Of grit, hard work and passion: SPIPA scripts a new chapter of success for UPSC candidates

After conducting the entrance examination, training classes are conducted by SPIPA for a total of 635 candidates in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Mehsana. An incentive of Rs 2,000 per month for seven months after admission to the training class, Rs 25,000 to males who have passed the UPSC prelims exam and Rs 30,000 to females is given. The institute has been a witness to many stories of hard work and grit. A spotlight on the ones whose resilience and endurance paid off:

Smit Hasmukhbhai Panchal, AIR 30

For Ahmedabad resident Smit Hamsukhbhai Panchal, 22, giving up on his civil service preparation to earn and be able to cover his expenses of living in Delhi so that he could study for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams, finding his name “on the first page of successful candidates” was like a dream come true.

Smit Hamsukhbhai Panchal

Smit, for whom it was the second attempt for the mains and first for the interview, is a graduate in Political Science from L D Arts College in Ahmedabad. “My father works as a blacksmith, my mother is a housewife and my elder sister works as a nurse. The expenses for my coaching during my first attempt was sponsored by my cousin who is in the medical field and stays in Delhi”. “After I failed to crack even the prelims, I could not ask him for more financial help. So I returned to Ahmedabad as living in Delhi on my own would have cost me a lot. I took up a job at the front desk of a private coaching institute with an aim to save at least Rs 50,000 for my stay and preparation in Delhi,” Smit told The Indian Express.

After collecting the amount, Smit left his job on March 1, 2024, to sit for his prelims. “After I cracked the prelims, I gained confidence, following which I went to Delhi for three months coaching for the mains exam. I shared a small room with my cousin and only returned home after my mains exam,” he added.

“Other than being dynamic and prestigious, civil services offer a chance to serve people. I started fully preparing for UPSC in 2022 even though I had decided to opt for this in 2017 only when I was in Class 11,” he said, adding, despite the financial constraints his family never pressured him to take up a job or share the financial burden. Smit had joined the interview guidance programme at Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA) Ahmedabad from where he received financial support of Rs 25,000 per month once he cleared his prelims.

Visharg Vijaybhai Thakar, AIR 247

With an MBBS degree from Gujarat Cancer Society Medical College in Ahmedabad, Visharg Vijaybhai Thakar, 27, has been undergoing training for the Indian Railway Service in Maharashtra for the last one year.

Visharg Vijaybhai Thakar

I will resign from my job while attempting again for the UPSC exams, with a target of IAS, Visharg told The Indian Express. This was his fifth attempt for the mains exam and second for the interview.

A first generation doctor in the family, he said, “I can serve the society both in the medical field and through civil service. With an MBBS degree, it is limited to caring for people only with health issues whereas the civil services offer more avenues. I realised this during Covid pandemic… the scale of impact that an administrator has is unparalleled.”

Son of a retired additional chief engineer at Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited (UGVCL) and an English professor at R H Patel Arts and Commerce College in Ahmedabad, Visharg said, his mother had “always inspired him to take up challenges and read beyond the curriculum”. I would get books and not toys as my birthday presents, he added.

Anshul Yadav AIR 473

Anshul Yadav, 25, who was born in Haryana’s Rewari, had to move to Ahmedabad 20 years ago after his father Subhash, currently posted as a head constable at Meghaninagar, was transferred.

Anshul Yadav

Preparing for the last four years for UPSC, Anshul gave up his software engineer job at Oracle in Bengaluru after working for a year. “While working there I realised the amount of effort I put into my job… if the same I put towards my country I would be able to make some impact in people’s lives,” Anshul told The Indian Express.

Anshul, a B tech in electrical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, had bagged the job through campus placement. He quit his job in 2022 and returned to Ahmedabad. His elder brother is doing his PhD in robotics from the USA.

Attempting for the fourth time — first interview and second mains— Anshul said his morale was hit when he failed to clear the prelims twice. “Despite an engineering degree from IIT Delhi, there certainly is uncertainty in the UPSC exams. I was constantly under pressure and it is due to my family that I could survive. Though I was expecting a better result as my target is IAS but I will continue to attempt in that direction,” he said.

“Though I have strong interest in international relations and that is the reason I chose political science and international relations as an optional subject, but, I am only aiming for the administrative service,” he added.

Ankit Vaniya AIR 607

Ankit Vanya, 30, who has done his BE in mechanical engineering from Government Engineering College Patan, said that it was tough for him to give up his first government job and prepare for civil services.

Ankit Vanya

“I joined as a senior clerk in 2018-19, cleared the Gujarat Public Service Commission and was appointed as Municipal Chief Officer in Thara (Banaskantha) nagarpalika. In 2021, I resigned and joined SPIPA Ahmedabad and since then I have been preparing for UPSC exams. I had been staying in a rented accommodation in Ahmedabad for the last four years,” he told The Indian Express.

Vanya who belongs to a small village, Kungher, in Patan district said his mother worked at a brick kiln as a daily wage farm labourer and even sold toys outside the village temple and later worked at a socks factory in Patan till he got his first job as a clerk. In the meantime, his father too got promoted from peon at LIC in Patan to clerk in 2018-19, the same year he joined as a senior clerk. His younger brother works as a medical representative in Ahmedabad and younger sister as a lab assistant in Ahmedabad.

“My family is certainly very happy with the UPSC results though they do not know much about it except that this is the biggest and toughest exam of the country. My family has always supported me,” he said.

Jeetkumar Namha AIR 929

A resident of Limbdi in Surendranagar, Jeetkumar Namha (27), said out of total four attempts this was his third attempt for the UPSC mains exam and second for the interview, Jeetkumar quit his job as a software engineer in Pune after working for two-and-a half years.

Jeetkumar Namha

“While working in Pune I realised that my job is good for personal growth but not for the larger benefit of the society. In college I joined various clubs through which I got an opportunity to travel the country and realised that I should do something for the society,” he said. A single child, his father expired in 2009 while his mother works at an Anganwadi centre in Limbdi. “Though my maternal uncle and grandparents supported me, I saved from my job to cover my expenses in Ahmedabad for my preparation,” he said. Jeetkumar completed his primary schooling from a government school before joining JNV Dhrangadhra (for Class 9 and 10) in Surendranagar and JNV Bundi in Rajasthan (Class 11 and 12) for which he got a scholarship. Aiming for IAS, he said though he will join the civil services, he will also “attempt the exam again to improve his rank”.