Despite having a 30 LPA package at Goldman Sachs and being an IPS trainee at the National Police Academy, Hyderabad, it was sheer motivation to uplift the system that guided this 26-year-old man from Lucknow to secure the first rank. He has a remarkable educational background with high scores in 12th grade and B-tech and M-tech degrees from IIT-Kanpur.
One of the 18 successful candidates from Odisha, Animesh Pradhan has debunked the myth that you need coaching to achieve success in UPSC exams. The NIT Rourkela graduate made it to the second all-India rank in his first attempt without any training. In an interview, he said this was a tribute to his mother, who died due to cancer in March.
With her strong determination to bring administration closer to people, Donuru Ananya Reddy, the female topper of CSE 2023, secured all-India rank 3. Hailing from Mahbubnagar, Telangana, Ananya is an alumna of Miranda House in Delhi. Reddy believes it is important to have a learning strategy and revealed that she used to study 12 to 14 hours daily.
P.K. Sidharth Ramkumar from Kerala scored all-India rank 4 in CSE 2023. The result came as a surprise to his parents who were unaware that he was appearing for the exam. He is currently undergoing IPS training in Hyderabad and this was his fourth attempt. In the previous two attempts, he had secured IPS. He completed his BA in Architecture from Kerala University.
Ruhani, a 28-year-old from Gurgaon, Haryana, bagged the fifth all-India rank in her sixth attempt. She completed her bachelor's in economics from St Stephen's College, Delhi, and master's in economics from IGNOU. She served in the NITI Ayog for two years before joining IPS.