Was praying for rank in top 70, number 1 a surprise: UPSC topper Aditya Srivastava

Was praying for rank in top 70, number 1 a surprise: UPSC topper Aditya Srivastava

LUCKNOW: Aditya Srivastava had to sacrifice his passion for cricket and give up a high-paying job, before his years of hard work paid off, securing him the top rank in UPSC civil services examinations in his third attempt.

Talking exclusively to TOI from Hyderabad, Aditya, an electrical engineering graduate from IIT-Kanpur, exclaimed it was “unbelievable” for him. “I was praying to secure a rank in the top 70 so that I get IAS, but bagging the top slot in the coveted exams is a sheer surprise. But, definitely a lot to rejoice all my life (sic.),” he said.

Already undergoing training at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, after having secured rank 216 in 2022 and joined the Indian Police Service, Aditya was on cloud nine after the UPSC announced the results for the 2023 exams on Tuesday. A small video of his celebration with his batchmates at the academy went viral.

“I missed my parents on this special occasion. I celebrated by cutting two cakes with my friends, but the feeling of being an all-India topper is yet to sink in,” he told TOI.

Aditya’s parents in Lucknow were “speechless” when he broke the news to them over the phone. “We were sure he would make it to the IAS, but topping the civil services exams was beyond imagination,” said his proud father Ajay Srivastava, an assistant audit officer in the CAG office.

An alumnus of City Montessori School in Lucknow, Aditya was a school topper. He did his BTech and MTech from IIT-Kanpur and then worked with Goldman Sachs, the world’s second largest investment bank, in Bengaluru for 15 months.

“He was earning good money but wanted to serve the country. With the job, he was unable to focus on his preparations. So in 2020, just a month before the prelims, he quit the job and returned home,” said Ajay.

On his strategy to crack civils, Aditya said, “My strategy centred more on smart than hard work. Analysing previous years’ papers apart from basic books was helpful. I also identified patterns and framing of statements in the question papers, apart from utilising all resources like PT 365 (a compilation of current affairs). I made optimum use of Google and Chat GPT.”

Apart from academics, Aditya loves studying about dinosaurs. Asked about this fascination, he said, “This came quite early in my life(sic). And when I saw movies like Jurassic Park, I was awed by their magnificence and read a lot of books on them.”

He is a foodie, and his mother Abha said throughout the exam preparations, “his only demand was to get delicious food, his favourite being mutton delicacies”.

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