Shruti Raj Lakshmi(AIR- 25)- IAS Toppers 2021

IC: The Avenue Mail

In the results of UPSC CSE 2021, announced by the UPSC where the top three positions have been secured by women, Shruti Raj Lakshmi of Jharkhand achieved the 25th rank in her second attempt. Shruti Raj Lakshmi is an engineer by profession and was working in a corporate company at a handsome salary before she decided to quit her job and prepare for one of the toughest examinations in the country. Shruti emerged as a topper in Jharkhand, from where 21 candidates have qualified for the IAS exam this year.

Here, in this article, we provide you with Shruti Raj Lakshmi’s background, preparation strategy, number of attempts, UPSC optional subject and more.

Read about the Preparation Strategy of Shruti Sharma AIR 1, in the linked article.

Shruti Raj Lakshmi- Bio and Background

Family Background- Shruti Raj Lakshmi hails from Ranchi where she got her primary education. Shruti’s father Dr Anand Kumar is an advocate, while her mother Preeti Rani is a Child Development Project Officer (CDPO). Her Grandfather Ramashray Prasad Singh is a retired Superintending Engineer and her grandmother Sushila Singh is a housewife. They are basically residents of Amba village of Bhagalpur in Bihar, now settled in Ranchi.

Shruti said it was the desire of the parents from the beginning that the daughter should become an IAS Officer. When she resigned from the job, she got the full support of her family members in the preparation. 

Educational Background– 

• Shruti who currently stays in Ranchi, earlier resided in Jamshedpur between 2006 and 2013 during her mother, Preeti’s posting as CDPO in Chandil. 
• Shruti Raj Lakshmi studied up to 10th class in Loyola School, Jamshedpur. She also topped her school in Class 10.
• She pursued her higher studies and completed her Std XII from DPS RK Puram in New Delhi.
• Shruti Raj Lakshmi joined BHU IIT after Class 12, where she completed her engineering in Computer Science in 2019.
• She worked with Goldman Sachs for a year, where her annual package was more than INR 31 lakhs. She quit her job to prepare for the civil services exam on her own and her assiduous and dedicated preparations resulted in obtaining the 25th rank on the second attempt.

Optional Subject in UPSC-

 Shruti Raj Lakshmi chose Anthropology as her optional subject. She believes that one should keep an optional subject for which material is easily available and in which one has an interest, as one has to prepare for the subject for about seven to eight months. 

Aspirations- 

Shruti has applied for her home cadre, Jharkhand. She wants to work to connect tribal products with new technology and work in the field of health. She believes that the people of the village should also get the benefits of development and more work is needed to ensure that all government schemes reach them. She wants to use whatever she has learnt in IIT for the development of villages and the welfare of people.

Read the Preparation Strategy of UPSC 2021 AIR 2 Ankita Agarwal, in the given link.

Shruti Raj Lakshmi- Preparation Strategy

• Like all other UPSC Toppers, Shruti Raj Lakshmi also made a strategy that was unique to her own strengths and weaknesses. Shruti Raj Lakshmi relied on self-study and did not join any coaching institute for the preparation of the exam. 
• She used to study for seven to eight hours every day. Having said that it is important to understand that putting in more hours is not important but studying every day consistently and achieving daily targets is more important.
• On the use of social media and the internet, Shruti Raj said that balancing studies with the use of the internet is extremely important for better performance. She restricted herself from using social media platforms and used the internet judiciously, to clear her doubts. 

• She emphasised on multiple revisions of the limited sources than diversification and duplication of the sources.
• She relied on test series for the preparation of both the Prelims and the Mains stage. She solved many mock tests before the prelims, for better revision and for the assessment of her preparation.
• Unable to clear Prelims in her first attempt, with the given strategy Shruti emerged as one of the IAS Toppers, in her second attempt.

The UPSC CSE 2021 preliminary exam was held on October 10, 2021, and the results of the examination were released on October 29. The main examination was conducted from January 7 to 16, 2022, and the results were declared on March 17, 2022. The interview was the last round of the examination which began on April 5 and concluded on May 26, 2022.

A few tips for UPSC exam preparation

• Action Plan-Commit aside at least 1 year for CSE preparation and create an action plan to get started.
• Plan carefully- When preparing for the UPSC CSE, keep a reasonable and doable study schedule in mind. Creating a planner and tracking the progress of your goals might also be beneficial.
• Restrict your study materials – Jumping from book to book for test preparation will only confuse you; thus, choose a few books and materials and try to adhere to them as much as possible.
• Use the internet for good – While the internet is a fantastic source of knowledge and study material, be cautious about overusing it because there are numerous distractions.
• Do not be frightened– It takes time to develop a CSE preparation routine that works for you. If a topic appears difficult and you become stuck, do not worry; think it through and you will gain an understanding of how to grasp that concept.
• Recognize yourself– Identifying your individual strengths and weaknesses will assist the aspirant in concentrating their preparation efforts. This concentration and understanding will greatly assist you in optimising each level of preparation to meet your specific needs.
• Practice- For both the prelims as well as the mains, you must take mock practice examinations before taking the actual exam. This will assist you in gaining confidence and experience in appropriately phrasing your responses.

Note: UPSC 2023 is approaching closer, supplement your preparation with the free Daily Video Analysis of The Hindu Newspaper by BYJU’S.

Note: You can make your current affairs revision robust using Free Monthly Magazines by BYJU’S.

All it takes is determination, unwavering focus and of course, a smart and guided approach to the IAS exam. Aspirants of UPSC 2023 can go through the following links for assistance in their preparation.