But one person in the background quietly stole the internet’s attention: Siddharth Babu, 36, an IFS officer who ranked 15th in UPSC 2017. Babu’s journey? Far from typical. He’s a BTech from Kerala, worked in e-commerce, failed his first UPSC attempt; then cracked it with a top-20 rank. He chose IFS; not for the glamour, but for the challenge. He picked Mandarin, trained in Beijing during the toughest years of the pandemic, and even got a Master’s in translation from the U.S. Now, he’s Deputy Secretary for East Asia; handling China, Japan, North & South Korea; and often interprets for Modi himself. His story isn’t just about ambition. It’s about reinvention. A tech grad turning diplomat. A UPSC repeater turning top officer. A quiet man standing behind the most powerful leaders, speaking the languages no one else in the room understands. Next time you scroll past a photo of world leaders; look closer. The real powerhouse might be the one you don’t see first.