Youth Who Was Once Working For Rs 50 At A Snack Factory In Odisha Is Now An Army Officer; Read His Inspiring Story

Bhubaneswar: It was an arduous journey for 28-year-old Balbanka Tiwari who has faced several hardships from his childhood to become successful today.

Balbanka covered the long journey from earning Rs 50 per day in a snack factory in Odisha to becoming a sepoy in the Indian Army and now he has graduated from the Indian Military Academy and become an Army officer.

Balbanka Tiwari was a resident of Sundarpur Barja village of Ara town in Bihar’s Bhojpur district. He hailed from a poor family and worked in a snack factory for an earning of Rs 50 per day in Odisha. This he did only to continue his school education. Besides, he worked as a tuition teacher to support his family after completing high school.

Recounting his struggle in his childhood Tiwari said his family’s financial condition was very bad as his father was a farmer and they were living in a joint family. He had to work after he passed 10th class as he was the only son among his siblings, Tiwari added.

Continuing his inspiring story, he went on to say that after he finished his school life, he came to Odisha in search of work in 2008 and worked at an iron fittings factory in Rourkela. Then after a few months, he started working at a snack factory where he earned Rs 50/day till class 12, which he passed from Odisha.  He also entered a local college for graduation.

One day his uncle who was in the army as a sepoy, informed him about an Army recruitment drive in Danapur area near his home in Bihar, said Tiwari.

Inspired by his uncle’s he always wanted to join the Indian Army to serve the nation as well as earn a reputable livelihood.

After his uncle informed him of the opportunity to fulfill his dream, Tiwari applied for the test and passed in the second attempt, and joined as a sepoy. He got his first posting at the army’s EME centre in Bhopal in 2012.

While serving in Bhopal, Tiwari came to know about the Army Cadet College (ACC) for getting promoted to the rank of an officer from a sepoy. He passed the test and joined ACC in IMA in January 2017. From there, he finally commissioned as an army officer on Saturday.

December 12 (Saturday) was a special day for Tiwari as he participated in the passing out parade with 325 other Indian Gentleman Cadets, and he also met his daughter for the first time after three months of her birth.