Mysuru: Relentless effort to succeed against odds has made Shrikant from Mysuru, the 2nd IAS topper from Karnataka in the UPSC results published on May 10.
After completing his primary education from Carmel school in Nanjangud, Shrikanth joined Ramakrishna mission school to complete his high school and pre-university education. At this stage itself he dreamt of becoming an IAS officer. He completed his engineering from National Institute of Engineering (NIE) in Mysuru and later moved to University Vishwesharaya college of Engineering (UVCE) in Bengaluru to obtain M.Tech degree.

He was offered a prime job in leading companies which he refused as he was adamant in joining IAS cadre. He took Kannada literature as one of the main subjects and continued his efforts to garner top position. He moved to Delhi in 2013 but failed repeatedly to obtain the desired ranking. He made six attempts before attaining the 56th rank all over India this time.

Disciplined life style, hard work and support from many quarters are the main reasons behind his success, he feels. The entire family celebrated his success by distributing sweets to friends and well wishers. He is the son of Shantharaju and two of his sisters are employed graduates.