Meet Bihar Man, who sold eggs, mopped floors, cracked UPSC in 4th attempt, now also gives free IAS coaching

“Where there is a will, there is a way” – this phase was accurately proved right by the rags-to-riches success story of Manoj Kumar Rai, who battled severe poverty, failures, and language barriers to achieve a rank of 870 and become a civil servant.

Early Beginnings

Rai was born and raised in a small village named Supaul in Bihar. Since childhood, he had witnessed his family battle extreme hardships and poverty to survive. In 1996, he shifted to Delhi to fend for his family, as money was always emphasised more than education in his family.

Initially, it was jarring for a village boy to adjust to the big city but he didn’t quit and tried his hands at multiple jobs. After several failed attempts, he opened an egg and vegetable cart. He also cleaned the floors of offices. 

Start of UPSC journey

Thereafter, he worked as a delivery man and supplied items at the prestigious Jawahar Lal Nehru University. That is when his life took a momentous turn and he met students from the university who directed him towards UPSC. “They advised me to complete my studies. I thought getting a degree would help me find a decent job. So I joined Sri Aurobindo College (evening) and completed my BA in 2000, while selling eggs and vegetables,” Rai said.

Post his graduation, he finally began his UPSC preparations in 2001. “Honestly, I wanted to study more but I did not have the financial resources. I took some days to figure out if I really wanted to get into civil services and work as a bureaucrat, and finally, made up my mind to give it a try,” he said.

Rai chose Geography as his optional subject and moved to Patna to study under a renowned mentor, Rash Bihari Prasad Singh. He prepared for three years and gave his first attempt in 2005. To sustain himself, he began taking private coaching for school students and also joined a UPSC coaching. However, he failed in the first attempt at UPSC.

In his second attempt, the English language proved to be a big hindrance. “In UPSC, clearing English and one regional language paper is mandatory. So if one does not clear either, other papers like General Studies and Optional subject will not be evaluated. The language papers are like qualifying papers whose marks will not be evaluated in the final mark sheet. I failed to clear English paper and my entire year’s hard work was wasted” he asserted.

And in his third try also, he failed to clear the mains and interview. Thereafter with unwavering determination and hope he gave his fourth attempt at 30. He had changed his learning style this time to crack the exam.“Instead of studying for the Prelims, I first completed the Mains syllabus. By doing this, I had automatically covered 80 per cent of the prelims syllabus. I also diligently read NCERT textbooks of class 6-12. That strengthened my basic concepts needed for General Studies,” he said.

The strategy worked wonders and Rai finally cracked UPSC examination in 2010 with AIR-870. His first posting was in as an administrative officer at the Rajgir Ordinance factory in Bihar’s Nalanda.

Free Coaching for poor

Inspired by his struggles,Rai decided to impart free coaching to poor students like him by travelling 110 km from Nalanda to Patna on weekends. 

Currently, Rai is an Assistant Commissioner posted at IOFS, Kolkata, and is a living example of how you can bloom amid adversities.