Kerala Coolie Becomes IAS: It is the dream of every youth to pass the IAS exam, but passing this exam is not easy. But a coolie from Kerala first cleared KPSC and then UPSC and proved that if hard work is done with passion then the biggest can be achieved.
Coolie Sreenath K from Kerala cracked the Kerala Civil Services exam first with the help of free Wi-Fi available at railway stations.
After this, he passed UPSC and became IAS. Shreenath, a resident of Munnar, worked as a collie at Cochin Railway Station.
Aspiring for a better life for himself and his family, Sreenath decides to continue his studies to secure a government job.
Sreenath's financial condition was not so good that he could pay the coaching fees, so he decided to prepare for UPSC by self-study.
He was afraid that without coaching he would not be able to crack the exam, so he made up his mind to appear for the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC) exam.
Due to his work schedule and workload, he often found himself unable to find any time to study at all. In 2016, RailTel and Google launched free Wi-Fi at several railway stations in India.
After the introduction of free Wi-Fi, Sreenath was able to study while working. He downloaded audiobooks and videos and prepared for KPSC exam while working.
He used to prepare online with the help of his phone. After hard work, he cracked the KPSC exam.
Every year lakhs of candidates appear for the Civil Services Exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission to fulfil their dream of becoming an IAS, but only a few of them qualify the exam.
Many candidates are unable to succeed even after spending lakhs, living in big cities and preparing from good institutes, while Sreenath qualified KPSC first and then UPSC without any coaching.
Like other candidates who spend on coaching and extra classes, Sreenath spent his money on a memory card, a phone and a pair of earphones.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal also congratulated Sreenath on his achievement in 2018, when his story was shared by Google India.
Sreenath appeared for the UPSC Civil Services Examination and became an IAS officer after his fourth attempt at the UPSC CSE.
Shreenath was an authorized coolie at the railway station but in 2018, at the age of 27, he realized that the coolie's income was not enough for his family.
At that time, he also had a one-year old daughter. So, to give her daughter a good childhood, she decided to do better.