UPSC topper from Kurla inspired by father

For Kurla resident Swapnil Patil (26) who topped the Mumbai region in the UPSC exam, a career in public administration was a choice he made at the age of 12. It was a smile he had seen in the eyes of a destitute whom his father, then a police constable, had helped which spurred the decision. An electronics & telecommunications engineer, Patil scored an allIndia ranking of 55.

While he had the choice of taking up a corporate job with a fancy lifestyle, like many of his BTech classmates, in 2012, he opted to pursue his dream to follow in his father's footsteps by working for society.

“My dad showed me how the act of helping people is far more rewarding than money ,“ says the soft-spoken Patil, a student of

Chintaman Deshmukh Institute

in Thane. “That is why I rejected the job offer from a renowned engineering firm and began working on my civil service exam dream. My decision made my father proud and now my rank in the UPSC exam has made everyone at home feel on top of the world.“

Patil said he looked beyond his three failed attempts at the civil service exam. “The failed attemptsdid not discourage me.I believe that if any student is passionate about his or her goal, eventually achieves it. I wanted to help people, and as I couldn't do so for three years, I decided to start a video blog and help my peers,“ said Pa til, whose aim is to first work in the field of wo men empowerment.

The shy youngster has uploaded 20 such vi deo blogs over the past year. “I first studied a chapter, be it ancient history or environment or current affairs, understood it well and then explained it in a simple way on camera. I then uploaded this video online for other UPSC students attempting the exam with me who could not afford tuitions. This, I believe, ended up helping me master the subject as well,“ he said.

Patil had initially started his dream to join the IPS cadre of the civil service, but has decided to join the prestigious IAS cadre, and has opted for Maharashtra.