Chandigarh, July 10 -- In an effort to bridge the information gap faced by civil services aspirants from rural India, a group of 15 civil servants has launched a non-profit digital initiative aimed at providing guidance, mentorship and career planning support to UPSC candidates.
The platform, Civil Services Margdarshan, has been founded by IRS officer Vikas Sangwan, currently serving as Commissioner of Income Tax. Launched on June 25, the portal has drawn significant interest from aspirants across the country within just 15 days.
Speaking to Millennium Post, Sangwan said the initiative is not a coaching institute but a digital platform designed to help talented students from villages prepare through self-study and proper guidance.
"All the members of this organisation come from rural backgrounds and have personally experienced the lack of mentorship and information during their preparation. We want to ensure that deserving candidates do not miss opportunities because of inadequate guidance," he said.
Sharing his own journey, Sangwan said he was an engineering graduate working in a private company when a colleague encouraged him to prepare for the civil services examination.
Describing himself as a "below-average student", he said perseverance helped him overcome several personal challenges. During his preparation, his mother was diagnosed with cancer and he would accompany her to Delhi hospitals for treatment before studying late into the night. "There was a time when I thought of quitting, but my father advised me never to give up. That guidance changed my outlook and, with God's grace, I cleared the examination," he said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.