Foundation lies in the books, go back to the basics: UPSC rank 8 holder Raj Krishna Jha

The Hindu

23-04-2025

After four attempts, this year, Raj Krishna Jha had a definitive feeling that he would clear the UPSC examination. His intuition was strong because he was scoring well in mock tests. He, however, didn't expect to secure rank 8. 'Nowhere was I confident that I would be getting this far', he said while talking to The Hindu.
Last year, which was his fourth attempt, Mr. Jha had missed the cut-off by two marks. As is obvious, he felt demotivated when he didn't get the results he had hoped. 'But I had a picture in my head saying I have to clear this exam. That's what mattered in the end', he said.
Background
Hailing from Athari, a small village in Sitamarhi district in northern Bihar, Mr. Jha said his will to pursue civil services came due to an understanding of rural issues. 'Coming from that background, one has a sense to contribute to the society or the village as much as one can', he said.
Mr. Jha's education is shaped by many geographies. Till Class 10, he studied in Nepal. His Class 12 was completed under the Bihar School Examination Board. He later did his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering at Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) in Prayagraj formerly known as Allahabad.
With a full-time job
Mr. Jha is currently working as an Assistant Manager at the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) in Kolhapur. While one would consider it an obstacle in full-time preparation for UPSC, Mr. Jha had a different outlook.
His role involved handling business, ensuring supply of essential commodities, it was challenging. There are hits and misses in these projects. Striving to achieve them, required Mr, Jha to understand clear targets, create structured plans, and meet deadlines. 'This experience helped me learn how to develop an achievable plan', he said.
Mr. Jha used to study for three to four hours after work every day and utilised weekends as much as possible. 'Whatever free time I got, I tried to make the most of it', he said.
Back to basics approach
Mr. Jha chose Geography as his optional subject as he found it interesting. Though he had a keen interest in the subject, having the right strategy is what changed the game for him.
The last two years, Mr. Jha focused a lot on additional material, online resources, pdfs, and more. This year though he went back to the basics. He studied word to word from the textbooks. Advising upcoming aspirants he says, 'The foundation lies in the books, go back to the basics'.
The Union Public Service Commission on Tuesday declared the Final Results for the 2024 Civil Services Examinations, recommending a total of 1,009 candidates for appointment to the IAS, IFS, IPS, and Central Services across the country.