Meet Jagrati Awasthi who left job at BHEL and secured AIR #2 in UPSC CSE Main 2020

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) released the results of the Civil Services (CSE) Main examination 2020 on Friday evening (September 24). Though the topper this year was Shubham Kumar, the second place was bagged by Jagrati Awasthi.

Jagrati Awasthi hails from Bhopal and has proudly secured the second rank in UPSC exams 2020. It was a big win for her since she studied for the exam at home without any help during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Jagrati has completed her B.Tech (electrical engineering) from Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Bhopal. Before she started preparing for UPSC, she was working at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), an Indian government-owned engineering and manufacturing enterprise. She left the job to fulfill her dream of becoming an IAS officer. 

Jagrati first attempted for the UPSC exam in 2019 and managed to study for 8-10 hours every day. She did take coaching for the exam initially but preferred studying by herself staying at home during the COVID-19 lockdown. Jagrati aims to work for the development of rural areas and women belonging to such areas.  

Approximately, 761 candidates have been recommended for appointment based on the written exam and the personality test which was held in August-September 2021. The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2020 was conducted on October 4 last year.