UPSC CSE topper Abhishek Sharma reveals his success story, tells how he secured AIR 38, gives tips, strategies for aspirants

It's nothing less than a dream for lakhs of students across India to crack the highly competitive and one of the toughest Civil Services Examination (CSE), annually conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). But not everyone is able to do so and get into the prestigious IAS, IPS, IRS and IFS.  Many even come from an unprivileged background but with determination and hard work are able to crack the tough exam.  One such story is of UPSC Topper Abhishek Sharma.  

Abhishek Sharma comes from a small town who dreamt of becoming an IAS officer and achieved it after a lot of hard work. His father, Ashok Sharma, is an English teacher in Madhya Pradesh’s Navodaya Vidyalaya. He also completed his education at Navodaya School. UPSC topper Abhishek Sharma secured AIR 38 after clearing the CSE 2024. His optional subject was Physics. 

How Abhishek Sharma succeeded in UPSC exam

In a conversation with Jagran, Abhishek told his UPSC success story and his journey of clearing the CSE exam. He said that he was filled with a strong self-confidence when he started his UPSC journey. He felt that he was all ready to study and crack the coveted UPSC exam. However, this overconfidence failed him after he took the exams leniently and could not clear the first two attempts.

He became hopeless after two attempts and thought that he would not be able to clear the exams and becoming an IAS officer will always remain a dream. This disappointed him to the level that he even thought of leaving preparations but his family and friends encouraged him to take on the challenge and continue to study. This gave him confidence and he restarted his preparation. 

Apart from family what boosted him the most was a Hind poem as Abhishek has interest in poems and after reading a poems by poet Arjun Sisodia it ignited a fire within him. "युद्ध नहीं जिनके जीवन में, वे भी बड़े अभागे होंगे, या तो प्रण को तोड़ा होगा, या तो रण से भागे होंगे।" (Those who don't have wars in their lives, they are unfortunate, either they had broken a promise or they must have ran away from the war.)

"I had put this on my study table. Whenever I used to lose morale, this poem made me remember that those who fight come out winners. Then I gave all my hard work to it."

Tips and strategies for cracking UPSC exam

Abhishek advices to not study by counting hours but make a goal of completing a task. Being consistent is a key. He said that he used to ask himself that what and why is important in life?. "Losing hope felt wrong after seeing the sacrifice of parents." Talking about how to prepare for current affairs section he said, "Be more conscious about static questions which are linked with present scenarios." He gave more emphasis to inspiration, hard work and support.