PRAKASH RAJPUROHITH

Both Shah Faizal, who topped this year’s UPSC exam, and 24-year-old Prakash Rajpurohit, who came second, have quite a bit in common. Neither of them took coaching classes to crack what is thought to be the toughest exam in the country, and they did so after having taken up other professions. While Faizal is a doctor from Kashmir, Prakash is an electrical engineer from IIT-Delhi. The only difference between them on Thursday was their level of excitement — the latter did candidly admit that he was disappointed at coming second.

Iva Sahay, meanwhile, is the only woman in the top three. She says she wants to reform the bureaucracy and help people caught in a web of files, running haplessly running from one office to another. ‘‘I will try to improve the bureaucracy’s functioning. People without any connections are never welcomed into our offices. That attitude should change,’’ she said, speaking over the phone from Allahabad, her hometown.
A postgraduate in geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Sahay topped the university exams in all four semesters. At the moment, she is studying for a doctorate from Allahabad University.

Originally from Rajashthan’s Barmer district, Prakash did his schooling from DAV School in Delhi before joining IIT. His stay there however was something he does not like to remember. ‘‘I joined IIT in 2003 to study electrical engineering but I was horrified right from day one. My seniors ragged me so severely that I had no option but to complain to the authorities. They were expelled for six months. Some of the things I was asked to do by my seniors can’t be mentioned. I was psychologically affected but did not want to give up so easily. I disregarded all thoughts of leaving IIT and carried on. The credit for making me so strong goes to my parents,” says Prakash who is an only child. His parents live in Ghaziabad, while he lives with his friends in Vasant Kunj.

Prakash was working with a start-up IT firm in Noida before he began to explore the idea of becoming an IAS officer. ‘‘Initially, I decided to become an engineer and joined IIT because I was very good at math, it was my favourite subject. I left my job in 2008 to prepare for the UPSC exam since I felt the civil services were very diverse and more challenging. I reached the interview stage in my first attempt in 2008 but could not get any further. But I never gave up, that failure propelling me to forge ahead even stronger and achieve my goal. I never took coaching classes but studied on my own,” he says.

Success for him is not completely new. He came fourth in the All India IIT exam in 2003. ‘‘I will be joining the services by Augustend, hopefully the Rajasthan cadre but before that I want to go back to Ghaziabad and be with my parents,” he says, surrounded by his friends.

Courtesy: Times of India