From a Wanderer to an Achiever: IAS Parth Gupta’s Story

January 22, 2024

4 Minutes

IAS Parth Gupta speaking on Josh Talks

Introduction

Even in the darkest moments of uncertainty, the pursuit of passion and perseverance can illuminate the path to success. Such is the journey of IAS Parth Gupta, who transitioned from an aimless boy without any direction in life to a man who cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2021 with AIR 72. 

Assessing Different Roads

Parth was born and raised in Jammu where he completed his basic education. He was an academically good student right from his childhood, but he lacked clarity about what he wanted to achieve when he grew up. As a child, his dreams would shift from becoming a scientist to an army officer and as he neared the tenth standard, only one option seemed plausible: engineering. After scoring the highest marks in tenth standard, a few journalists came to interview him to publish his achievement in the paper and asked him what he wanted to become when he grew up, to which his mother answered “Civil Services”. That line went on to be published in the newspaper, although Parth wasn’t even aware of the meaning of this Service. 

Finding His Calling

Parth completed his B.Tech from NIT, Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh and during this period explored his interests. He became a Training Representative for the Placement and Training Cell of his college, because of which he gained some experience and initial training for Civil Services, although it never occurred to him that he wanted to enter the Service at that time. He got a job and moved to Bangalore where he enjoyed his work, but after almost a year, he felt as if something was missing- he didn’t just want to earn money, he wanted something that would help him connect with people.

Facing Reality

On visiting his village in Kathua city, Parth observed that the youth there were constantly moving out due to lack of opportunities, so he asked the elders there about the situation, who told him that once the youngsters leave, they never come back. Even looking at the education sector made him realise there are so many facilities not being utilised and if things were to be used at their full potential, everything would improve by a huge margin. 

Testing the Waters

Parth realised he had so many ideas in mind to serve society and decided to try out the Civil Services exam. In 2015, he appeared for UPSC while working and couldn’t clear the Prelims, since he was still exploring this path. What he learned from this experience was that cracking Prelims was achievable. He left his job and appeared for his next attempt with full preparation, where he cleared the Prelims but failed in the Mains. This time he decided that the Mains syllabus needed to be completed even before the Prelims, so he attempted practice papers and revised regularly. He cleared the Mains with average marks and the interview didn’t go well because of nervousness, as a result of which he failed to clear the final cut-off. He was disappointed because he had reached the final stage and still couldn't find success. 

Facing Continuous Setbacks

In 2018, everything was going well- he cleared the Prelims and the Mains, but he made the mistake of appearing for the State PSC and UPSC simultaneously due to which he failed to make any quality value-addition to his UPSC preparation, leading him to fail again. He was utterly devastated but his family helped him a lot during this time and his parents remained normal despite the anxiety and encouraged him. They told him to leave Bangalore, where he was in his comfort zone. He came to Delhi at the cost of leaving his study group in Bangalore and this was when he intensely prepared for this exam. 

Accomplishing The Dream

Now his score in Mains and Interview jumped up and with the rank of 240, he was awarded IRS. He became completely satisfied and relaxed for a while but remembered his dream of making an impact in the education and rural development sector, so ultimately he gathered his courage and decided to appear again since this was in any way his final attempt. He cleared the exam with AIR 72 and was awarded with IAS. 

Values To Uphold

After reaching the peak in his final attempt, two things that Parth wants all aspirants to focus on are courage and honesty. Do not be scared to believe in yourself and be honest with yourself and the people around you. If you look at all successful people, they have achieved everything honestly. 

Conclusion

In finding his purpose in life, Parth not only discovered direction but also became an example for other aspirants facing similar struggles. After countless setbacks and disappointments, he remained resilient and transformed failures into stepping stones towards success. 

Know more about IAS Parth Gupta here.