Arun Raj who hails from Uttar Pradesh bagged the 34 rank in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services examination in only his first attempt. Moreover he did so just via self-study and did not join any coaching centre, Times Now has reported.

Raj an alumnus of IIT Kanpur started to prepare for UPSC civil services in his final year of engineering. While only relying on his self studies, Raj successfully cleared the civil services in 2014 and became an IAS officer.

When it came to the Mains examination, Raj choose anthropology as one of his optional subject and read national dailies to brush-up on his current affairs knowledge.

During his preparation he also referred to previous year question papers of the exam to better understand the pattern and type of questions asked. He also proceeded to read all the NCERT books relevant to his preparation from the sixth grade to the twelfth grade. He also used to regularly sit for mock tests.

Raj, was quoted as advising IAS aspirants to always maintain concentration during their preparation and also create a balanced study plan.

There have been other such fascinating success stories from the civil services exam. It was earlier reported how the son of a tea seller had cleared the exam to become an IAS officer in the first attempt without any formal training.