His sisters failed UPSC, so he quit his software job to help them; years later, all four siblings became civil servants
When Yogesh Mishra saw his sisters upset after failing to clear the UPSC Civil Services Examination , he decided to do something unexpected. He had a software engineering job in Noida and no long-standing plan to join the civil services. But he wanted to understand why his sisters were struggling with an examination they had worked so hard to crack.
So he left his job in 2013 and began preparing for the UPSC examination himself. What started as an attempt to help his sisters eventually became a shared family journey, with all four siblings from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, going on to join the civil services.
Their father, Anil Mishra, worked as a manager in a rural bank. Growing up in a lower-middle-class family in Lalganj, the four siblings, Yogesh, Madhavi, Lokesh and Kshama, studied in a Hindi-medium school until Class 12. The civil services offered a dream that their parents hoped they would pursue, but the decision to prepare was left to the children.
He left his job to understand where his sisters were going wrongYogesh had studied engineering and moved to Noida for a software job. The UPSC examination was not part of his original career plan. His decision to prepare came after he watched his sisters struggle with the exam.
He began studying the examination pattern, previous question papers and official notifications to understand what the examiners expected from candidates. The introduction of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in 2011 had changed the examination, and he suspected that the new pattern might be one of the hurdles his sisters were facing.
He cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2013. The result gave him something more useful than personal success: a clearer understanding of how to approach the examination, organise preparation and identify mistakes.
He shared his notes and preparation methods with his siblings. Instead of each person trying to work everything out independently, the family now had someone who had recently gone through the same process.
One result followed anotherMadhavi Mishra cleared the examination in 2014 with All India Rank 62 and joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Lokesh Mishra secured All India Rank 44 in the 2015 examination and also joined the IAS.
Their younger sister, Kshama Mishra, secured All India Rank 172 in the same examination and joined the Indian Police Service (IPS).
Yogesh's decision to leave his job had helped him understand the examination, but it was the way the siblings shared what they learnt that made their preparation different. His notes gave them a starting point, while his experience helped them work on areas that needed improvement.
The four siblings eventually became civil servants, turning a common family ambition into an achievement recognised by the India Book of Records for siblings qualifying for the civil services examination in consecutive years.
From preparing together to helping other aspirantsTheir experience also showed them how difficult it could be for candidates to navigate the UPSC examination without reliable guidance. Having worked through the process together, the siblings began mentoring other aspirants and sharing lessons from their preparation.
For Yogesh, the journey had started with a decision to help two disappointed sisters. It led him to a career he had not originally planned and gave the family a common experience they could pass on to others.
The story of the Mishra siblings is not simply about four people clearing one of India's most competitive examinations. It is also about what happened when one person's success became a resource for the rest of the family.
Yogesh could have continued with his software career and left his sisters to find their own way through the examination. Instead, he stepped into their struggle, learnt the process himself and shared what he discovered. His siblings then built on that foundation, each earning a place in the civil services in their own right.
Their journey began with disappointment after an examination result. It eventually became a story of four siblings reaching the same goal through shared effort, practical help and a willingness to learn from one another.
So he left his job in 2013 and began preparing for the UPSC examination himself. What started as an attempt to help his sisters eventually became a shared family journey, with all four siblings from Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, going on to join the civil services.
Their father, Anil Mishra, worked as a manager in a rural bank. Growing up in a lower-middle-class family in Lalganj, the four siblings, Yogesh, Madhavi, Lokesh and Kshama, studied in a Hindi-medium school until Class 12. The civil services offered a dream that their parents hoped they would pursue, but the decision to prepare was left to the children.
He left his job to understand where his sisters were going wrongYogesh had studied engineering and moved to Noida for a software job. The UPSC examination was not part of his original career plan. His decision to prepare came after he watched his sisters struggle with the exam.
He began studying the examination pattern, previous question papers and official notifications to understand what the examiners expected from candidates. The introduction of the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in 2011 had changed the examination, and he suspected that the new pattern might be one of the hurdles his sisters were facing.
He cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 2013. The result gave him something more useful than personal success: a clearer understanding of how to approach the examination, organise preparation and identify mistakes.
He shared his notes and preparation methods with his siblings. Instead of each person trying to work everything out independently, the family now had someone who had recently gone through the same process.
One result followed anotherMadhavi Mishra cleared the examination in 2014 with All India Rank 62 and joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Lokesh Mishra secured All India Rank 44 in the 2015 examination and also joined the IAS.
Their younger sister, Kshama Mishra, secured All India Rank 172 in the same examination and joined the Indian Police Service (IPS).
Yogesh's decision to leave his job had helped him understand the examination, but it was the way the siblings shared what they learnt that made their preparation different. His notes gave them a starting point, while his experience helped them work on areas that needed improvement.
The four siblings eventually became civil servants, turning a common family ambition into an achievement recognised by the India Book of Records for siblings qualifying for the civil services examination in consecutive years.
From preparing together to helping other aspirantsTheir experience also showed them how difficult it could be for candidates to navigate the UPSC examination without reliable guidance. Having worked through the process together, the siblings began mentoring other aspirants and sharing lessons from their preparation.
For Yogesh, the journey had started with a decision to help two disappointed sisters. It led him to a career he had not originally planned and gave the family a common experience they could pass on to others.
The story of the Mishra siblings is not simply about four people clearing one of India's most competitive examinations. It is also about what happened when one person's success became a resource for the rest of the family.
Yogesh could have continued with his software career and left his sisters to find their own way through the examination. Instead, he stepped into their struggle, learnt the process himself and shared what he discovered. His siblings then built on that foundation, each earning a place in the civil services in their own right.
Their journey began with disappointment after an examination result. It eventually became a story of four siblings reaching the same goal through shared effort, practical help and a willingness to learn from one another.
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