How a Visually Impaired Aspirant Turned His Dream into Reality by Securing AIR 91 in UPSC CSE

Manu Garg (23) has the ‘QWERTY’ keypad imprinted in his mind’s eye. He calls it his best-kept secret that permitted him to type out notes, despite his disability — Manu is blind — while prepping for the UPSC CSE 2024. 

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As he chats with The Better India about his AIR 91, he recalls having numerous breakdown moments in the months leading up to the exams, often touted to be the toughest to crack among exams in India. “A night before the results, I was so anxious. I wasn’t able to sleep. I just wanted to see my name on the list of people who had cleared,” he shares. 

The day of the results, Manu did not have to scan too far down the list. His name was branded at AIR 91. His wish was not only answered, but how! “The feeling hasn’t set in yet." He is honest. He says his win is even more consequential because it saw him applying the lessons of his first attempt when he failed to clear the mains in the UPSC CSE 2023. 

‘Started losing my vision in Class 8’  

Jaipur-based Manu aced his school life. Though born with a vision impairment, it hadn’t deterred him from routine tasks until Class 8, when, after his teacher asked him to read aloud a paragraph, he discovered he couldn’t. The words were blur; it was impossible to decipher the text. “In a few days, I wasn’t able to write in a straight line. The words would overlap.”

Multiple diagnoses later, Manu was told he had retinitis pigmentosa. The rare genetic disorder impedes the function of the retina’s photoreceptor cells (the retina is filled with rods and cones that convert light into electrical signals, making it possible to see). 

The condition causes progressive vision loss. There is no cure. 

Even as Manu’s vision began to decline steadily, his mental vision remained razor-sharp. He was headstrong towards fulfilling his childhood dream — to crack the UPSC CSE exam, and through his role as an officer, to effect change in his country. 

Manu began scouring the internet for stories of officers who, whilst grappling with a disability, had pursued the exams and succeeded. During this time, he says, he came across The Better India’s repository of stories that chronicled the journeys of civil servants and their roadmap to success.

If they can, why can’t I, thought Manu to himself. 

“I began to see education as a medium of empowerment that I could pursue,” he shares. 

He resolved that should he clear the exam, he would dedicate his career to implementing policy changes across health, education, and disability. “I felt that my personal experiences could add as input for the policy-making in the government.”  

So, with the dream of becoming an IAS officer emblazoned in his mind, Manu attempted the UPSC exam for the first time in 2023. 

‘Learnt from my failure’

The premise of Manu’s preparatory process during his second attempt was to imbibe the learnings he gleaned from his first unsuccessful attempt in 2023. “Focus on the core demand of the questions.”

He illustrates this through an example: “Suppose the question is about the relation between India and the Maldives, and how it impacts the global geopolitics and geoeconomics, focus on every keyword and analyse the bilateral relation with multidimensional points.” He advises, “Don’t simply answer the question, but also supply a way forward at the end. As future bureaucrats, we are expected to highlight not just the problems but also the solutions.” 

Toppers' notes supplemented his preparation. He credits the online platform Civilsdaily, a UPSC prep platform, for its repository of expert-backed content and constant encouragement by the faculty. 

The most vital tip he learnt was not to measure study time by the clock. “Instead of calculating how many hours I studied, I began to take an interest in the topics. The UPSC is a vast canvas where a person gets to know about the environment and the happenings around. It is interesting.” 

‘Read a newspaper through a new lens’ 

Manu’s optional subject was political science. It’s something he always had a keen interest in. 

What fascinates him about the paper is how it prioritises originality, he says. “In political science, a personal understanding of the topic is needed. It is a bottomless and borderless thing without any conclusions. So, you can opt for any theory, thinker, or ideology to explain a particular concept. Your answer is judged based on how holistic and comprehensive it is and the originality you maintain.” 

He backs this assertion with another tip, “UPSC demands curiosity from students because the questions asked are around current affairs.” So, stay curious. 

This quality came easily to him. “Even as a child, I was very curious about events. I would read the newspaper every day. But during the UPSC exam, my approach changed. UPSC humbles you down to a level that you start reading the newspaper in a different light.”

He explains, “Earlier, I would skim through sports and sections that interested me, but while preparing for the exam, I began reading about the nitty gritty of government policy, how different structures and functions operate in society.” This stretched his understanding of the nuances of governance. 

Today, as he looks back on that period of preparation, he says his attitude has undergone a shift. “Whether you qualify or not, UPSC changes your perspective; it adds to your personality and thinking.” 

Manu remained committed to this newfound approach of perceiving the world. And it came to his rescue during his interview process at the UPSC CSE 2024. 

“My interview was on 27 January 2025 - around the time President Donald Trump took the oath and began implementing his policies. My interview focused on the impact of Trump’s policies, not just in India but on a wider, global level,” he shares. 

When asked how President Trump's control of Greenland would impact India, Manu gave the interviewers a balanced critique of this sensitive issue. “I did not just highlight the negative points, but also spoke about how, if India struck a trade deal with President Trump, it would give us an invaluable edge with other countries to increase our trade surplus.” 

‘Being able to handwrite your notes is a blessing. Don’t take it lightly.’

On multiple occasions, whilst preparing for the exam, Manu found himself dearly missing the ability to make notes. “We don’t realise how being able to just open a book and skim through notes when we want to revise a topic, helps. Navigating a PDF is tough. Note-making is such a crucial process to studying. But, sometimes, even AI is not able to decipher handwritten notes.” 

This would often take a toll on Manu, who missed being able to type things out while studying

But he never let it deter him from his goal. “The UPSC is a rigorous process and requires a lot of hard work to be put in. In my case, I had to put in that little extra to compensate for the disability.” 

Manu came up with a hack. He memorised the QWERTY keyboard. “I kept my fingers on the keys A, S, B, H, J, K, L, semicolon and learnt typing at the speed of 26 words per minute. This helped me take down notes on my mobile phone. It let me type even when I couldn’t see the keyboard.” 

A quiet force through Manu’s UPSC trajectory has been his mother. Commending her patience through it all, he shares, “Solving MCQs using technology is difficult, because it’s tough to recall every option that was read out, before you decide on the correct one.” The multiple right answers in UPSC exacerbate the problem. 

This is where Manu’s mother would pitch in. “My mother would read out the options and keep repeating them until I was able to answer the question.” 

She was also the one who told Manu after he failed in the UPSC CSE 2023 mains and was disheartened, “If you are persistent and consistent, you will qualify.” 

Today, he says, persistence and consistency are the values he plans on carrying through life, even beyond the UPSC success. 

Edited by Vidya Gowri Venkatesh, All pictures courtesy Manu Garg