Animesh Pradhan (UPSC Topper 2023)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Animesh Pradhan

• Animesh Pradhan grew up in Talcher, Odisha.

• He was good at academics since childhood and secured 98.8 per cent marks in his class 12 Board Examination.

• Besides academics, Animesh also actively took part in co-curricular activities like quizzes, declamation, debates, extempore, painting, and drama in his school days.

• He served as the head boy of his school for the academic session 2016-2017.

• In his college days, he worked as a journalist at Monday Morning, the official student media body of NIT Rourkela. He also worked as the Chief Coordinator of the body.

• He worked as a student mentor and placement coordinator at the Training & Placement Cell of the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.

• He was also a part of Clarion, the official debating club of NIT Rourkela. He participated in and won various debate competitions in his college days.

• As a part of the National Service Scheme, he volunteered as a tutor for financially backward students while he was studying in college.

• In 2018, he started working as a content writer at India Briefs. He worked there for around three months.

• In May 2020, he joined Microsoft as a software engineer intern.

• He worked as an Associate Software Engineer at Veritas Technologies LLC in Pune, Maharashtra, from July 2021 to August 2021.

• In October 2021, he began working as an Information System Officer at Indian Oil Corp Limited in New Delhi.

• He is fluent in three languages Hindi, English, and Odia.

• Animesh appeared for the Civil Services Examination in 2023 and secured an All India Rank 2 in his first attempt.

• He did not receive any formal coaching for the civil services examination.

• His optional subject for the civil services examination was sociology.

• He is a food enthusiast and loves exploring new restaurants.

• In an interview, he disclosed that his mother had passed away due to cancer a month before the results for UPSC 2023 were out. He said,
  

  My preparation was very challenging. During my preparation, my mother was going through cancer treatment. She passed away last month. She was my inspiration and had supported me all through her life. She is not around.”