From Poverty To IIT And UPSC Success: Meet IAS Vishal Kumar, The Son Of A Strong Single Mother

Vishal Kumar is an IIT Kanpur alum who secured AIR-484 in UPSC. His father, a construction worker who passed away when he was in Grade 9, always motivated him to change his fate by studying hard.

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From Poverty To IIT And UPSC Success: Meet IAS Vishal Kumar, The Son Of A Strong Single Mother

Last year in May, the results for the UPSC 2021 examination were announced and 12 students from Bihar cleared the exam. Among these 12 was Vishal Kumar, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur who secured AIR-484. What sets apart Kumar’s UPSC success story is his incredibly inspiring journey that was marred by a grave personal loss, abject poverty, and the unwavering support of a teacher.

A resident of Muzzafarpur in Bihar, Kumar’s father always taught him that education would make him better. Unfortunately for Kumar, his father, a daily wage labourer, died in 2008. At the time, Kumar was in Grade 9.

The personal loss devastated Kumar and his family, and further deteriorated their financial wellbeing.

Vishal Kumar - A Super30 Student

After losing her husband, Kumar’s mother took up cattle farming, raising goats and buffaloes to run the household and fund her three children’s education. Kumar is the eldest of all three.

Kumar took his father’s advice to heart and worked even harder at his studies. At the same time, his teachers and fellow villagers also supported him, even paying his school fees at the time.

In 2011, just three years after losing his father, Kumar topped the district in his matriculation examinations. Thereafter, he started preparing for the IIT entrance examinations and studied in the Super30 coaching run by Abhayanand in Patna.

For the uninitiated, Super 30 is an educational program started by mathematician Anand Kumar and former Bihar D.G.P Abhayanand to help students from underprivileged and impoverished backgrounds crack the IIT JEE exam. In 2007, Abhayanand split from Kumar.

Vishal Kumar had always been a hardworking student and with the right coaching and support, he cleared the entrance exam for IIT with a 7,000 rank, landing a spot at IIT Kanpur. Post his graduation, Kumar began working with Reliance.

UPSC success story IAS Vishal Kumar

Image credit: online source

Leaving A Job With Reliance For IAS

Though Kumar landed a job with Reliance, he was disheartened at the work culture and instead, took up a role as a teacher at the Allen Career Institute in Kota. While teaching, he simultaneously took the UPSC examination for the first time. In his maiden attempt, he cleared the preliminary examination but could not clear the mains.

That’s when Kumar, on his teacher’s advice, quit his job and dedicated all his time and energy to preparing for the UPSC. Consequently, after one year of preparing, Kumar cleared the exam, securing a rank of 484.

The Teacher Who Inspired Kumar's IAS Journey

Kumar and his mother, both, credited his teacher, Gauri Shankar Prasad for his success. Prasad was a UPSC aspirant himself, but couldn’t clear the exam. A government school teacher, Prasad had known Kumar since he was in Grade 7.

It was Prasad who first saw that Kumar was an exceptionally talented and hardworking student and pushed him to work towards a better future.

After Kumar’s father passed away, Prasad and his wife looked after Kumar like their own son - helping him financially, motivating him when things got tough, and even offering him a space in their house because Kumar and his family, together, stayed in a one-room house.

Later Prasad even supported Kumar financially for the one year he was preparing for the UPSC examination. Today, Kumar’s success has not only left changed his life, but also made his teacher, family, and in fact, the entire village proud.