13 November 2026
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At 22, Sonali Parmar Selected in Civil Services in her first Attempt

Sonali Parmar, who comes from hopal, cleared the UPSC exam in her first attempt in UPSC CSE 2021
Indian Masterminds Stories

Among the 685 candidates selected for Central Civil Services this year is a 22-year-old girl from Bhopal who cleared the exam with flying colours in her first attempt.

Sonali Parmar, secured AIR 187 in the UPSC 2021 exam to get into the Indian Police Service at the age of 22. She is apparently carrying forward the legacy of last year’s UPSC second ranker Jagrati Awasthi who is also from the same state.

SPECIALISATION IN AGRICULTURE

Sonali completed her initial studies till class 8 in the Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh after which she came to Bhopal. She belongs to a family where her both parents serve in the Agricultural Department as Assistant Directors. In an interview, she said that due to frequent visits of administrative officers at home, she used to look up to them and become one of them someday.

As her target to become a civil servant was already set, she chose to go off the mainstream and choose agriculture as her subject to study for graduation. She got enrolled in Jabalpur University to pursue B Sc in Agriculture. She knew Agriculture is a scoring optional subject for UPSC, therefore she wanted study it in graduation as well.

She might have developed interest in the subject as her parents were in the agricultural department. The fact that government would ensurefood security for the country’s entire population in the coming times, also weighed in the him.

TIPS FROM AN IAS OFFICER

Soon after completing graduation, Sonali started preparing for the UPSC exam. She told the media that she would study for around 10-12 hours every day to chase her dream of becoming a civil servant. She got full support from her family. Sonali also consulted IAS officer Preeti Maithil Nayak, to prepare well for the exams.

With She cleared all the stages to finally get on the final list with an All India Rank of 187.


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