IAS Shruti Sharma UPSC Marksheet, Optional Subject, Posting, Biography

Shruti Sharma, who is 26 years old and hails from Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh, is the topper of UPSC 2021 securing AIR-1 with 1105 marks out of 2025 in her second attempt. Remarkably, all three positions of the UPSC CSE 2021 were bagged by female aspirants; Ankita Agarwal securing AIR 2 and Gamini Singla with AIR 3. In her pursuit to be an IAS officer, Shruti Sharma desires to bring great transformations to the welfare of society and those around her. She is grateful to all those who have helped her in her UPSC preparation journey. Her optional subject was History.

Shruti Sharma UPSC Topper Biography

Shruti Sharma was born in Delhi and her family hails from Basta village in Chandpur Tehsil of Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh. She received her primary education from Cambridge primary school, Delhi. After that, she joined Sardar Patel Vidyalaya for her further studies.

During her time there, she was a part of the student executive and was assigned the role of the secretary of the cultural affairs for organizing different school activities. She later pursued her Bachelor of Arts in history from St Stephen's College, and opted for humanities for her 11th and 12th standards.

During her college days, she took part in numerous debates such as conventional, parliamentary and turn quote. Subsequently, she enrolled in Jawaharlal Nehru University for her post-graduation, but soon dropped out and registered for an MA in sociology in Delhi School of Economics.

Shruti Sharma enjoys reading books, discovering different cultures, and watching films. She values diversity and that is why she likes to study novel topics, tongues, and backgrounds. In an interview, she mentioned attempting to learn Urdu. Her preferred poets are Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena and Dushyant Kumar.

Family Background

Shruti Sharma is the only member of her family who pursued humanities and chose to study history, while the rest of her relatives are either engineers or doctors. Her great-grandfather, Dayaswaroop Sharma, was a physician who lived in Athai, Chandpur; her grandfather, Devendra Dutt Sharma, was a notable doctor; her father, Sunil Dutt Sharma, is an architect in Delhi, and is also the overseer of a local school called Bal Gyan Niketan school in his hometown of Basta. Shruti's mother, Rachna Sharma, is a teacher from Bulandshahr. Her uncle Yagya Dutt and her cousin’s sister are also doctors, and her younger brother is a cricketer who represents Uttar Pradesh in U25 cricket.

Education Background

Shruti Sharma obtained her Bachelor of Arts in History at St Stephen's College in Delhi. She had chosen Humanities for her 11th and 12th grade studies. During college, she dedicated her time to taking part in a variety of debates, such as conventional, parliamentary and turn-quote styles. After that, she enrolled in Jawaharlal Nehru University but dropped out soon after. She then went to the Delhi School of Economics for her Masters in Sociology. Shruti started her preparation for the civil service exam at Jamia Mallya Islamia Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) during her Masters studies.

UPSC Marksheet

UPSC Optional Subject

Shruti Sharma determined to take history as her optional subject for the Union Public Service Commission examination 2021, as she has always had a passionate interest in the subject since she was in school. She believes that one should select an optional subject that is of particular interest in the UPSC examination, as it will be easier to make notes and comprehend the ideas more effectively.

Preparation Strategy

Four years ago, her preparations for the UPSC exam began with NCERT studies. She then shifted her focus to current affairs, honing in on news both domestically and internationally, as well as reading newspapers on a regular basis. To become better familiar with the kind of questions she would face on the exam, she also took part in some online tests.

Additionally, her notes helped her to quickly and effectively revise major concepts. Writing practice for the Mains exam was also a major area of focus for her, and to better understand concepts, she utilized the internet. Additionally, she believes it is important to choose the right optional subject in the UPSC mains exam, as the two optional papers account for 500 marks. She chose history for her optional subject.

Shruti's approach to success was based on having patience; she prioritized the quality of her learning over quantity of study. She followed a consistent plan for revision, but was restrained in her source material and avoided looking for new books or materials. Her tip for success was to go over old UPSC Prelims question papers to get an understanding of the kind of questions asked in the CSE exams.