Success Story of S. Harikishore IAS

“Focus, dedication, determination and perseverance are essential for success. Equally important is priority-driven hard work.” – S Harikishore, IAS

Harikishore IAS is an inspiring figure to all UPSC aspirants and IAS officers. He bagged the 14th rank in Civil service Exam in 2008.

Perseverance, focus, commitment, and determination are the essential qualities which helped Harikishore to secure a top rank in the Civil Services Examination 2008.

Read on to know his IAS success story.

S Harikishore IAS – Background

• Harikishore hails from the state of Kerala.
• His father was a former Registrar of Kannur University and former Head of the Department of Sanskrit, Payyanur College.
• His mother was a Malayalam teacher.
• After his schooling, he joined B.Tech Mechanical Engineering at Kannur University.
• He secured the first rank in B.Tech from the Kannur Government Engineering College.
• Later he secured a GE Foundation Scholarship at the IIT, Kanpur. He did M.Tech from IIT Kanpur.
• Then he joined as an Assistant Professor in Amrita School of Engineering, Kollam to find financial support.
• After that, he started preparing for the IAS exam. He opted for LOP (loss-of-pay leave) to dedicate time for IAS preparation.
• Becoming an IAS officer was Harikishore’s childhood dream.

Topper’s IAS Preparation Strategy

• Harikishore took the IAS exam before the syllabus change.
• For his IAS prelims, he opted for Mechanical Engineering as his optional.
• For the UPSC Mains, he chose Geography optional and Malayalam Literature as the optional subjects. For more on how to select an optional subject, click on the linked article.
• He joined IAS coaching for a better understanding of the UPSC’s requirements and demands and also attended mock interviews.
• In the first two attempts, he could not even clear the prelims. He cracked the IAS exam in his third attempt.
• For current affairs, he relied on The Hindu newspaper and magazines such as General Knowledge Today, Competition Success Review, Yojana, and Frontline.

Check out the table below for our current affairs features:

IAS Current Affairs

Harikishore says that the most important factors of his success were the financial and mental support from his parents.

Facts about S Harikishore

Some Brief Facts about S Harikishore are presented in the table below:

Facts about S Harikishore

For more such UPSC success stories for inspiration and motivation, you can check out our segment which posts articles on IAS toppers, Get Inspired.

For more UPSC related preparation materials and articles, visit the links given in the table below

Related Links