https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Success is Near, Grab it By Any Means: Varuna Agrawal

IAS officer Varuna Agarwal learned to take failures in her stride while preparing for UPSC CSE. She says now that one should consider failures as learning experiences and keep trying for success. The 38 rank holder in CSE 2020 got success after two failed attempts. In her 2nd attempt, she missed success narrowly.
Indian Masterminds Stories

“Don’t look at everything as a win or a loss. If we look at life or an exam as a learning, life becomes easier.” These are the words of Ms. Varuna Agrawal, UPSC-2020 topper, who is of the opinion that success comes and goes. Now you have it, then you don’t. However, the times when success eludes you are the times you are giving your toughest exam. And it can be easily passed with the power of faith. That’s exactly how Ms. Varuna Agrawal from Rudrapur in Uttrakhand overcame setbacks in life.

There have been times, Varuna got very close to success, but couldn’t achieve it. Coming so close and not being able to achieve it can be really disheartening. But she didn’t let that happen. Instead, she worked doubly hard. We are talking about UPSC CSE here. She had to make three attempts before clearing it. In the second attempt, she reached till the interview stage, but could not make it to the final list because of three marks only. However, in the next attempt, she topped UPSC-2020, securing 38th rank and became an IAS officer.

Indian Masterminds takes a look at her past and present and tries to piece together her success story.

Smile of success: Varuna Agrawal (Credit: Social Media)

EARLY LIFE

A resident of Kalyani View colony in Rudrapur town, Varuna wanted to see improvement in the education sector. She felt this could be done through collective efforts and civil service is one of them, through which this change can be made visible. She was also inspired by her grandfather Banwari Lal to become an IAS officer.

Her father Subodh Agrawal and brother Rahul Agrawal are chartered accountants. Her mother Sadhna Agrawal is homemaker. Varuna studied till 12th from Jaycees Public School in the city. She scored 95.4 percent marks in science stream and topped the school. After pursuing her secondary education from the same school, she went to Pune, to study law from Symbiosis Law School.

Varuna had started dreaming about civil service from Class 10 itself. A senior student from the school was selected to the Foreign Service. Later, he came to the school and Varuna heard his speech. Ever since, civil service became her goal.

Varuna being felicitated after clearing the toughest exam of India (Credit: Social Media)

UPSC PREPARATION

After completing her studies, Varuna went to Delhi to prepare for UPSC exam. She did IAS coaching for a year, and then started preparing at home. She believes that one should never set a time limit while preparing for UPSC exam. “Sometimes setting a time limit is beneficial, but most of the times things get out of control and then the tension increases. So keep working hard and keep yourself positive. Let us assume that we will not get success in the first attempt, even then we will definitely get to learn something.”

SUGGESTIONS FOR ASPIRANTS

Varuna feels that there is lot of confusion among UPSC aspirants. “To remove the confusion in any topic, candidates should rely on only one publication and study from it. Studying from books of more publications will increase the confusion instead of reducing it. Keep revising the syllabus from time to time, so that what you have read is constantly in memory and you can also be sure about your preparation.”

People greets her success (Credit: Social Media)

HARD WORK BRINGS SUCCESS

She says that she studied for 8 to 10 hours daily. And all this hard work paid off, when she got selected in the third attempt.

“Don’t look at the exam as pass and fail, but as learning. Learning makes you happy. Even if you fail in the exam or get less marks,your satisfaction remains that you have learned something. When my numbers were low, I used to think that there was something to be learned from it. Today I have better information than yesterday. This gave me motivation.”

ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Unlike most UPSC candidates, Varuna has different views on social media usage. “Social media has many advantages. If you use social media properly, then it is very beneficial. You can connect with many people from whom you will get inspiration, knowledge, and news of the country and abroad.But the information coming through this medium should not be overloaded. Too much of anything is bad.”

Varuna Agrawal, AIR 38th, UPSC CSE-2020 (Credit: Social Media)

KEEP TRYING

There were times when she found this path difficult. Especially, when in the first attempt, she could not clear the preliminary exam. But she did not lose courage. At such times, family and friends encouraged her. Her words of advice are: “Never give up in life. Keep working towards your goal. Keep going step by step. Achieving the goal may take time, there may be many obstacles. But when you give up trying, at that very moment, you choose failure. So just keep trying and success will be yours eventually.”


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
NBCC
AIIMS Housing Upgrade: NBCC Begins ₹144 Cr Construction of Type-V Quarters Under Redevelopment Phase I - Details Inside
Indian Forest Services IFS officer
From Forests to Boardrooms: IFS Arun Prasad Resigns from Chhattisgarh Cadre, Amid Buzz of Corporate Shift - Know More About Him
GAIL India
GAIL Achieves Major Infrastructure Milestone: Dabhol LNG Terminal Now an All-Weather Port
coal-India limited
Coal India Signs MoU with Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation to Boost Rail Infrastructure - Details Inside
International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS)
Historic First: IAS Officer V. Srinivas Elected President of IIAS, Defeats Austria’s Nominee in Landmark Vote - Know More About It
UPSC Latest IAS IPS IFS
Puja Khedkar Impact: UPSC’s New Aadhaar-Enabled Portal Sees Overwhelming Response, 92% Applicants Opt for Biometric Authentication
Odisha govt_resized
Odisha: 1 IPS & 1 OPS Officer Transferred, 2 Districts Get New SP, Manoj Kumar Rout Made SP, Bhadrak
Karnataka-govt-announces-state-wide-close-down-for-14-days
RCB Felicitation Stampede Fallout: 5 Senior Officers Suspended, IPS Seemanth Singh Appointed New Bengaluru Police Commissioner
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
Monika Singh’s Life Beyond the Bureaucracy | Video Interview 
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
Modernising Governance: A Digital Transformation in Gangtok
IMG-20250523-WA0036
Abhishek Singh's SECRET: Vipassana, Anthropology & Smart Answer Writing | Video Interview 
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Divyanshu Pal Nagar IFS
5 Years, 5 Mains, 4 Interviews: How Divyanshu Pal Nagar Stumbled in CSE, Triumphed in IFS - A Lesson for Every Aspirant
Divyanshu Pal Nagar’s inspiring five-year UPSC journey shows how perseverance, disciplined self-study,...
ANUBHAV SINGH UPSC IFS 2024
9 Years, 8 Attempts, 7 Failures: How Anubhav Singh Cracked UPSC IFS 2024 with AIR 3 Against All Odds | Exclusive
Anubhav Singh’s inspiring journey to UPSC IFS Rank 3 showcases relentless perseverance, strategic preparation,...
Jogender Sihag
“I Cleared UPSC, But My Grandfather isn’t Here to Hear it,” Jogender Sihag, AIR 521, UPSC CSE 2024
"Life is short; make the most of it, whether in civil service or any other field. Just have a clear vision...
Social Media
Tiger jump Sundarban
Stunning Viral Video Shows Royal Bengal Tiger Making Spectacular 30-Foot Leap Across River in Sunderbans - See It Here
Retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shared the clip online, which quickly went...
shubham kumar ias marriage
IAS Topper Weds BPSC Topper: Shubham Kumar Marries IRS Officer Priyangi Mehta in Patna; Wedding Video Goes Viral
Topper Couple Alert: Shubham Kumar, Priyangi Mehta’s Wedding Grabs Spotlight in Bihar
parveen kaswan elephant
Elephant Outsmarts Electric Fence! IFS Parveen Kaswan Shares Incredible Video!
In the now-viral 51-second clip, the intelligent giant approaches a wooden pole supporting high-voltage...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
NBCC
AIIMS Housing Upgrade: NBCC Begins ₹144 Cr Construction of Type-V Quarters Under Redevelopment Phase I - Details Inside
Indian Forest Services IFS officer
From Forests to Boardrooms: IFS Arun Prasad Resigns from Chhattisgarh Cadre, Amid Buzz of Corporate Shift - Know More About Him
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Monika Singh
IAS Tushar G Nikhare
IMG-20250523-WA0036
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT