https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Raised By Mother On Her Father’s Small Pension, Nidhi Is Now A SDM

Nidhi Shukla from Ayodhya cracked UPPCS-23 with rank 8 She had lost her father at the impressionable age of 13 She was determined to get into civil services from her school days to ensure a good life for her mother and sisters
Indian Masterminds Stories

No adversity can impede your progress if you have set your eyes firmly on your goal. It all broils down to how passionate you are about crossing the finishing line. That defines the success story of UPPCS-23 topper among girls, Nidhi Shukla.

She fought and struggled her way up towards her goal of cracking the civil service exam to give a good life to her mother and sisters. And, her determination bore fruits and she is on her to becoming a SDM now!

After losing her father at an impressionable age, she and her two sisters were brought up by their mother on their late father’s pension. Life was difficult and they struggled to meet all their needs. But, this made the strong willed Nidhi more determined to achieve success, come what may.

Speaking exclusively to Indian Masterminds, Nidhi narrated her inspiring journey in detail.

JOURNEY SO FAR

She appeared for civil services exam for the first time in 2021, when she sat for UPSC CSE prelims, but could not crack it.

In the same year, she appeared for UPPCS, but could not pass this exam too. She then made up her mind not to make any further attempt in UPSC but focus solely on UPPCS.

In her second attempt in UPPCS-2022, she reached till the interview, but could not make it to the final list. But destiny smiled on her in her third attempt in 2023 as she cracked the exam with rank 8.

She said, “The initial phase of preparation is always very difficult. To take the decision to prepare for civil services is a tough one because this exam is very unpredictable.”

BACKGROUND

She originally belongs to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. However, her father used to work in Chhattisgarh’s Tribal Department. Hence, she studied till the 10th standard in Chhattisgarh. When she was 13 year old, her father died of a sudden heart attack. So she moved back to Ayodhya with her mother and sisters. Her mother is a homemaker.

Nidhi completed her 12th from Anil Saraswati Vidya Mandir in Ayodhya. Then she did her graduation (BA) from Avadh University in 2020.

She joined a coaching in Prayagraj for a year in 2021. Then she shifted to Delhi in March 2022 for giving test series and mock tests.

PREPARATION

She was determined to get into civil services from her school days. Hence, she had started preparing in her graduation first year itself by studying NCERTs and making notes.

In Jan 2021, she started focusing on both the UPSC and UPPCS exams. She started solving and analyzing PYQs and the exam patterns of these two exams.

Books: Apart from NCERTs, she focused on other standard books like Spectrum (History), Laxmikant (Polity). For prelims, she studied Lucents book for GS, PYQs from Ghatna Chakra and Eduteria Magazines for Current Affairs. She also revised 8 to 10 times all the topics.

For mains exam, she prepared different notes for every GS paper with many authentic sources, like google and toppers’ notes. For UP Special, she read the Only IAS’s books. For Hindi, she studied S Kumar’s book which helped her a lot.

Visualization Technique: For better memory and revision, she worked on a visualization technique. For example, she studied a topic from any book. If she is not able to memorize that topic, she googled the book and found photos of the book about the related topic or person. Thus, this visualization technique helped her to memorize things better.

She said, “My focus was on revision more, rather than studying many books, so that I could remember the things that I had studied.” She had taken Sociology as optional for UPSC.

However, since studying for two exams at the same time did not work in her favour, she dropped the idea of giving UPSC exam and started focusing solely on UPPSC.

INTERVIEW

Her interview for UPPSC-23 was taken by the same board of the previous year. She was asked many questions from her background, specially her graduation subjects, and Sociology.

A member asked her, “What is the role of a women in society? How can she change the society?”

Another member asked her a question from a poem, and she had to complete the answer with the last 4 lines of the given poem.

Her answers were to the satisfaction of the board and she too came out of the room confidently knowing she had done her best.

SUGGESTIONS

Giving suggestions for aspirants, she said, “Keep your resources minimal and do revisions as much as you can. This exam demands consistency, revision, and your dedication. Apart from it, develop regular newspaper reading habit.”

FUTURE AIM

She still harbours the dream of cracking UPSC CSE after a better preparation. But, till then, as a SDM, she hopes to provide service to the public, which is aligned with the basic principle that the government has chosen them to serve the common people. “I will always strive to be honest in my duty for the sake of my people,” she concluded.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
indian-navy Power
Massive Naval Expansion on Horizon: India Plans 17 Warships, 9 Submarines in ₹2.4 Lakh Cr Upgrade
India oil and gas exploration reforms
India Launches Major Reforms in Oil & Gas Exploration Ahead of OALP Round X: Minister Puri Invites Feedback on New Rules
RailTel Corporation of India Limited 2
RailTel Secures Rs96.99 Crore Smart Warehousing Contract from Central Warehousing Corporation
NTPC_Vindhyachal_organised_Mega_Mass_Pep_Talk
"Safety is Power: NTPC Vindhyachal Ignites Workforce Spirit with Mega Mass Pep Talk"- Details Inside
G S Roshni
Kerala’s Fearless Forest Officer G.S. Roshni Rescues 16-Foot King Cobra with Bare Hands, Garners Praise & Critique
IAS Officers Indian Administrative Services (IAS)
Haryana Govt Moves for Forced Retirement of IAS Officer Rani Nagar After Prolonged Absence
moil india
MOIL Ltd Bags Prestigious IBM 5-Star Rating Award for Excellence in Responsible Mining
One Nation One Election
Former CJIs Endorse 'One Nation, One Election' but Flag Concerns Over EC's Powers
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-07 at 3.15
The Martial Artist IRS Officer Who Conquered North East India on a Cycle
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-03 at 13.33
IRS Sanjay Bahadur: The Officer With a Pen That Bites | Video Interview
Inderjit Singh Air India
Is Air India Carrying The Burden of Split Before Privatisation?
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Sushmitha and Ishwarya Ramanathan
Their Home Was Washed Away — Sushmitha & Ishwarya Built a Legacy Instead
Sushmitha and Ishwarya lost their home to the 2004 tsunami. But with books, belief, and each other, they...
IAS SHWETA BHARTI Bihar
From Wipro to Civil Services: How Bihar's IAS Shweta Bharti Juggled a BPSC Job While Preparing for UPSC
IAS Shweta Bharti, from rural Bihar, balanced a full-time job and UPSC prep with discipline, cracked...
IPS Deepak Meghani
Deepak Meghani, IPS: A Journey of Focus, Failure, and Quiet Discipline
A passionate writer, he has authored several books in Gujarati, ranging from exam strategy guides to...
Social Media
G S Roshni
Kerala’s Fearless Forest Officer G.S. Roshni Rescues 16-Foot King Cobra with Bare Hands, Garners Praise & Critique
Beat Forest Officer G.S. Roshni’s first-ever king cobra rescue goes viral, earning her the title of ‘Green...
Kaziranga Baby Elephant
Chotu the Baby Elephant Reunited with Mother in Kaziranga: Retired IFS Officer’s Post Goes Viral
A baby elephant's emotional reunion with its mother in Kaziranga, shared by retired IFS officer Susanta...
PV Sindhu
PV Sindhu’s Visit to NADT Turns into a Wholesome Tribute to Legacy—and ‘Moolchandj
The Olympic champion shared nostalgic memories, met aspiring IRS officers, and sparked viral laughter...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
indian-navy Power
Massive Naval Expansion on Horizon: India Plans 17 Warships, 9 Submarines in ₹2.4 Lakh Cr Upgrade
India oil and gas exploration reforms
India Launches Major Reforms in Oil & Gas Exploration Ahead of OALP Round X: Minister Puri Invites Feedback on New Rules
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-07 at 3.15
WhatsApp Image 2025-07-03 at 13.33
Inderjit Singh Air India
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT