Due to a lack of funds, a Bihar man was unable to apply for IIT, but his son later became the top civil servant | Shubham Kumar IAS Wikipedia

 

Shubham Kumar IAS | Shubham Kumar IAS Wikipedia | Shubham Kumar IAS education

The UPSC Civil Services topper, Shubham Kumar's father, missed out on an IIT seat by Rs 500. Kumar has now achieved his and his father's dream of passing IIT and achieving the highest rank in the civil services.

Shubham Kumar, the UPSC Topper, benefited not only from his own hard work and sleepless nights, but also from generations of hard work. While we are aware of the struggles of the UPSC civil services topper, his father Devanand Singh was also a bright student who, due to financial constraints, was unable to realise his ambitions.

 

Devanand Singh, a native of Katihar, Bihar, excelled in school and aspired to pass the IIT entrance exam in 1983. However, Devanand's father, a teacher, died in an unfortunate turn of events. Devanand had even completed the IIT application, but the exam cost Rs 500, which he could not afford at the time.

Shubham's father, a manager at North Bihar Gramin Bank, was in tears during a conversation with Hindustan Live, describing how his son had realised a long-held dream.

 

Devanand revealed, while pouring out his heart, that he and his one friend, who was also facing financial difficulties, cried all night. His son has now realised a long-held ambition.

Shubham now wants to stay in Bihar and work on the state's development after achieving rank one in the UPSC civil services. He wants to work in rural areas for the underprivileged. Shubham received his early education in his village of Kumhari, after which he enrolled in Vidya Vihar school in Parora, Purnia district, where he studied from class 6 to 10. He studied at Chinmayanand in Bokaro for classes 11 and 12.

 

The UPSC top candidate has a BTech in Civil Engineering from IIT Bombay, which he earned in 2018. The young lad will be honoured in the auditorium of the Bihar Legislative Council ahead of the training, which will begin in November. It is a proud moment for the state, and particularly for his family.

 

Shubham, too, had to overcome many obstacles in order to pass the exam. His mother, Poonam Devi, said the boy was only six years old when he was accepted into a Patna residential school. She admitted that leaving the child alone was difficult for her. "I used to cry all night," she explained, "but he'd always wanted to do something big since he was a kid."

Shubham had previously attempted the UPSC examination in 2018, but had received a negative result.