Challapalle Yashwant Kumar Reddy has proved that one can achieve unprecedented success if one believes in the hard work of the target and moves forward. Already an IPS officer, he wished to give the UPSC examination once again in 2021, which probably proved to be the best decision of his life, as he secured AIR-15 and entered the top 20 list of selected aspirants.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Reddy opened up about his preparation and his plan for the country, now that he is set to become an IAS officer.
EARLY LIFE
A native of Madi, a village in Kalugotla, Chagalamarri Zone, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Reddy is the son of a retired government teacher in the village. His mother is a homemaker and his elder brother, Naga Dastgiri Reddy, has completed his M. Tech at IIT Kanpur and is doing his Ph.D. in Computer Science (Computer Architecture) in the United States of America.
Mr. Reddy attended Mandala Parishad Primary School in Kottala, Kadapa district, where his father taught lessons till the fifth standard. He studied from six to ten at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Rajampet.
After completing his intermediary education at Sri Chaitanya College, Vijayawada, Mr. Reddy went on to graduate in Computer Science Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada (JNTUK). He received a Gold Medal from JNTUK and Prathiba Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh for Academic Excellence during his B.Tech.
CLEARING STATE CIVIL SERVICE
While still studying for engineering, Mr. Reddy decided to prepare for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and achieved a rank of 201 enough for a M.Tech seat at IIT Delhi.
Within a month of joining M.Tech, in August 2016, he got a job as an Information Systems Officer at Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for which he left his post-graduation and joined the company, full time.
This was the first time that the thought of entering into civil services came into his mind. Along with his full-time job, Mr. Reddy began his preparation for Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission Examination (APPSC). He passed the examination and secured the third rank in Group-1 by APPSC. He received the post of Assistant Commissioner of State Tax in the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
CLEARING UPSC
While in the state civil service, Mr. Reddy made up his mind to crack the UPSC examination and get into Civil Services, Government of India. He started devoting his time to the preparation and gave his first attempt in 2019, during which he was not able to clear even the Preliminary stage of the examination.
He did not lose hope and prepared once again for the examination. In 2020, he gave his second attempt at the UPSC CSE and secured AIR-93, thus getting the post of an IPS officer. Not being satisfied with his rank, Mr. Reddy decided to give another try at the examination. He began preparing once again, while simultaneously training as an IPS officer.
He gave his third attempt in UPSC CSE 2021 and much to everyone’s happiness, secured AIR-15 and the post and title of an IAS officer.
CHALLENGES FACED
Talking about the challenges that he had to face during the preparation, Mr. Reddy told Indian Masterminds, “I was under-confident throughout my preparation and had major self-doubt. I panicked seeing the syllabus and overthought everything. I used to wonder if I was prepared enough to give the examination and always had this underlying thought that so many people give the examination every year, out of which a few hundred are selected, and if my name would ever come in those few hundred or not. I was always in a dilemma.”
Along with this, another challenge that he faced was being consistent during study hours. He knew he had to put in n number of hours into his preparation but to remain consistent with that, seemed like a task to him.
However, the officer faced all the challenges face on and prepared for the examination with the utmost diligence, which ultimately proved to be fruitful.
MESSAGE FOR THE UPCOMING ASPIRANTS
Mr. Reddy wishes to advise the upcoming aspirants to not say goodbye to their social lives altogether during their UPSC preparation.
“The preparation for the exam is very tough anyway. One should not let go of their social life during this time. They must try and manage their study hours in a way that they have at least a few hours daily, at hand, to socialize with their family and friends, instead of completely isolating themselves from the world,” he stated.
Further, explaining the importance of a strong pillar of support, Mr. Reddy advises aspirants to have that one person in their life, whether it’s a family member, a close friend, or a mentor, who will strongly stand by their side, no matter whatever the outcome is.
