After Missing UPSC and UPPCS Final Lists, Viral Sharma Cracks Uttarakhand PCS and Bihar PCS with Top Ranks

When Viral Sharma made it to the UPSC Civil Services interview, he came close to achieving his dream. But he missed the final shortlist. A similar disappointment followed when he made it to the UPPCS interview but failed to make it to the shortlist. For many aspirants, these setbacks could have ended the journey. Viral chose a different path. Viral belongs to Belwa Moti village in Lakhimpur Kheri of Uttar Pradesh. He was a bright student and topped his high school and intermediate exams. He later completed mechanical engineering from NIT Allahabad and worked in Alwar, Rajasthan for almost three years.In 2023 he quit his job to prepare full-time for the civil service. Without joining formal training, he studied mostly from his village. During his preparation, he traveled to different states to appear for civil services exams, including Uttarakhand PCS in Haridwar, UPPCS in Prayagraj and Bihar PCS in Patna and Kishanganj.His persistence finally paid off. Viral secured rank 7 in Uttarakhand PCS exam and was selected as Assistant Collector. He also secured rank 7 in Bihar PCS post for the post of Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) and rank 16 for the post of Block Development Officer (BDO).Despite these successes, Viral’s preparation strategy remained simple. He focused on solving 30-35 years of previous years’ questions, preparing one-page notes for each topic in the syllabus, revising them regularly and sticking to a standard source for each subject.Even after bagging the top ranks in the state civil services, Viral’s biggest goal still lies ahead of him – the UPSC. Now preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2026, Viral continues to chase the dream that first inspired him, determined to keep trying despite the setbacks he has faced along the way.