Perseverance pays off: Vizag's Sahitya cracks UPSC exam on 6th attempt

Visakhapatnam: For Pusapati Sahitya, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations 2021 was her last chance to crack the exam. "I thought this would be my last attempt (6th attempt). If I didn't crack the exam, I had decided to quit," says the 32-year-old from Visakhapatnam. Luck, however, was on her side. Sahitya ranked 24th and is among the toppers of Andhra Pradesh.

The only daughter of P. Jagadeesh Varma and Padmaja, Sahitya started preparing for the civil service exams in 2015. A pharmacy student, she did her Master's in pharmacy in the United States, worked for a year, and returned to India to prepare for the civil service.

"Since 2015, only the UPSC cycle has been in my mind. I used to lose at every attempt in the mains and again start preparing. There was always support from my family. At one point, I thought about getting married and preparing for the exams like my family suggested, but I strongly felt marriage shouldn't stop my goals. So, I decided to crack the exam and take a better step," says Sahitya. She was unemployed for many years and worked a part-time job as a tutor besides preparing for the examinations.

Speaking to NewsMeter, Sahitya says, "The kind of exposure you get in civil services is perfect, and I feel I can contribute much better to society. I opted for foreign services."