Poonam Singh

Preparing for UPSC Civil Services Exam is a tough task. For this, one not only has to go through a huge syllabus but needs to keep oneself updated with current affairs. Under such circumstances, it is natural for the candidates to have a meltdown after being over-stressed. And each candidate has a different way of dealing with such stress. 

IRS officer Neha Nautiyal took out time to relax and refresh herself by watching movies, reading novels and preparing for the exam again.

In her case, the stress was high as she was doing a full-time job while preparing for CSE. However, despite time constraints, she cleared the exam on her second attempt in 2011 and joined the Indian Revenue Service.

Neha Nautiyal was born and brought up in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Neha’s father worked in the post office while her mother was a homemaker. Youngest of two siblings, Neha was an average student in studies since her school days.

She completed her schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya School, Dehradun, after which she moved to Ajmer, Rajasthan for further studies. After completing her graduation, she went back to her hometown, Dehradun, and did her MSc in Zoology from there.

Neha always wanted to become an IRS officer, so she appeared for the UPSC in 2010 for the first time. However, she couldn’t clear the exam. Without getting disheartened, she decided to prepare for one more attempt, all this while working as an IT professional. 

At times, when she felt hopeless and wanted to give up; she used to take a break of 1-2 days during which she indulged herself in films, novels or travelling. However, she kept her goal in mind and kept reminding herself that she still has a long way to go.

And at last, her hard work paid off and she cracked the UPSC exam in 2011. She secured AIR-185 rank and was allotted the rank of an IPS officer. However, she opted for IRS services.

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