When Zinnia secured AIR 156 in UPSC CSE 2024 and was allocated the Indian Police Service, most would have settled in. Not Zinnia. She had already walked away from a coveted career at the World Bank and the United Nations, where she worked on sustainability and global policy. She also previously worked with Hindustan Unilever and the Smart Cities Mission.

But IPS was not the destination. While undergoing IPS training, she kept preparing. In her fourth attempt, she didn’t just clear the exam — she jumped from AIR 156 to AIR 6, a staggering rise of 150 places in a single cycle. She is also co-founder of PeaceX, a non-profit working on youth empowerment and international policy in collaboration with the UN.

“Strategic preparation and the willingness to keep improving — not just clearing the exam — defines success.”

An alumna of Sanskriti School and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University (Economics & Political Science), Zinnia also completed a postgraduate diploma in sustainability from IGNOU. Born in Rohtak, Haryana, she is the daughter of a retired father and a mother who retired as Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner.

Among this year’s most extraordinary achievers is A R Rajah Mohaideen — a 25-year-old MBBS doctor from Chennai who holds a Guinness World Record for the Largest Keyboard Ensemble, a Limca National Record, and the Padmashri Seerkazhi Govindarajan Prize for Excellence in Fine Arts. He is also an accomplished Carnatic musician, a former Cultural Secretary of his medical college, an NCC certificate holder, and led India’s NSS delegation to Nepal.

Born April 12, 1999, in Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram district, he grew up in Nandanam, Chennai, in a household built on education — his father heads a government teachers’ training college, his mother is a principal in a government college. He completed his MBBS from Rajah Muthiah Medical College, Annamalai University in 2022.

“During my MBBS internship, when healthcare workers reported N95 mask shortages, the district administration ensured supply within days. That scale of impact moved me towards governance.” — A R Rajah Mohaideen

It was during COVID-19 that he saw administrative decisions solve public health crises at a systemic scale — and chose to pursue that power. He chose Anthropology as his optional, strategically leveraging his MBBS training in Physical Anthropology. In a remarkable milestone, he converted his very first Mains qualification into a top-10 All India Rank.

If one story encapsulates why civil services exist, it is Pakshal Secretry’s. He hails from Bagh, Madhya Pradesh — a district where 80% of the population are tribals and the literacy rate stands at just 39%. He has seen that suffering firsthand, and his stated mission is clear: “I want to work for tribals and women’s welfare and women’s education in the future as a civil servant.”

Against these odds, Pakshal earned a B.Sc from IIT Kanpur, won the Director’s Gold Medal for Excellence in Community Service, and received a Best Paper Award for research on the New-New Trade Theory of International Trade. He chose Economics as his optional.

“In my second attempt I got rejected in the prelims and that was very demotivating. You start doubting yourself at that point. No matter how hard things get, I will not lose.” — Pakshal Secretry to PTI

His path to AIR 8 was hard-fought. First attempt: reached interview stage, didn’t make the list. Second attempt: eliminated at Prelims. Watching friends move ahead while he stood still. But the mantra held. Third attempt: 8th in the nation. His achievement is now the biggest story in Bagh.

A video went viral on March 6, 2026 — a modest kirana shop in Kandhla, Shamli, Uttar Pradesh. An older man behind the counter, pencil tucked behind his ear, tears in his eyes. That man is Ajay Kumar, father of Astha Jain, who had just placed 9th in all of India in the UPSC Civil Services Examination — becoming an IAS officer.

Astha grew up as the second among four siblings. A perfect 10 CGPA in Class 10. Then 4th rank across India in Class 12 board examinations (99.2% marks). A BA in Political Science and Economics from Miranda House, Delhi University. In a previous attempt, she secured AIR 131 — qualifying for the Indian Police Service. Then AIR 186. Each time, she kept going.

“She secured 4th rank across India in the 12th board examinations. She has also cracked the UPSC exam three times. Currently she is in the Rajasthan IPS cadre, undergoing training in Hyderabad.” — Ajay Kumar, Astha’s father

She was undergoing IPS training at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, when she sat the exam once more — preparing alongside the demands of police academy training. Her determination paid off in the highest way possible. The viral video of her father at his grocery shop has been shared millions of times: a symbol of what equal access to education can do for India’s children.

Ujjwal Priyank from Vaishali district, Bihar secured AIR 10, completing a stunning year for Bihar in UPSC 2025. Bihar placed two candidates in the top 10 alone — Raghav Jhunjhunwala (AIR 4, from Muzaffarpur) and Ujjwal (AIR 10, Vaishali). An alumnus of the University of Delhi (BA Honours in Economics), Ujjwal chose Sociology as his optional subject. News of his result reached Vaishali before Delhi — his family home saw celebrations throughout the night, a district swelling with pride at two of its sons in the national top 110 in the same cycle.

Tamil Nadu’s success in UPSC CSE 2025 is remarkable at a state level: two candidates in the top 10 of the same cycle for the first time in nearly a decade — Rajeshwari (AIR 2) and A R Rajah Mohaideen (AIR 7). All 56 Tamil Nadu qualifiers were enrolled in the state’s Naan Mudhalvan Scheme (“I am the First”), under which 39 received residential coaching and financial assistance. Rajeshwari specifically credited the scheme and private coaching in Chennai for her preparation. Her journey of seven years of simultaneous state service and UPSC preparation is a testament to what persistence and institutional support together can achieve.

Jatin Jakhar’s father is a retired army man who now works as a security guard. On his fifth attempt, Jatin cleared the UPSC and secured AIR 191. He summarised years of sacrifice and self-doubt in a single sentence: “If you put feelings aside and work hard, you will succeed.” His story — five attempts, modest family background, relentless forward motion — has resonated deeply with the thousands of aspirants who know that the UPSC journey is as much a test of the spirit as it is of the books.

Sudipa completed her schooling at St. Joseph’s in Banka before finishing Class 12 in Dumka and graduating from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University in History, with a post-graduation from IGNOU. She currently works as a District Youth Officer under the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as part of the “My Bharat” initiative. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she taught herself Warli art — a traditional form of tribal painting from Maharashtra. She learned of her UPSC result through friends and described the achievement as the fulfilment of a long-cherished dream.