Mumbai: After attempting the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services exam (CSE) prelims in 2019, Shruti Shrote, like many of her peers, went to the United Kingdom to pursue her post-graduation in 2021.
But two years later when she decided to don the hat of a candidate again, Shruti bagged the All India Rank (AIR) 859 in UPSC CSE 2022 and has now emerged as one of the toppers from Maharashtra in what is considered the ‘toughest exam’ in the country.
“I didn’t clear the UPSC 2019 prelims exam but after clearing the same in June 2022 in my second attempt, I decided to put my Master's in the UK on hold and go ahead with the Mains exam,” said the Thane resident, who completed her first year of Masters in Global Affairs from King’s College London.
Though Shruti is happy to be among the prestigious list of candidates who cracked the exam, she aims to better the rank in her extra attempt.
“I will take the prelim exam again and then make a decision on continuing my second year in the UK accordingly,” Shruti told The Free Press Journal.
With an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a brother who is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Shruti caught up to the nuances of civil service preparation pretty early on.
“Candidates who are appearing for UPSC should know that Prelims are detail oriented and it is important to know something about everything to eliminate your options, while with Mains one has to keep their resources limited and revise them again,” added Shruti.
With 11.52 lakh candidates appearing for 1022 posts in UPSC Prelims 2022, and only 13,090 candidates qualifying for the Mains, toppers like Shruti believe aspirants should be aware of the challenges ahead of them.
“The biggest challenge in civil service preparation is keeping up the momentum as it’s a lengthy process and can sometimes take upto 2-3 years of prep so candidates need to be sure about entering the field,” asserted the 25-year-old.
