SRIKAKULAM: Sowrotu Ramu, who hails from Nadimivalasa village in Ganguvari Sigadam mandal in the most backward district of Srikakulam, has secured All India Rank (AIR) 463 in the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025 despite all odds. Ramu took the UPSC exam in Telugu medium with Telugu Literature as the optional subject and achieved his goal of becoming a civil services officer in his fourth attempt.
Now, he has become a symbol of hope for many students from government schools, Telugu medium and poor families across Andhra Pradesh with his remarkable performance in cracking the UPSC exam. Ramu once again shattered the myth that civil services are only for English-medium city dwellers after Ronanki Gopalkrishna, who bagged All India Rank 3 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2016 from the same Srikakulam district.
Sowrotu Ramu, the only child of agricultural labourers Asirinaidu and Laxmi, completed his schooling in Telugu medium at a government school in G Sigadam and graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Warangal, where he gained exposure to career opportunities, society and the world. Ramu has become the first graduate in his family and the second in his village.
Later, he worked at Ford Motor Company in Chennai after completing engineering and left the job within a year to prepare for civil services examination. Ramu depended on his mother Laxmi for financial support during his UPSC preparation after losing his father in 2019 to health issues and quitting his job.
He took the UPSC exam in Telugu medium with Telugu Literature as his optional subject as he had a deep interest in Telugu literature and Indian epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana since childhood.
Ramu cracked AIR 463 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2025 a few hours after receiving the appointment letter as deputy tahsildar in the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission Group-2. He attributed his UPSC success to his mother, family members and friends for their support.
“I am a Telugu medium student and had much interest in Telugu literature since childhood. Therefore, I opted to write the UPSC in Telugu medium and took Telugu Literature as the optional subject. I thank Nagaraju sir and Odisha cadre IPS officer Srinivas sir for their mentorship despite their busy schedule,” he said. Ramu asserted that language is not a barrier to crack the UPSC exam.
However, he said the exam is not friendly for other languages compared to English due to the vast availability of material, coaching and mentorship in English. He added that he would not suggest upcoming aspirants write the exam in Telugu as it is more challenging compared to English.
Speaking to TNIE, Sowrotu Ramu said, “My mother is my biggest inspiration in achieving my goal as she never lost confidence in me. She took care of my needs despite our poor financial status. She sent money by attending MGNREGA works and agricultural labour in our village. She always asks only two things: whether I had my lunch or dinner and whether I needed money. She doesn’t even know my goal till today. She only believes that her son is a meritorious student and will achieve his goal. I received huge support from my relatives, villagers and especially friends after I lost my father in 2019.
I am the first graduate in my family and the second in our village. Therefore, I have been conducting special sessions on career guidance, including higher studies, courses and scholarships, for Class 9 and 10 students in government schools in Srikakulam, Warangal and Nalgonda districts in my free time.
I like Telugu literature, including poetry, stories and Indian epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana since childhood. I have great interest in learning insights from Mahabharata as we can learn many lessons for administration. Several characters in Mahabharata depict how a good administrator should and should not be. I believe we can learn many values about good governance, justice, dharma, accountability, transparency, empathy towards people and respect for women from Mahabharata.”