In a remarkable achievement, Wardah Khan, a 24-year-old resident of Noida, secured the 18th rank in the UPSC exam 2023 after quitting her corporate job to pursue civil services. The results, announced by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Tuesday, marked Khan’s successful transition from the corporate world to the prestigious realm of civil services.
Expressing her joy and pride, Khan stated that making it to the top 20 was beyond her initial expectations. “Like every other aspirant, when we start our journey, we dream of finding our name on the result list. But getting into the top 20 was unimaginable,” she shared with PTI.
Having opted for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) as her first preference, Khan aims to represent India on global platforms and contribute to enhancing the country’s image internationally. “I would like to further the image of India across global platforms and multilateral institutions and help our Indian diaspora abroad,” she affirmed.
Khan, a graduate in Commerce (Honours) from Khalsa College, Delhi University, highlighted her interest in geopolitics and subjects like history and polity during her college days. However, it was during her brief stint in the corporate sector that she realized her passion for public service and decided to pursue civil services as a career path.
“I worked for a corporate firm for eight months. That didn’t sort of satisfy me. I wanted to give back to society and work for my country and transform the lives of the people,” Khan explained, shedding light on her motivation to enter civil services.
Her preparation journey included self-study at home coupled with online coaching from a private institution for a year, demonstrating her dedication and commitment to excel in the UPSC examination.
Khan’s success story serves as an inspiration to aspiring civil servants, with her emphasis on thorough understanding of basics like NCERT and Polity by Laxmikant, along with proper syllabus preparation and notes for mains and optional subjects.
A total of 1,016 candidates, including 352 women, have qualified in the UPSC examination, paving the way for their appointment to various services. Aditya Srivastava secured the top rank in the civil services examination 2023.
Sources By Agencies
