Meet man, BITS Pilani alumni, who left high paying job for UPSC, failed many times, later secured AIR 1, now he is...

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination is one of the toughest exams in the country. Every year, millions of young people appear for the UPSC exam with the dream of becoming IAS, IPS, IFS officers, and so on. Anudeep Durishetty also dreamed of becoming an IAS officer and, after hard work, he made that dream come true. His deep passion for serving the nation and making a positive difference in society fueled his relentless determination to clear the Civil Services Examination. Now, let's explore what it truly takes to become an IAS officer. 

Who is Anudeep Durishetty? 

In 2017, he not only cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination but also secured the first rank (UPSC AIR 1 2017). Anudeep Durishetty, a resident of Metpally, Telangana, completed his schooling from Shri Suryoday High School. After that, in 2011, he pursued his engineering studies in Electronics and Instrumentation from BITS Pilani. 

Anudeep Durishetty’s IAS journey 

He then started working as a software engineer at Google (in Hyderabad). However, he did not give up on his UPSC preparation to pursue a career in the civil services. In 2012, when he failed in his first attempt, he tried again in the subsequent years in 2014 and 2015, and when he reappeared for the prestigious exam in 2017, he not only cleared the UPSC CSE exam that year but also secured AIR 1 in IRS.  He worked as an Assistant Commissioner in the Customs and Central Excise Department, but he still wanted to become an IAS officer. 

In an interview, Anudeep Durishetty's father mentioned that he enrolled in coaching at Vajiram & Ravi for his first attempt. After that, he continued his preparation through self-study. However, his journey was not an easy one. It was filled with despair, devastation and even a feeling of being a complete failure. In his blog, Durishetty says, “I simply didn’t have the courage to carry on, and I knew I had hit a dead end. Within days, I decided to quit,” while talking about his state in 2016. But Durishetty came over this by focusing on his work and life more clearly.  

Therefore, he continued his preparation and in his final (5th) attempt, he secured the All India Rank 1 in the UPSC exam and topped it. IAS Anudeep Durishetty is currently serving as the Collector in Hyderabad.