IAS officer Sakshi Sawhney is in news right now for becoming the first woman Deputy Commissioner of Patiala, Punjab. She was in news in 2014 also, when her name had figured in the Top 10 in the UPSC CSE results. She had secured the All India Rank 6. Today, Indian Masterminds takes a look at her UPSC journey and her background – her early years.
EARLY DAYS
Ms. Sawhney, who grew up in Punjab, comes from a family of service background. Her father is a retired Indian Revenue Service official and her mother is the principal of a school that caters to underprivileged children. Her sister works in a reputed bank.
She did her schooling at a private school. Her initial inclination in life was towards Law and, therefore, she graduated with a BA LLB from NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad in 2012. Always a bright student in academics, Ms. Sawhney is amongst the toppers of her batch with 8 gold medals!
JOURNEY TOWARDS CIVIL SERVICES
While studying for Law, Ms. Sawhney realized that the country faces major problems on an everyday basis and more than anyone else, it is the civil servants of the country whose efforts and hard work can bring about a change.
This realization birthed an interest in Ms. Sawhney to try her luck in UPSC Civil Services Examination. She wanted to use her education for a greater purpose. That is why she first entertained the idea of joining the Civil Services and she decided to choose Law as her optional subject.
She made her first attempt to clear UPSC while she was still in the fourth year of her graduation, in 2012. However, she missed getting selected due to a very low margin, owing to low marks in her Essay paper.
AN INSPIRATION
While she started preparing once again, next year, Ms. Sawhney came across the success story of Gitanjali Brandon, who had scored All India Rank 6 in UPSC CSE 2011.
Her story inspired Ms. Sawhney as she could see a wide range of similarities between herself and Gitanjali, who also achieved success in her second attempt, with Law as one of the optional subjects. The officer also spotted another similarity too – that Gitanjali could not score good marks in her Essay paper in her first attempt.
Gitanjali Brandon’s story acted as emotional and psychological comfort for the officer. She had confidence in her abilities and her sustained efforts helped her replicate the result, when she too scored AIR 6 in UPSC CSE 2014, just like her idol!
She says, “Same optional subject – Law; success in the second attempt; same rank in merit list…we can call it coincidence or luck, but my way to IAS has some resemblance to Gitanjali’s outcome.”
IAS OVER IFS
Persistence, determination, revision, and a positive attitude played a key role all throughout her preparation. Securing such a high rank meant she could easily opt for Indian Foreign Service and live the rest of her life as a celebrated diplomat, but, instead, she chose to opt for Indian Administrative Service and bring development to her own country.
She says, “Indian Administrative Service offers a more diverse range of opportunities that are field-based, and I have always wanted to work in the field, in my own country.”
TIPS FOR FUTURE ASPIRANTS
The first woman Deputy Commissioner of Patiala shared a few tips and tricks for future aspirants trying to clear the UPSC CS examination. She wants the candidates to:
- Read the newspaper thoroughly keeping the syllabus in mind and maintain separate notebooks for the notes from the newspapers. Also, maintain a glossary page. It will be useful if you do this for every subject.
- Keep yourself motivated through this long journey.
- Try not to focus on the outcome as much as on your work but be positive.
- Constant revision rather than last-minute revision will be more beneficial.
For the Interview phase of the examination, she says, “If you go into the interview room as an IAS officer, you will come out as one.
Indian Masterminds wishes Ms. Sawhney all the best for her IAS journey.
