Took some time to sink in: UPSC topper Aditya Srivastava

Hyderabad: Civil services exam topper Aditya Srivastava on Tuesday said it was a dream coming true for him that he got selected for the IAS.

Srivastava, who is an IPS trainee at the National Police Academy (NPA) here, said he was praying god for securing a rank in the top 70 and that it took some time for him to sink in that he got the first rank.

Srivastava topped the civil services examination 2023, results of which were announced today by the Union Public Service Commission.

"IAS was a dream for long time. I always wanted that. That's why I pursued it even after coming to NPA," he told PTI videos.

"It (journey to appear for civil services) started early in my life. Because, in UP, Bihar, its generally a tradition, people motivate you to get into the civil services. That was the initial push and after that, because of IIT and the opportunity it offered, I went into the corporate also. But, finally, I came back for the civil services," he said.

The twenty seven-year-old, who hails from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, completed his BTech in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur and also has an MTec degree. He had electrical engineering as his optional subject in the UPSC exam.

Srivastava said consistency and hard work and a "bit of smart work", including analysing previous years' questions and self-motivation, is something everyone needs to clear exams, he said.

His father is a government servant, while his mother is a home-maker.

Without my parents' support, it would not have been possible to reach this destination, he said.