Among the many inspiring success stories, is Awanish Sharan whose success story stands as an inspiration to UPSC aspirants across India.

Awanish Sharan, a Bihar native, pursued his primary education at a government school. His academic performance was average. He only got 44.7% in class 10. He subsequently performed marginally better, achieving 65% in class 12th. In addition, he received a 60 percent graduation rate. Knowing that he was a mediocre student, he wanted to become an IAS officer by cracking the UPSC exam. Sharan even appeared for the Combined Defence Services (CDS) and Central Police Forces (CPF) exams, both of which were conducted by the UPSC. However, he couldn’t succeed in those exams. Furthermore, he made 10 failed attempts in the state PCS prelims.

Awanish Sharan advanced to the interview stage on his first attempt at the UPSC CSE but was eliminated. His aspirations came true when he achieved an outstanding All India Rank (AIR) 77 on his second try. He joined the IAS in 2009 and is presently assigned to the Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh.