We must have heard stories of IAS or IPS officers being academically bright and studious during their school days. However, the story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma is quite different as he had failed in his 12th standard.
His journey from a 12th fail to the DIG CISF Mumbai Police is remarkable and a source of hope and inspiration for thousands of UPSC aspirants. Coming from a humble background, UPSC wasn’t an easy journey for Manoj.
He had scored third division in Class 9 and 10 and failed in all subjects except Hindi in Class 12. However, his life started to change when he met Shraddha Joshi, the love of his life.
She stood by him through thick and thin. Although she came from a well-to-do family, she was with him when he had nothing and worked in a ‘wheat mill’ and ‘library’. From driving a tempo to sleeping with beggars and working as a dog walker, he did it all.
Instead of getting offended by his poverty, she chose to be with him and accompanied him as a dog walker. He promised her that if she said yes to his proposal, he would turn the world around for her, and indeed he did.
He failed three times, but she still was by his side. She was his biggest support system through his struggles. With her support and love, he cleared UPSC on his fourth attempt and scored an All India Rank-121.
She herself was a UPSC aspirant and is currently an IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officer. She started her career in the Civil Services in the year 2005 as the Deputy Collector of Nainital where she worked on issues related to rural development, tourism, environment, and women’s development.
In the year 2007, she was selected for the Indian Revenue Services (IRS) where she worked on tax regime implementation across several departments such as Service Tax, Central Excise, Customs, etc. Subsequently, she worked on tax investigations in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) department.