https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

A Paan Shop Owner’s Son Is Now An IAS Officer

Rahul Gupta could be an inspiration for millions of Indian students who leave studies midway and take up menial work to support their parents and siblings. Son of a paan-shop owner, Gupta didn’t only clear the UPSC but also got the most coveted IAS.
Indian Masterminds Stories

It takes tons of determination, dedication and efforts to clear the ‘mother of all examinations’ – UPSC. One stays away from family and celebrations to clear it. The struggle multiplies when the candidate has to survive on a shoe-string budget.

Hailing from the small town of Sivasagar in Assam, he cleared the UPSC examination in his third attempt, gaining an All India Rank of 286 in CSE-2018. His father Mr. Om Prakash Gupta runs a small paan shop in the district. In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, he opened up about his struggles and how he finally achieved his dream.

IAS Rahul Gupta made his family proud

FAILING IN THE MASTERS BEFORE CLEARING LAST HURDLE

Mr. Gupta completed his Masters in Development Studies from the prestigious Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi in 2019. Most of his friends and batch mates were preparing for Civil Services at the time, which also motivated him into going for it. His uncle helped him with the preparation too. He took a few years off and decided of getting into Law, which he couldn’t. After three unsuccessful attempts at UPSC, he was finally able to clear it in 2019, making his family proud.

Recalling his days of preparation, he remembers studying along with his group of friends who were all preparing for the examination.

Mr. Gupta’s friends motivated him to start from scratch after failing his Masters

“In 2017, I couldn’t even clear my prelims. It was a shocking year as I even failed my master’s exam in the same year. I had to leave the hostel and hit rock bottom. My friends motivated me to start from scratch and after taking a month off; I started with my preparation again” he told Indian Masterminds.

SURVIVING ON BORROWED MONEY

One of the major challenges that Mr. Gupta had to face was being financially critical. “My parents did not understand the concept of inflation and kept on sending me the same amount from 2011 to 2018. Perforce, I started borrowing from my friends, which I am still repaying,” he chuckled.

Mr. Gupta and four of his friends crammed into one little flat due to a minimal budget, which made studying difficult. To prepare in peace, they joined a library which not only helped them with their learning but also reduced their electricity bill as they only went back home to sleep.

Mr. Gupta along with his roommates when he lived in a small flat in Delhi

“To save money on water, we carried huge water bottles to the library and filled them with water and stored it. So we didn’t need water or electricity, thereby cutting down our expenses by a lot. You have to be jugaadu when you’re living outside and your family doesn’t understand the concept of inflation” he laughed.

A FAKE STORY

Recently on leave, while he was just sitting and looking after his father’s shop in his absence, he caught the eye of a reporter who went ahead and published a report ‘how he left his job as an IAS to help in his father’s shop’.

But he told Indian Masterminds, that this wasn’t the case. “That was my father’s shop and I was just sitting there. The reporter cooked up the entire story. When my father didn’t allow me to run the shop by abdicating studies, why would he do so now,” he asks.

Mr. Gupta with his family

PAAN SHOP TO CONTINUE

Being the eldest of his siblings, he helps with their education through his salary and his father takes care of the other things through the money he earns from the little paan shop. “We are a big family. Before I got into the service, all the things were functioning in a particular way. The revenue coming from the shop went to all the children in the family. My father wouldn’t stop just because I have started earning. I can take care of some of my siblings but I don’t think he wishes to retire anytime, soon.”

His father’s paan shop

JNU – A BLISS FOR THOSE WITH FINANCIAL CRUNCH

Currently undergoing training in Guwahati, he considers himself lucky to have gotten into JNU as the rooms there were pretty low on cost and the competitive environment of the place helped him in preparing well for the examination.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Lamchonghoi Sweety (L S) Changsan
Sweety Changsan IAS Takes Charge of Revenue, Tribal Affairs & ASDMA in Assam
chandrachud1
SC Administration Asks Ex-CJI Chandrachud to Vacate Official Bungalow After Deadline Lapses
cji-br-gavai-supreme-court
CJI Changes 64-Year-Old Rule, OBCs to Get Reservation in Supreme Court Recruitment
Screenshot 2025-07-06 092240
Global Firefly Count Begins with India’s Lead: Conservation Policy in the Works - Details Inside
Raj DGP
Rajasthan: New DGP Rajeev Sharma Aims to Make Rajasthan a Model for Policing in India – Know His Future Plans for Policing in State
Leopard Threat on Kanwar Yatra
UP: Leopard Threat Looms Over Kanwar Yatra in Bijnor; Administration Steps Up Vigil with Drones and Patrolling
Ladli Behna Yojana Housing
Ladli Behna Yojana: 1.30 Crore Urban Beneficiaries to Receive Houses Alongside Financial Aid, Announces MP CM Mohan Yadav
Mohan Yadav
Rs 8,682 MSP for Moong: CM Dr Mohan Yadav Requests 40% Procurement Amid Surge in Cultivation
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-03 at 13.33
IRS Sanjay Bahadur: The Officer With a Pen That Bites | Video Interview
Inderjit Singh Air India
Is Air India Carrying The Burden of Split Before Privatisation?
Ex IRS C Rajendiran
Ex-IRS Officer C. Rajendiran Illuminates Thirukkural’s Timeless Wisdom in Exclusive Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
IAS SHWETA BHARTI Bihar
From Wipro to Civil Services: How Bihar's IAS Shweta Bharti Juggled a BPSC Job While Preparing for UPSC
IAS Shweta Bharti, from rural Bihar, balanced a full-time job and UPSC prep with discipline, cracked...
IPS Deepak Meghani
Deepak Meghani, IPS: A Journey of Focus, Failure, and Quiet Discipline
A passionate writer, he has authored several books in Gujarati, ranging from exam strategy guides to...
Sanish Kumar Singh
“If you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way,” Sanish Kumar Singh AIR 8, UPSC IFS 2024 
The real interview, he says, was much more humane. “The board was conversational. The chairman opened...
Social Media
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu’s Visit to NADT Turns into a Wholesome Tribute to Legacy—and ‘Moolchandj
The Olympic champion shared nostalgic memories, met aspiring IRS officers, and sparked viral laughter...
Shailaja Chandra
“Nanis & Dadis Have a Brain”: Former IAS Officer Shailaja Chandra Weighs in on 1970s vs 2025 Life Debate - “This Generation Has It Better”
Responding to Viral Post on Middle-Class Struggles, Ex-Bureaucrat Offers Candid Reflection on Then and...
Tigress Arrowhead
The End of an Era: A Queen Falls - Ranthambore’s Iconic Tigress Arrowhead (T-84) Passes Away at 14, Hours After Daughter’s Relocation
Ranthambore mourns the loss of one of its fiercest and most beloved tigers, Arrowhead, the granddaughter...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-05 at 18.56
Where a Mine Once Lay, Minds Now Grow, Thanks to An IPS with A Vision
Lamchonghoi Sweety (L S) Changsan
Sweety Changsan IAS Takes Charge of Revenue, Tribal Affairs & ASDMA in Assam
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-03 at 13.33
Inderjit Singh Air India
Ex IRS C Rajendiran
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT