Harshita Goyal: UPSC AIR 2 (2024), Strategy, and Journey
She was a qualified Chartered Accountant with a stable career ahead of her. She had failed Prelims not once, but twice. And in her third and final attempt, she fell severely ill with typhoid just days before the Mains examination.
Harshita Goyal still came second in all of India.
Her AIR 2 in UPSC CSE 2024 is not just a rank. It is the result of a complete overhaul of strategy, relentless answer writing, and a quiet resilience built through years of personal and academic setbacks.
Who Is Harshita Goyal?
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Harshita Goyal |
| AIR | 2 |
| UPSC Exam Year | CSE 2024 |
| Age at Selection | 25 years |
| Birthplace | Hisar, Haryana |
| Raised In | Vadodara, Gujarat |
| Educational Qualification | B.Com, MS University of Baroda; Chartered Accountant (CA) |
| Optional Subject | Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) |
| Number of Attempts | 3 |
| Service Allotted | IAS (cadre to be cross-checked from official sources) |
| Coaching | VisionIAS (Foundation + Abhyaas Test Series); Chrome IAS, Samkalp, Vajiram and Ravi (Interview prep) |
Harshita Goyal UPSC Marksheet and Score Details
Harshita scored 1038 marks in total. Her paper-wise breakdown, as per widely reported data, is as follows:
| Paper | Subject | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | GS Essay | 125 |
| GS Paper 1 | History, Geography, Society | 144 |
| GS Paper 2 | Governance, Polity, IR | 102 |
| GS Paper 3 | Economy, Environment, Technology | 121 |
| GS Paper 4 | Ethics and Integrity | 90 |
| Optional Paper 1 | PSIR Paper 1 | 117 |
| Optional Paper 2 | PSIR Paper 2 | 152 |
| Mains Written Total | 851 | |
| Interview | Personality Test | 187 |
| Grand Total | 1038 |
Her GS1 score of 144 and PSIR Paper 2 score of 152 stand out. For a commerce graduate who chose a humanities optional, these numbers reflect deep conceptual preparation, not just rote revision.
Educational Background and Early Life
Harshita grew up in Vadodara, Gujarat, though she was originally from Hisar, Haryana. She completed her schooling in Vadodara and went on to pursue a B.Com degree from MS University of Baroda, one of Gujarat’s most respected public universities.
She then cleared the CA examinations, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and working briefly at K.C. Mehta and Co., a reputed CA firm in Vadodara.
Her childhood was marked by personal loss. She lost her mother to cancer at a young age. Her father became her primary support system, a role he continued to play throughout her UPSC preparation. Harshita has spoken about this openly in interviews, crediting her father’s steadiness as a key reason she did not give up after two failed Prelims attempts.
Outside academics, she was involved in the Gujarat Youth Parliament and volunteered with the Believe Foundation, an organisation focused on women’s empowerment. These experiences likely shaped the clarity she brought to ethics and governance papers.
How Many Attempts Did Harshita Goyal Take?
Harshita took three attempts to clear the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
Her first two attempts did not go beyond Prelims. This is a detail she has not shied away from discussing. Failing Prelims twice, especially after investing significant time and effort in preparation, is one of the most demoralising experiences an aspirant can face. Many candidates do not recover from it.
What changed in her third attempt was not just strategy. It was clarity.
She identified that her Prelims failure was rooted in weak MCQ fundamentals and poor time management in the paper. She shifted to structured MCQ practice, worked through previous year question papers systematically, and used VisionIAS Abhyaas Test Series to benchmark her Prelims readiness.
The more dramatic challenge came during Mains. She contracted typhoid just days before the examination. She appeared for the exam while unwell, relying on preparation that was deep enough to sustain her even under physical stress. Her Mains score of 851 in that condition is a case study in preparation quality over last-minute cramming.
Harshita Goyal’s Optional Subject: Why She Chose PSIR and How She Scored
Optional Subject: Political Science and International Relations (PSIR)
This is a choice that surprises many aspirants. Harshita came from a commerce and finance background. Most candidates from that stream choose Economics, Commerce and Accountancy, or occasionally Sociology.
She chose PSIR, and scored 269 out of 500 (117 in Paper 1, 152 in Paper 2).
Her reasoning, as reported in interviews, was based on interest and overlap. PSIR has significant overlap with GS Paper 2, which covers governance, polity, and international relations. Preparing PSIR well essentially deepens your GS2 preparation. For someone who enjoyed reading about political theory and international affairs, the subject felt natural, not forced.
Books and Strategy for PSIR:
| Paper | Book or Resource | Author or Source |
|---|---|---|
| PSIR Paper 1 (Political Theory) | An Introduction to Political Theory | O.P. Gauba |
| PSIR Paper 1 | Contemporary Political Theory | Andrew Heywood |
| PSIR Paper 2 (IR) | International Relations | Pavneet Singh |
| PSIR Paper 2 | India’s Foreign Policy | V.P. Dutt |
| Both Papers | Previous Year Questions analysis | Self-compiled |
| Both Papers | VisionIAS PSIR notes | VisionIAS |
She focused heavily on answer structuring for PSIR, particularly for Paper 2 where analytical depth matters more than factual breadth. Her 152 in Paper 2 suggests she had mastered the UPSC’s preferred format for IR answers: argument, evidence, balanced conclusion.
UPSC Preparation Strategy of Harshita Goyal
Coaching vs. Self-Study: Harshita enrolled in the VisionIAS Foundation Course for her structured preparation. However, the bulk of her output, her revision, answer writing, and source consolidation, was self-driven. She has emphasised that coaching provides direction, but the work has to be yours.
Study Hours: As per available reports, she maintained 8 to 10 hours of focused study daily during peak preparation phases, dropping to fewer hours during revision to allow consolidation.
Source Discipline: One of her most-cited pieces of advice is to stick to limited, reliable sources. She avoided the trap of accumulating too many books and instead mastered a core reading list thoroughly.
Paper-wise Sources (as reported):
| Subject Area | Primary Source |
|---|---|
| History | NCERT (Class 6 to 12), Spectrum by Rajiv Ahir |
| Geography | NCERT (Class 11 and 12), G.C. Leong |
| Polity | M. Laxmikanth |
| Economy | NCERT Class 11 and 12, Economic Survey |
| Environment | Shankar IAS Environment |
| Science and Tech | Standard newspapers, PIB summaries |
| International Relations | The Hindu, MEA speeches, PSIR preparation |
| Ethics (GS4) | Lexicon for Ethics, previous year answers |
| Current Affairs | The Hindu, Indian Express, VisionIAS monthly magazine |
Revision: She followed a multi-layered revision approach. First pass was for understanding. Second pass for retention. Third pass for recall testing. She made short notes during revision, not during first reading, which helped her retain what mattered.
Test Series: VisionIAS Abhyaas Test Series for Prelims and the VisionIAS Mains test series were central to her preparation. She treated every test as a diagnostic tool, not a performance event.
Books and Resources Recommended by Harshita Goyal
| Subject | Book or Resource | Author or Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Polity | Indian Polity | M. Laxmikanth |
| Modern History | A Brief History of Modern India | Rajiv Ahir (Spectrum) |
| Geography | Certificate Physical and Human Geography | G.C. Leong |
| Economy | Indian Economy | Ramesh Singh |
| Environment | Environment and Ecology | Shankar IAS Academy |
| Ethics | Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude | Niraj Kumar |
| PSIR Paper 1 | An Introduction to Political Theory | O.P. Gauba |
| PSIR Paper 2 | International Relations | Pavneet Singh |
| Current Affairs | The Hindu (daily), VisionIAS Monthly Magazine | Various |
| NCERTs | Class 6 to 12 across subjects | NCERT |
Mains Answer Writing Approach
Harshita has been direct about one thing: answer writing is a skill, and it has to be practiced like one. Reading alone does not build it.
She started writing answers from the early stages of her Mains preparation, not just in the weeks before the exam. She focused on structuring answers with a clear introduction, body with multiple dimensions (social, economic, governance, constitutional), and a forward-looking conclusion.
She practiced within word limits and timed herself. UPSC Mains rewards candidates who can communicate effectively under pressure, and she trained specifically for that.
For aspirants who do not have access to a mentor or test series for answer feedback, tools like AnswerWriting.com’s Daily Answer Writing feature offer a structured way to practice with fresh prompts each day and track improvement over time. The AI-powered Answer Evaluator on the platform gives paper-specific feedback on structure, content, and UPSC scoring parameters, similar to what a good mentor would point out. Consistent daily writing and honest evaluation of your own output is exactly the habit Harshita’s preparation exemplified.
She also paid attention to diagrams and flowcharts in GS3 and GS1 answers, using them to communicate complex relationships clearly and save time.
Interview (Personality Test) Experience
Harshita scored 187 in the Personality Test, a strong score that reflects confident, grounded communication.
She prepared for the interview at multiple institutes: Chrome IAS, Samkalp, and Vajiram and Ravi’s Interview Guidance Programme. The multi-institute mock approach helped her encounter diverse questioning styles and refine her responses.
Her Detailed Application Form (DAF) naturally drew questions around her CA background, her choice of PSIR as optional despite a commerce degree, and her involvement with the Believe Foundation and Gujarat Youth Parliament. Her answers were rooted in genuine experience, which interviewers respond to.
She has spoken about staying calm and honest during the interview, acknowledging what she did not know rather than guessing, a quality boards consistently reward.
Service and Cadre Allotted to Harshita Goyal
As per available reports, Harshita Goyal has been allotted the IAS. Her specific state cadre has not been officially confirmed in widely available public sources at the time of writing. Readers are advised to cross-check this detail from the official UPSC results notification or LBSNAA allotment lists.
Key Lessons Every UPSC Aspirant Can Take from Harshita Goyal
- Prelims failure is not the end of the story. She failed Prelims twice before achieving AIR 2. If you have cleared Prelims even once, you are already ahead of where she was in her first two attempts.
- Choose your optional with both interest and syllabus overlap in mind. PSIR improved her GS2 preparation while also giving her 269 marks in optional. A well-chosen optional does two jobs at once.
- Source discipline beats source accumulation. She read fewer books more thoroughly. In UPSC, depth of understanding beats breadth of reading.
- Physical and mental setbacks are not automatic disqualifiers. She appeared for Mains with typhoid. Preparation that runs deep enough will carry you through difficult circumstances.
- Answer writing is a daily practice, not an exam-week emergency. Her GS1 score of 144 and strong optional marks were built through months of structured writing, not last-minute practice.
FAQs About Harshita Goyal
1. What was Harshita Goyal’s optional subject in UPSC CSE 2024? Her optional subject was Political Science and International Relations (PSIR). She scored 269 out of 500 in it.
2. How many attempts did Harshita Goyal take to clear UPSC? She took three attempts. She did not clear Prelims in her first two attempts and secured AIR 2 in her third attempt.
3. What is Harshita Goyal’s total UPSC score? Her total score was 1038, with 851 in Mains written and 187 in the Personality Test, as per widely reported marksheet data.
4. What coaching did Harshita Goyal attend? She attended VisionIAS for her foundation course and Mains test series. For interview preparation, she attended Chrome IAS, Samkalp, and Vajiram and Ravi’s Interview Guidance Programme.
5. What is Harshita Goyal’s educational background? She holds a B.Com degree from MS University of Baroda and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA). She worked briefly at K.C. Mehta and Co. in Vadodara before dedicating herself to UPSC preparation.
6. Why did Harshita Goyal choose PSIR as her optional subject despite a commerce background? She chose PSIR primarily due to her interest in political theory and international affairs, and because the subject has strong overlap with GS Paper 2, making her preparation more efficient.
7. Which service was allotted to Harshita Goyal? As per available reports, she has been allotted the IAS. Her specific state cadre should be cross-checked from official UPSC or LBSNAA sources.