Failing is one thing in itself, but failing after coming so close to success causes a lot of mental stress. Vidyanshu Shekhar Jha, a resident of Ranchi, dreamed of joining UPSC in 2018 and took the first step to fulfill his goal of joining this prestigious service. Little did he know that his journey would be filled with so many obstacles and disappointments, which would test his dedication. Vidyanshu Shekhar Jha faced failure in each of the three UPSC exams by one or two marks. He was completely dejected and had somehow given up hope.
However, this was the time when he found a new strength in himself and finally achieved what he wanted. He succeeded in both CSE and IFS exams. Reflecting on his own difficulties and successes, he offered important lessons for candidates. Admitting his mistakes, he warned against relying on coaching material and ignoring the importance of solving previous years’ question papers.
This was the journey till IFS
Vidyanshu Shekhar Jha started his Civil Services preparation in 2018 and made his first attempt for UPSC in 2019. In this attempt he missed the prelims cut-off by just 2 marks. In his second attempt, in 2020, he failed in prelims by just 0.67 marks. In the third attempt, in 2021, he missed the prelims cut-off by just 1 mark.
After failing in Prelims three times in a row, he was completely dejected and his hopes for the fourth attempt were almost gone. However, freed from the burden of expectations, he took his fourth attempt comfortably and did not keep any expectations. In UPSC 2022 exam, he crossed the prelims cut-off for both CSE and IFS. He also cleared Mains and got 49th rank in the reserve list of CSE. He got posting in Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS). However, he could not make it to the final list for IFS Mains in 2022 by 8 marks.
In 2023, he focused only on IFS exam and he secured 5th All India Rank. He said in an interview, ‘UPSC is a test of very strong will. So never give up. The cut-off of IFS is always higher than that of CSE. When I did not crack CSE in the first three attempts, IFS seemed a distant goal. But today, I am an IFS officer. So just work hard and be patient.
mistakes and advice
Vidyanshu told the candidates how to learn from their mistakes. He admitted, “I had relied more on coaching magazines rather than newspapers. Candidates should not make this mistake. He also added, “In my initial attempts, I solved many test series, but previous years’ papers were Ignored. These were the major mistakes that candidates should avoid.
Family and education
Vidyanshu’s family is from Darbhanga, Bihar, but now they live in Ranchi, Jharkhand. His father is a businessman, while his mother is retired from the education department. He has a younger sister, who is a doctor in AIIMS. He received his early education from Ranchi and did B.Tech in Civil Engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu in 2017.
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