Lakhs of candidates appear for the UPSC Civil Services Exam, one of the country's most prestigious examinations, every year. However, only a few candidates are finally selected.
Find out who became UPSC toppers in the last 10 years and which optional subjects they chose that led them to success.
UPSC 2024 topper Shakti Dubey's subject was Political Science & International Relations (PSIR). Regular practice and a deep understanding of current affairs brought her success.
Aditya Srivastava, the UPSC topper in 2023, chose Electrical Engineering as his optional subject. According to Aditya, consistency and discipline are the real keys to success.
The optional subject of UPSC 2022 topper Ishita Kishore was Political Science & International Relations. According to her, this subject was also very helpful in the interview.
In 2021, UPSC topper Shruti Sharma chose History as her optional subject. Shruti, who studied at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, described self-motivation as the key to success.
The subject of 2020 UPSC topper Shubham Kumar was Anthropology. He is an engineering graduate from IIT Bombay. Smart study and reliance on limited resources were most helpful.
2019 UPSC topper Kanishk's optional subject was Maths. He is an engineer from IIT Bombay. He showed that students with a technical background can also shine in the civil services.
In 2017, Anudeep Durishetty secured All India Rank 1 with Anthropology. He had said that UPSC is not a race, it is a marathon.
In 2016, Nandini K R chose Kannada Literature as her optional subject. She was the first student from a Kannada medium background to top the UPSC.
The subject of 2015 UPSC topper Tina Dabi was Political Science & International Relations (PSIR). Tina Dabi became the UPSC topper in her first attempt.
In 2014, Ira Singhal created history in UPSC with Geography as her subject. She became the country's first differently-abled woman topper.
The journey of UPSC toppers shows success in UPSC depends not on the subject, but on hard work and continuous practice.