Meet Vikas Divyakirti, a 47-year-old man who has taken 43 Mains and 73 Prelims exams in his quest to crack the UPSC

Achieving success in the UPSC test is a goal shared by many, but not attained by everyone. Passing the test becomes a lifelong goal for many. One such individual is Pushpendra Shrivastava, the oldest candidate for a government job who lives in Mukherjee Nagar, New Delhi. In the last 27 years, the 47-year-old has already sat for 73 preliminary exams, 43 main exams, and 8 interviews for State and union Public service commissions.

Since moving to Mukherjee Nagar 24 years ago, Shrivastava has studied under a number of notable people, including IRS Shraddha Sharma, IPS Manoj Sharma, and Vikas Divyakirti of the Drishti IAS coaching facility.

The parents of Shrivastava were educators and wished for him to follow in their footsteps. He comes from the Chatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. He told The Print that while he had completed his Master’s degree in science, filled out my B.Ed. and MPPCS forms, and passed both tests, deep down he didn’t want to be a teacher.

With his sights set on bureaucracy, he moved to Allahabad to begin preparing for the UPSC and, three years later, moved to Delhi. Since 2009, he has been in the same one-room flat in Mukherjee Nagar. The rent he used to pay, which was Rs 750, has now escalated to Rs 12,000 per month.

Over the years, Shrivastava has tried the test for each of the nine Hindi-speaking Public Service Commissions.

In addition to working at a coaching facility, his family provides him with financial assistance. Jayendra, the younger brother of Shrivastava, practices law in Madhya Pradesh.

Although he is optimistic about his chances of success in the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commission, he still has the Block Education Officer [in the Bihar Public Service Commission] test in his bag just in case.