Born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Yasharth Shekhar has finally achieved what he had been dreaming of for a long time. It took him three attempts and years of preparation to reach the final list and secure an AIR 11.
Sharing his happiness with Indian Masterminds, the topper said, “Everybody desires a rank but most importantly the name in the list. I just wanted to see my name in the list and getting a decent rank was like getting dessert after a good meal. I am too grateful to get that.”
MOVED FROM PLACE TO PLACE AND LEARNT
Yasharth’s parents come from Bundelkhand region, but he was born in Lucknow. His father is currently the district judge of Balarampur and due to the transferable job, Yasharth had to move to a lot of places during his studies. This gave him a lot of exposure and an opportunity to connect with people since a very early age. He completed his 10th and 12th from Lucknow and went to St. Stephen’s in Delhi for graduation in Economics.
MISSED IT BY FEW MARKS
Yasharth gave three attempts, the first one in 2019. He couldn’t crack pre that time but in the next attempt in 2020, he reached the interview. “My total score was 931 and cut off went to 944. So, I didn’t get my name in the list by just 13 marks. I did get disappointed, but this gave me hope that it’s a very small gap and I can sail through in the next attempt.”
He was right and this time he didn’t just get selected but also a good rank among the top 20!
WANTS TO WORK FOR PEOPLE
When asked by Indian Masterminds about the motivation factor, what really motivated him towards civil services, he said that the job provides an opportunity to work in areas where their work can directly affect the common people. “It is diversified services which makes it more interesting. It is one of the few services that is pro-people and not anything else. I was fascinated about it due to this.”
Referring to his future goals, he said that now he has been given the opportunity to look for what is real. Like everybody else, he knows the problems only through books, but with this service, he can now explore the realities of the world, which could be far different from what he expected.
