came from IAS officer Saumya Pandey, who is currently posted as CDO in Kanpur Dehat. He says that she was his college senior and he was highly motivated by her success. Likewise an IPS officer from his college who had secured AIR 102 in UPSC CSE also motivated him to walk on that path.
“I found both of them truly inspirational. Their success made me think that if they can do it, so can I. This motivated me to work harder and harder,” Mr. Dwivedi said.
From his final year of graduation in 2016, he started preparing for the civil service examination. And, in 2017, he resigned from his first job and came to Delhi to give full energy and attention to the preparation.
FOUR ATTEMPTS
He cracked the exam in his fourth attempt in 2021. This was the second time that he appeared for the interview. In 2020 also, he had appeared for the interview, but his name wasn’t there in the final list.
He took coaching only for Political Science, which was his optional subject. For general studies, he prepared on his own. After clearing his prelims, he had taken a crash course and test series for the mains preparation.
INTERVIEW ROUND
In CSE 2021, Mr. Dwivedi’s interview went quite well. The panelists asked him a number of questions. The first question that was put to him was related to his surname, Dwivedi.
“They also asked me about the Vedas in detail. After this, the questions shifted to the city I belong to, followed by some judiciary questions, working in the government, and much more,” he said.
MESSAGE TO ASPIRANTS
Mr. Dwivedi’s sincere advice to all aspirants is to follow the mantra that worked for him – believe in themselves, work hard, and give their best. “It might take time, but definitely, one day you will achieve success,” he said.
He also advises to first understand the syllabus before starting the preparation, and, also, to make notes of the same material and read it several times instead of reading many books on one topic.
Mr Dwivedi, who is currently an Assistant Director in Sports Authority of India (SAI), said that he will think of moving from here only if he gets a good allocation in service.
