It is rightly said that the UPSC exam requires patience, hard work and a lot of mental strength to cope with the pressure it brings with it. As lakhs of young people appear for this exam every year, not everyone is able to deal with the pressures and quit in between. With the motive of recruiting the top layer from among these aspirants, UPSC has set its standards very high. Hence, only those who can withstand the high pressure and high demands of this tough exam can manage to clear it.
Among such candidates is Mr. Dipankar Choudhary, who appeared for the exam four times and did not even stop preparing even after getting into the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 2019. He never gave up on his dream and kept working hard till he achieved the IAS grade in 2020. Indian Masterminds presents his success story.
EARLY LIFE
Being brought up in the state of Jharkhand, Mr. Choudhary completed his initial studies there. He then came down to the national capital, Delhi, and pursued his graduation in engineering and obtained a degree in 2015. During college, he never thought of appearing for the civil services exam. However, he thought of taking up a job straight after college.
Working according to the plan, he took up a job offer after completing his engineering. During this job, he realised that he has a bigger purpose to serve than working in the private sector. That is when he started reading about the UPSC exam and subsequently started preparing for it.
UPSC JOURNEY
In 2016, he started preparing for the UPSC exam. As the exam is tough to clear without full preparation, he failed to clear it in the first two attempts. Many people in his place would have got discouraged and quit. But not Mr. Choudhary! He was focused and had only one aim in mind, that was to get into the administrative service.
He prepared with full dedication and worked on the mistakes he committed in the first two attempts. In the third attempt, he cleared the prelims, mains and the interview stage successfully and got an AIR 166 to become an IPS officer in 2019. It was a big achievement. However, his dream of becoming an IAS remained unfulfilled.
Getting into the IPS training, he again sat for the UPSC CSE for the fourth time in 2019 and secured an AIR 42 to become a 2020 batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre.
TIP FROM THE TOPPER
Mr. Choudhary’s strategy for this exam is slightly different from other candidates. He believes that current affairs should be studies for at least two and a half years. According to him, the role of current affairs has become very important as per the pattern of the examination.