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‘Biggest torture you can give yourself’: IAS officer Ira Singhal opens up on dark side of UPSC preparation and mental health crisis

Ira Singhal believes UPSC exam preparations are torture on physical, emotional, financial, social, and psychological levels.

2 min readNew DelhiJan 28, 2026 04:03 PM IST

Ira Singhal stressed that UPSC exam preparations have a “terrible” effect on aspirants’ mental health

IAS officer Ira Singhal recently opened up about mental and emotional challenges an aspirant goes through during the preparation for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams. Speaking on a podcast with Gaurav Arora, Singhal described how pressure leads to a mental health crisis among aspirants.

Singhal believes UPSC exam preparations are torture on physical, emotional, financial, social, and psychological levels. “It’s the biggest level of torture you can give to yourself,” she says, adding, “And it’s self-inflicted because there is no reason why you should be doing it for other people.”

Singhal, who the podcast host says cleared the UPSC civil services exams four times, discussed how uncertain results despite preparing for years could affect aspirants. “Some people become extra positive, and for the sake of hoping, they start externalising the reason they didn’t clear, and because of this, they don’t clear further attempts,” she explained.

Singhal goes on to advise that aspirants should stop blaming others for their failures and start acknowledging problems from their end.

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Further, Singhal stressed that UPSC exam preparations have a “terrible” effect on aspirants’ mental health, as aspirants are unsure of a positive result, with some of them often questioning if they have chosen the right career path. “It’s very tough to admit and correct the mistakes in the path you chose. It’s very easy to blame everybody else. So all of that combines into a terrible mental health crisis,” she said.

Born with scoliosis, a spinal disorder that restricts mobility, IAS officer Ira Singhal became the first differently abled woman to top the UPSC exams, in 2014.

In 2010, she was denied the Indian Revenue Service posting on the grounds of her disability, following which she fought a legal battle and won a landmark verdict from the Central Administrative Tribunal.