18 October 2026
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Three Failures Couldn’t Take Her Focus Away from Her IAS Goal

Namami Bansal, who secured AIR 17 in CSE 2017, did not have it easy on her UPSC journey. She failed to qualify three times despite preparing hard for the exam. But she remained focused on her IAS goal, kept working hard, and finally achieved it in style by coming in the top 20. By Neha Nimisha
Indian Masterminds Stories

It is said that if you want to achieve success in life, you must stay focused on your goal and not let anything distract or deter you from the path that leads to it. 2017-batch IAS officer Namami Bansal’s success story proves it yet again how important it is to stay focused come what may. She was always good in her studies and passed with good grades in every class because she always stayed focused on her studies. Similarly, when she made up her mind for Civil Services, despite failing thrice, she did not lose heart and kept on moving on that road focusing only on the finishing line, and came in top 20, bagging the 17th rank in her fourth attempt at CSE.

Today, Indian Masterminds presents her story of grit, determination, and persistence that made her achieve her IAS goal.

ALWAYS A GOOD STUDENT

Ms. Bansal hails from Rishikesh where she pursued her early schooling.She did her primary level to intermediate from NDS Gumaniwala, where she brought laurels by securing 92.4% marks in class 10th and 94.8% in intermediate. Then she went to Delhi and graduated in Economics honours from Lady Shri Ram College. She was a bright student and always secured good marks in her school and college.

UNIVERSITY TOPPER

She did her MA in Economics from Open University, Haldwani, where she was the topper and received a gold medal from the Governor in 2017. She did not take any kind of coaching and cleared this exam by preparing for the subjects with the Internet help.

LEARNED FROM EVERY FAILURE

Despite three failures in her UPSC journey, she didn’t lose courage and hope, and ultimately cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) in her fourth attempt securing the 17th rank. She had started preparing for UPSC in the year 2014 itself. In her first three attempts, she could not clear all the phases. But three failures in a row could not dampen her spirits and she continued with her hard work remaining focused on her studies and goal. Finally, all this paid off and she made it to the successful candidates list in the year 2017 in style, coming in the top 20 with AIR 17.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRANTS

Looking at her own UPSC journey, she advices aspirants not to let failures overwhelm them at any point of time. She has proved that with perseverance, determination and hard work, no goal is unachievable.

She says: “Success cannot come to you.You have to work hard in order to achieve it. Never stop doing hard work in any situation. Failure will never overtake you if you are determined to work towards your dream. Always stay positive, believe in yourself, and only then start preparing for your exam every day.”


Indian Masterminds Stories
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