Meet Ashish Kumar, The Darjeeling Boy Who Cracked UPSC CSE With AIR 53 In 2019 – News18

The Union Public Service Commission’s Civil Service Exam (UPSC CSE) is considered arguably the most difficult exam in the country. Every year, hundreds of thousands of aspirants from all walks of life appear for the exam but only a few of them can clear them. People who can clear the CSE go on to become IAS, IRS, IFS, and IPS officers and serve the country in many ways. There are many successful stories of various IAS officers who were able to crack the UPSC Civil Service Examination. But today, we’ll talk about Ashish Kumar, who got an AIR 53 in the UPSC Civil Service Examination 2019.

Ashish Kumar was born in Darjeeling, West Bengal. He did his undergrad in Economics in 2017, and after completing it, his mind was clear about cracking the UPSC. So he started preparing for the exam right after it. He didn’t pursue any other job and was fully focused on preparing himself for this.

His first attempt was not a successful one as he could just clear the prelims and missed the mains by a whisker. He missed the cutoff by just 0.33%, as he got 97.67% where the cutoff was 98%. But, he didn’t lose hope. He acknowledged the failure and made a new strategy to clear the examination next year.

Among the new strategies that he made for the preparation, he ensured that his UPSC preparation was not aimless. He realised that a clear purpose was lacking in his plan. This time, he double-checked the syllabus, focused more on studying from a limited number of sources, and stuck to study materials that were tried and tested. Ashish also tried to understand the study strategies of past years’ UPSC toppers. However, he did not copy them but tried to understand them and strengthen his study pattern.

He even revealed that 7-8 hours of daily study helped him clear his exam. He also added that the duration of studies also depends on an individual’s ability.

He started making notes, which were missing during the first time of his preparations. He also gave several mock tests that helped strengthen his confidence. Finally, a clear strategy and effective preparation helped him develop mental clarity, and he was able to clear the CSE 2019 with an AIR 53.