Hard work is the only way, the
results will come automatically
HYDERABAD: Gaurav Agrawal
initially reacted with disbelief when he was informed Thursday that he has
topped the prestigious civil services examination this year.
"Initially I could not believe. Then I started receiving calls from my
friends, father, mother and wife congratulating me," the 29-year-old from
Jaipur said.
Gaurav, who passed the Civil Services exam in the second attempt for Indian
Administrative Service (IAS), is currently undergoing training at the Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here.
"IAS is my first choice. It is a field job. You can meet people,
understand their problems and then try to solve them," said Gaurav, whose
father Suresh Chandra Gupta is a manager in Jaipur Dairy and mother Suman Gupta
is a housewife.
His father and wife Preeti, a physician, are reaching Hyderabad Friday to join
him in the celebrations. He is the only son of his parents while his elder
sister lives in the United States.
Coming from an upper middle class family, Gaurav always excelled in studies.
Last year he got 244th rank and chose Indian Police Service (IPS).
He holds a Bachelor of Technology (Computer Science) degree from the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) - Kanpur and a Post-Graduate Diploma in
Management from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) - Lucknow. He was a gold
medallist in IIM.
Gaurav worked as an investment banker in Citi Group in Hong Kong for four years
but returned to India to prepare for the IAS.
A strong believer in hard work, he chose history and economics as optional
subjects last year though he had no background of history. This year his
optional was economics.
"I had interest in studies from the beginning. I always loved reading and
writing," Gaurav said. He, however, admitted that he had slipped after
making it to IIT. "I had failed and my degree had to be extended. This was
a lesson for me. I then started focusing on studies," he said.
Gaurav has a message for youngsters: "One should identify one's weaknesses
and overcome them because there is a general tendency to negate the
shortcomings. We should continuously think of improving."
He also wants students not to become arrogant on small achievements. "We
should strive for our ultimate goal. Hard work is the only way. The results
will come automatically," he said.
