The most significant achievement for any woman is to stand on her own feet. To achieve this, they have to face numerous challenges. Only after overcoming these challenges do they succeed in the test of their lives.
Similarly, there is the UPSC Civil Services Examination which is considered to be one of the toughest exams in India. However, many women have passed this examination becoming IAS officers and civil servants and excelling in their work.
Behind this prestigious position lie many untold stories, full of conflicts that will undoubtedly surprise you. That’s why, today we bring to you the inspiring stories of 5 Women IAS Officers that will motivate you to work hard to achieve your goals. Let’s delve into their journeys.
IAS Aakriti Sethi: Did Not Lose Courage Even After Failing 5 Times
Often, we witness aspirants losing courage and giving up after failing in one or two attempts. However, this should not be the case. The most shining example for all aspirants is IAS Aakriti Sethi.
Yes, Aakriti failed the UPSC exam five times. Despite this, she did not give up and continued to work hard. She saw the results in her sixth attempt, securing the 249th rank and becoming an IAS officer.
Aakriti Sethi hails from a very humble background. Despite the financial challenges, her love for reading and writing since childhood set her apart. Aakriti studied diligently and consistently topped her school and college. Witnessing her dedication, her family fully supported her ambitions.
Due to financial constraints, Aakriti took a private job and helped her sister get married. However, she was determined to join the civil services. Aakriti left her job and began her preparations, receiving unwavering support from her parents.
Aakriti embarked on her UPSC preparation journey without coaching. Despite facing disappointment in the first and second attempts, she persisted.
The cycle of disappointment continued for five attempts, and Aakriti couldn’t clear the preliminary exams. Subsequently, Aakriti experienced severe depression. However, with full family support, she achieved remarkable success in her sixth attempt.
Aakriti cleared the Prelims, Mains, and Interview in one go. Today, she serves as an inspiration for those who consider giving up after a few attempts.
It is said that with honest work, one can undoubtedly reach their destination. Keep working hard honestly, and success will surely follow. If you wish to hear IAS Aakriti Sethi’s story in her own words, you can listen to her on the Josh Talks Hindi channel.
IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal: An Inspiration to the Entire Country
Who doesn’t know IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal today? She is regarded as an inspiration for all women. Durga Shakti Nagpal, an IAS officer, is currently in the limelight for her exceptional work, often being the subject of discussions. However, achieving all these accomplishments was not easy for her.
The story of her life presents a new path to everyone — the path of fearlessness, honesty, and duty. It is due to these qualities that Durga Shakti Nagpal is now cited as an example by many.
IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal hails from a family where her father himself has been a civil servant, honoured with the President’s Award. Given her background, why would Durga Shakti Nagpal be afraid?
One day, while in her office, some villagers approached her, complaining about overnight smuggling causing numerous problems. In response, Durga Nagpal initiated action, but the well-planned strategies of the smugglers led to initial failure.
Undeterred, IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal devised a secret plan for a raid, keeping it confidential until its completion. This strategic move yielded positive results, earning her immense popularity among the villagers.
Despite threats from the smugglers, Durga Shakti Nagpal remained fearless, unaffected by the intimidation. At one point, even her father received threats, with a warning to stop his daughter from raiding. Unperturbed, Durga Shakti Nagpal’s father responded courageously, saying, “Do whatever you want; you can’t even harm a hair on her head.“
After joining the service, IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal brought about significant changes in the system, thwarting the plans of smugglers overnight. However, unjustly, she was suspended from her job.
Nevertheless, it is said that honesty in work protects against harm. In response to her suspension, women rallied in protest, demanding justice for Durga Shakti Nagpal. Subsequently, a proper investigation took place, affirming her innocence, and she was reinstated to her position with respect.
The story of IAS Durga Shakti Nagpal consistently teaches us the importance of fearlessness and the necessity of performing our duties with honesty. With these virtues, no one can cause harm. If you wish to hear Durga Shakti Nagpal’s story from her perspective, you can watch the below video.
IAS Ira Singhal: Left a Job with a Good Salary Package for UPSC, But Faced Discrimination by the Government Itself
Till now, we’ve heard various stories, but have you ever come across a tale where the government itself discriminates against candidates in UPSC? Well, this is precisely what happened to Ira Singhal, an IAS topper.
Ira, despite securing a rank, faced discrimination due to being in the disabled category. Nevertheless, she fought hard to become an IAS officer. Today, we’ll share her inspiring story in this article.
Ira Singhal hails from Uttar Pradesh. Since childhood, she harboured the dream of becoming an IAS officer. After completing school, she pursued engineering and an MBA.
Despite landing a job at Cadbury with a lucrative salary, the dream of becoming an IAS lingered in her mind. She eventually left the job to prepare for UPSC.
Ira excelled in academics from a young age and cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination on her first attempt. However, when the post allotment list was published, she was assigned the position of IRS.
This repeated in her second attempt, and she discovered from friends that despite being eligible for IAS, she wasn’t given the role due to her disability.
This pattern continued into her third attempt, with Ira again being allocated to the IRS. Frustrated, she filed a case arguing that, being eligible for IAS, she should be granted the position.
Adding to the peculiar situation, Ira wasn’t receiving IRS joining information from the department. Even after a court decision in her favour, there was no communication from the department. Ira took the initiative to remind the department of her pending joining.
The journey to IAS was far from easy for Ira. Encouraged by a friend, she decided to attempt the exam for the fourth time. Although initially reluctant, the lack of joining prompted her to give it another shot.
Just as Ira completed her first exam, news arrived that her joining was imminent. She joined before the Mains were over. Finally, Ira achieved her dream of becoming an IAS officer when the results of the fourth attempt were announced.
This story emphasizes that one should never lose courage and should persistently strive for their goals. Determination, it is said, leads to success.
IAS Komal Ganatra: Cleared UPSC after 5 Years of Preparation
Every woman faces struggles in her life. However, they should never lose courage and confront difficulties boldly because the success they achieve afterwards inspires thousands of women to move forward. That is why today we bring you the story of IAS Komal Ganatra.
IAS Komal Ganatra hails from a small village in Gujarat and has studied in Gujarati medium. Now, you can imagine the challenges she faced on her journey.
Komal was married to an NRI, but her husband left her after just 15 days of marriage and has not returned since. Komal tried tirelessly to reconcile with her husband, but her efforts were in vain.
Despite these hardships, Komal decided that her life was meant for more than getting entangled in such matters – her purpose was to achieve something greater. Following this realization, Komal embarked on her journey to prepare for the UPSC exams. However, due to her poor financial condition, she also sought employment.
Subsequently, Komal began her preparations. Two years later, she secured a job as a government teacher, which was 40 KM away from her parents’ house. Even then, she continued her exam preparations while working. Additionally, every Saturday and Sunday, she would travel 300 KM to Ahmedabad to study her subjects.
Komal never took a day off. She believed in the principle that a person should never take leave from work, especially when preparing for civil services exams. Therefore, Komal continued travelling to Ahmedabad on Saturdays and Sundays without taking leave to study.
Her journey was far from easy – travelling in the ladies’ coach of the train at night for exams and spending the entire night travelling by train for interviews in Delhi.
The 5-year journey was not easy for Komal. The last 5 years of her life were filled with struggles, making it incredibly challenging for Komal to persevere after her husband left her. You can hear all about these experiences from Komal herself by watching the below video.
Dr. Tanu Jain: Cleared Prelims in Two Months of Preparation
Often, we see that for all the people who have reached great heights, struggle is a big part of their lives. Dr. Tanu Jain also says this.
Dr. Tanu Jain is a resident of Delhi. Tanu has been an average student since childhood; she never paid much attention to her studies. However, she has been an expert in extracurricular activities since childhood.
Tanu’s mother used to tell her one thing since childhood, which is “What do you want to become when you grow up?” Tanu was often motivated by the question of what she wanted to become when she grew up and in which field she wanted to make a name for herself.
But after 12th grade, Tanu had the passion to do something, and she started studying BDS by taking Medical Science. Till then, Tanu did not know anything about UPSC. She felt that she wanted to become a doctor.
After a few days, Tanu came to know that people became officers after passing the UPSC. This gives them a different respect. Not only this, but this is a big post. Tanu was the first one to tell her mother about what was happening.
After this, both mother and daughter went to New Road, Old Delhi, to buy books, and Tanu started preparation by reading those books.
As we all know, a better time is required for UPSC preparation. Apart from this, Tanu had only two months. Meanwhile, all his friends used to tell him that two years of preparation were required to crack UPSC. How will you spend two months in preparation?
But, Tanu did not pay much attention to this and continued her preparations. She passed prelims on the first attempt itself, but she failed in Mains. She did not lose courage and continued her preparations.
After this, Tanu started paying attention to all the points that she had missed in the first attempt. She started working on all those challenges, due to which she could not pass her first attempt.
What happened after this was that Tanu cleared both prelims and mains in the second attempt. After this, Tanu started feeling that she would perform well in the interview.
Since childhood, Tanu has loved participating in debates. That is why, even after the interview, Tanu was hopeful that her rank would be very good. But when the result came, his lowest marks were in the interview only.
After all these things, Tanu starts her preparations again. The points she scored in the last attempt were for mains. In this attempt, Tanu takes care of all those things for the man. After Tanu’s marks got low, she started evaluating herself.
After this, he paid attention to all those points, due to which his marks were lower. In this matter, Tanu’s close friend Vatsalya Kumar, who is also Tanu’s husband, helped her a lot. After doing all these things, Tanu gave her third attempt, and she secured 648 rank and became a bureaucrat.
She did not get into the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) due to her low rank, but she got into the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) and was serving as Assistant Director at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) when she resigned from the service.
The journey of Dr. Tanu Jain is full of struggles, but as it is said if you have courage, you can reach any destination. After resigning from civil services she started her own institute for UPSC preparation, Tathastu Institute of Civil Services.
Also Read: Inspiring Story of Dr. Tanu Jain and Her UPSC Preparation Strategy
