IAS officer Pratibha Verma’s life journey is that of grit and perseverance. From battling a serious health ailment to becoming an IAS officer, she has proved that one has to overcome numerous obstacles in life to reach one’s goal.
Born in Sultanpur of Uttar Pradesh, Pratibha was a Hindi medium student. She completed her Class X from a UP Board School and later went on to do her intermediate from the CBSE board. After passing with flying colours, she moved to Delhi to complete her B.Tech from IIT Delhi.
Being a student from IIT Delhi, she immediately got a high-paying job in a telecom company. However, her call was the UPSC due to which she left her job after working for two years and began her preparation in 2016.
However, her UPSC journey wasn’t a bed of roses. Pratibha failed in her first attempt and appeared for the second time and secured AIR-489. Although she was selected for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) with AIR-489, her ultimate dream was to become an IAS officer.
With her patience and extreme determination, she started preparing to take the UPSC exam for a third time. However, she was affected by dengue and then typhoid. Her health ailments made it difficult for her to concentrate on studies and interviews.
After the interview round was postponed by two months because of Covid-19 pandemic, she resorted to power yoga and meditation. She also took special care of her food to get healthier. Her hard work finally paid off and she successfully achieved her dream.
Her dream of becoming an IAS officer was finally fulfilled. In her third attempt in 2019, she managed to become an IAS officer by securing the third rank in the UPSC exam.