Daijiworld Media Network – Bihar
Bihar, Sep 2: Ravi Raj, a visually impaired youth from Mahuli village in Bihar’s Nawada district, has emerged as an inspiring example of determination and perseverance after securing All India Rank (AIR) 20 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025. His achievement became even more remarkable because he had earlier secured AIR 182 in the 2024 examination. Rather than stopping after securing a respectable rank, Ravi appeared for the examination again and improved his position by 162 places.
Ravi comes from a farming family. His father, Ranjan Kumar Sinha, is a farmer, while his mother, Vibha Sinha, is a homemaker. Ravi is the first person in his family to pursue the civil services examination. He completed his schooling in Nawada and graduated in Political Science from SRS College. His journey is particularly inspiring because his visual impairment meant that he could neither read books nor write in the conventional manner.
The biggest pillar of Ravi’s UPSC preparation was his mother. Vibha became his eyes, reader, scribe and study partner. She would read textbooks, newspapers and study material aloud to him, page after page, while Ravi listened carefully and memorised the information. When he needed to prepare written answers, he would dictate them and his mother would write them down. She also prepared subject-wise notes and assisted him with his studies.
Their preparation continued at home with the help of technology. Ravi relied on audio lectures, YouTube videos, digital resources and assistive technology to supplement his studies. His mother would even play YouTube lectures for him while she was cooking. Reports said that Ravi studied for around 10 to 12 hours a day, making disciplined preparation a regular part of his life.
His journey was far from easy. Ravi faced setbacks in his earlier attempts before finally securing AIR 182 in the 2024 UPSC examination. That achievement also earned him a place in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), including an Income Tax Commissioner posting, according to reports. However, Ravi wanted to improve his rank and continued his preparation. His persistence paid off when the UPSC 2025 results were announced, with Ravi securing AIR 20.
Ravi’s success is also a story of a mother’s extraordinary commitment. His mother, who had no formal background as a UPSC teacher, spent countless hours reading and writing for her son while managing household responsibilities. Ravi has credited his parents for his achievement, with his father continuing to support his ambitions despite the family’s farming background.
Ravi’s journey from a small village in Bihar to the top 20 ranks of the UPSC Civil Services Examination demonstrates that physical limitations and repeated setbacks need not determine the boundaries of one’s dreams. His success was built on years of hard work, technology, family support and, above all, an unbreakable partnership with his mother. For Ravi, every page she read aloud became another step towards his goal—and together, they turned a seemingly impossible dream into reality.