From AIR 236 to AIR 1: UPSC 2023 Topper Aditya Srivastava’s Journey is a Lesson in Perseverance

While many are celebrating the fact that Lucknow resident Aditya Srivastava cracked the daunting UPSC CSE exam with an AIR (All India Rank) 1, very few know the journey that led to this moment. 

As a tweet by Srivastava reads, “From doubts to dreams, from aspiration to achievements and everything in between, the path has been a long and arduous one. But it was truly worth all the pain and struggle.”

Throughout his academic years, Srivastava was a model student. His accolades and marks speak for themselves. The IIT-Kanpur graduate has a BTech and MTech degree under his belt and was working a lucrative job in Bengaluru. However, fuelled by the desire to create impact at a grassroots level, Srivastava quit the corporate sector. 

From doubts to dreams, from aspiration to achievements and everything in between, the path has been a long and arduous one. But it was truly worth all the pain and struggle.#AdityaSrivastava #AIR1 #UPSC2023 #UPSC pic.twitter.com/pqB3AxtekQ— Aditya Srivastava (@AdityaSri_1) April 17, 2024

While Srivastava scored AIR 236 in his previous attempt at the UPSC CSE in 2022, he was determined to join the IAS (Indian Administrative Service). Currently undergoing training at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad, Srivastava attempted the UPSC this year and topped! 

युद्ध में योद्धाओं के शस्त्र ही उनके आभूषण होते हैं !!#TheJourney ✌️🚨 pic.twitter.com/7hdn42bzvx— Aditya Srivastava (@AdityaSri_1) March 22, 2022

As he once shared in a speech, ‘life isn’t easy but you’ve got to carve your own path’. 

“The point isn’t only to earn respect but also to bring a positive change in someone’s life,” is what he believes.  

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Edited by Padmashree Pande

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