Shruti Sharma is an Indian woman who topped UPSC Civil Services 2021 with AIR Rank 1.
Wiki/Biography
Shruti Sharma was born in New Delhi, India. Her family hails from Basta village in Chandpur Tehsil of Bijnor district, Uttar Pradesh. She attended Cambridge Primary School in Delhi from kindergarten to fifth grade for her primary education, and later, she enrolled into Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Dehli. A member of the student executive during her school days, Sharma was appointed as the secretary of cultural affairs responsible for organising various school events. She pursued her Bachelor of Arts in History at St Stephen’s College, Delhi. She spent her college days participating in numerous types of debates like parliamentary debate, conventional debate, and turn quote style of debating. Thereafter, she joined Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) for her post-graduation but soon dropped out of it. Later, she enrolled in the Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi, where she pursued an MA in Sociology. While pursuing her MA, she started preparing for Civil Services Examination at Jamia Millia Islamia Residential Coaching Academy (RCA).
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 3″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Belonging to a family of engineers and doctors, Shruti is the only member of her family who opted for Arts and studied History. Her great-grandfather, Dayaswaroop Sharma, who hailed from Athai, Chandpur, was a doctor. Her grandfather, Devendra Dutt Sharma, was also a well-known doctor. Her father, Sunil Dutt Sharma, is an architect and runs a construction consultancy firm in Delhi. Sunil also oversees a local school named Bal Gyan Niketan School in his native town Basta. Her paternal uncle, Yagya Dutt, and cousin sister are also doctors. Her mother, Rachna Sharma, is a former teacher, and she hails from Bulandshahr. Shruti’s younger brother is a cricketer and represents UP in U25 cricket.
Shruti Sharma with her parents, brother, and maternal grandmother
Facts/Trivia
- In her Mock Interview, she stated the reasons to pursue a career in Civil Services and said,
I believe I have had a certain privileged background, therefore, I always wanted to do something in which I could give back to society in some way…Secondly, I believe that on a personal level the diversity and the scope that these services provide can be an avenue for great personal growth and an avenue for learning a lot.”
- In her interview, she also revealed that she had learned Urdu.
- On 28 May 2022, Shruti Sharma made headlines after the release of the UPSC Toppers 2021 list. It was a prominent event in the history of the UPSC examination as the top three slots were secured by women with Ankita Agarwal securing AIR 2 and Gamini Singla AIR 3.
- An enthusiastic lover of world cinema, Shruti has watched a wide variety of cinema including Iranian films and the films of Hong Kong.
- Her optional in the UPSC exam was History.
- Her favourite poets are Sarveshwar Dayal Saxena and Dushyant Kumar.
- In an interview, Shruti’s maternal grandmother revealed that she wanted Shruti’s mother, Rachna, to qualify the Civil Services Examination. However, at that time, Shruti’s maternal family resided in a rural area and coaching centres were far away due to which Rachna couldn’t fulfil her mother’s desire.