‘That was the lowest point in my life’: After 5 failed attempts, Prayagraj girl Shakti Dubey tops UPSC CSE

Except for last year, when Aditya Srivastava topped the exams, women have in recent years topped the civil services exams, widely considered among the toughest of competitive examinations. This year, three of the top five are women — Dubey is followed by Harshita Goyal at Rank 2 and Shah Margi Chirag at Rank 4. Dongre Archit Parag is at Rank 3 and Akash Garg at Rank 5.

Of the top 25, 14 are men and 11 are women. Of the 1,009 candidates recommended by the UPSC to various services, 725 are men and 284 women.

UPSC Live Results | Jamia Millia Islamia RCA | Meet Toppers  | AIR 1 Shakti Dubey | AIR 2 Harshita Goyal | AIR 8 Raj Krishna Jha | AIR 89 Ria Kaur Sethi | Choose Plan B | Karnataka Friendsip Goals R Rangamanju, Sachin Basavaraj Guttur | Punjab UPSC Results | AIR 61 Aastha Singh  | UPSC CSE 2023 Toppers

Originally from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Dubey began her UPSC journey in 2018. A biochemistry graduate from Banaras Hindu University, she once dreamed of becoming a doctor. “I was a PCB ( Physics, Chemistry, Biology) student in school. But I was allotted dental based on my rank. So I decided to pursue BSc instead,” she says.

But the journey has been anything but easy, with five missed attempts. “In my first three attempts, I didn’t even clear the prelims. In the fourth, I reached the interview round but couldn’t clear it. Last year, I missed the cut-off by 12 marks,” she says. “That was the lowest point in my life. I really thought I should give up.”

She didn’t. Instead, she packed her bags and moved to Delhi. “It was only my family who stood by me throughout this journey,” she says. Her mother is a homemaker, her father a sub-inspector with the Uttar Pradesh Police. As the eldest of three siblings, she says, she always carried a sense of responsibility. “I was more trusted upon… My family always had the most faith in me.”

Throughout this journey, Dubey set her sights on the goal. She made a chart, stuck to it, and treated every day like a small step. “If I had to study 8-10 hours a day, I would finish that and then take time out for myself the next day. That’s the only way to survive this journey,” she says.

Now, with the results in hand, Dubey says her top choice for her cadre remains her home state.

“I understand the issues of Uttar Pradesh better, and I’ve lived there all my life. So Uttar Pradesh will always be my first preference.”

Asked about the issues she wants to work on, she says, “Safety of women will always remain a concern. Even when I am out late, I start checking the time, sharing my location with my parents. Security and safety are things I want to work on back home.”