Mr. Vaibhav Rawat was elated when the UPSC declared its results for CSE 2020 on September 24, 2021. He had scored the All India Rank 25 which would allow him to choose the service of his choice.He always wanted to join Indian Foreign Service as he nurtured a dream to represent India abroad.
Today, Indian Masterminds will take you through his roller coaster journey into IFS.
EARLY LIFE
Born and brought up in a middle-class family in Rajasthan, Mr. Rawat belongs to a family of teachers. His father is an assistant professor at T.T. college and his mother teaches in a government college. It was his father’s wish to see him get into civil services.
He graduated from the Institute of Technology – BHU (IT-BHU). He was always brilliant in academics and held the 7th rank in the All India Science Olympiad. He was also an ace cricketer and was his school’s as well as college’s cricket captain.
After completing his graduation, Mr. Rawat worked in the Research and Development wing of technology giant Samsung, before getting into civil services.
PREPARING FOR UPSC
Mr. Rawat wanted to fulfill his father’s long-time wish of seeing him become a civil servant. Therefore, he decided to try his luck in the UPSC Civil Service Examination. While still working at Samsung, he decided to start preparing for the examination.
After preparing for a few months, Mr. Rawat gave his first attempt at UPSC in the year 2019. He cracked Prelims and Mains and reached the interview round. Much to his dismay, he was not able to clear the interview round and, therefore, could not crack CSE that year.
Although he was disappointed,he decided to start preparation again and give another try. His family also came forward and supported his decision.So, he began his preparation for UPSC all over again.
PREPARATION STRATEGY
According to Mr. Rawat, the UPSC syllabus should be every aspirant’s guide. It might seem endless and vague,but each word in that document is the most important thing you will read when it comes to preparing for this examination, he says.
In an interview with the media, he further said, “Each topic mentioned will tell you what you need to cover thoroughly from your texts as well as daily current affairs. The topics not mentioned need to be avoided like a plague. If you start studying everything under the sun, you will never be able to complete the topics that UPSC usually sets its questions. Being mindful of what you are studying is the key to success and the UPSC syllabus is what will guide you.”
Although it was a long and tiring journey, Mr. Rawat kept his eyes on the prize and put all his hard work and diligence into the preparation. His efforts bore fruit in 2021 when the results for UPSC CSE 2020 came out in September, and he found out that he had not just cleared the tough exam but had also score a top rank of AIR-25!
IFS OVER IAS
This was his second attempt at UPSC CSE, and he chose Indian Foreign Service as his preferred service. His aim was always to represent India on a global stage and he now hopes to do just that to the best of his abilities.
