Like any other middle-class girl, IAS Nidhi Siwach’s also had a dream. But the only difference is that she wrote her own success story and accomplished her dream with determination, dedication and positive thinking.
When options are limited, a person can go to any extent to realise his dream. This is exactly what Ms. Siwach did and cleared UPSC exam in her third attempt in 2018 with 83rdAll India Rank.
She originally got Jharkhand cadre, but after her wedding, she was shifted to Gujarat cadre and is presently posted as Assistant Collector at Himmatnagar in Sabarkantha district.
THE BEGINNING
Ms. Siwach hadhigh dreams of joining armed forces since childhood. She also appeared in AFCAT exam and cleared the written test. But after her SSB interview, she changed plans and decided to prepare for the UPSC.
The eldest of her siblings, she took a mechanical engineering degree from Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University in Sonipat and worked as a Design Engineer at Tech Mahindra in Hyderabad. In 2017, she quit her job and started preparing for the examination.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Ms Siwach said, “I joined the private sector job only because my father wanted this. But my mind was in civil services and I was not able to prepare well while doing job. So I quit the job one day and started preparing for UPSC.”
MARRIAGE PRESSURE
There her family members started pressurizing Ms. Siwach for marriage. When she could not succeed in her first two attempts, she had only two options left– to either get married, or to give one more attempt at UPSC.
Ms.Siwach stated, “I come from a Jaat family, where early marriages are the norm. But I wanted an identity of my own before marriage. Although I did not have any problem in getting married; but due to added responsibilities that come with marriage, I decided to go for UPSC exam one more time. And I gave everything I had into my preparation. I locked in my roomand studied hard day and night.”
Ms. Siwach did not take any coaching for preparation and finally in 2018, she got selected for the post of IAS, bringing pride to her family. Her optional subject was History and she took the exam in English medium. With the help of her hard work and patience, she finally opened the rusty door of success for herself.
PREPARING TO FIGHT COVID 3.0
Ms. Siwach told Indian Masterminds, “Right now, we are fully focusing on preventing the onset of third wave of coronavirus. We are continuously testing, tracing and immunizing. Attention is being paid to minimize new cases. In Gujarat, there are District Development Officers under the Zilla Parishad. The Chief District Medical Officer works closely with him. This entire process is done under the supervision of District Magistrate.”
She says that in case of any emergency, the entire administrative staff of the district, starts working in unison to deal with that situation. They are ready to fight the third wave and ensure that no one gets affected by it.
