For Saloni Agrawal, her father was her biggest support and motivation. But she lost him to Covid’s second wave while she was appearing for her mains exams. It was a life shattering moment for her. He was family’s sole bread winner as well. Heavy responsibilities fell on her frail shoulder.
But Saloni didn’t lose heart. Nor did she let it affect her preparations. She had to clear the exams for her father and to make her mother’s life better. She finally achieved her target. She cracked MPPSC-2019, MP’s most prestigious exam, with Rank 8 and got deputy collector post in her very first attempt.
When the result came out, she wrote on Social Media, “Dear Papa, I have fulfilled your dream. You had said that day that you are already looking like an officer. Look papa, today your daughter has really become an officer.”
JOURNEY SO FAR
She started her civil services preparation in 2018 in final year of graduation. She gave her first attempt of MPPSC in 2019.After much delay MPPSC-19 exam result was declared last month.
In the meantime, she gave her second attempt in MPPSC-2020 and cleared it too.
Speaking to Indian Masterminds, she said, “When a girl is successful, her father plays the biggest role. My father was everything to me. He never differentiated between a son and daughter. I did it for his honour.”
BACKGROUND
She hails from tribal dominated Khargone district. Her father died in 2021 due to Covid. Her mother is homemaker. She has a younger brother. Her family runs a general store.
She studied till class 5thin her village school. After that, she studied in Navodaya Vidyalaya while staying in a hostel. Later, she passed Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Prestige College, Indore.
MPPSC PREPARATION
Her preparation was well-planned and organized. She started it from basic and standard books. Then, she made her own notes and revised them time to time.
She believes that for civil services preparations, hours do not matter, but productive study is. She said, “I never counted study hours. You may read less but more important is how effectively you studied. I read only as long as I felt like. I never stressed myself for this.”
She planned her preparation by making daily goals. She used to take short breaks after completing a topic. She also solved test series and PYQs. She suggests solving test papers and discussing them with fellow aspirants.
She practiced writing as much as she could before the mains exam. Then she focused on giving mock interviews. “Four years for an exam procedure is very long time. Sometime you get frustrated and lose your focus and momentum. Sometime you pass through any down moment and zero motivation. I didn’t face many such issues. But you have to fight for your dream.”
INTERVIEW
Her interview held in August, 2023 went well and she was grilled properly. She was asked questions from her background, current affairs and Economics.
There was also asked questions from Madhya Pradesh current issues and solutions.
SUGGESTIONS
Giving suggestions to aspirants, she said, “Always fight for what you believe in. Don’t deviate from your goal. It’s a long journey, so be prepared for it. If you have family support and working hard, then you will be successful.”
FUTURE AIM
On her future aim, she said, “There is a need for girls’ education. An educated girl improves lot of two families. I will work on girl child education and health with full of dedication and integrity.”
