Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
The journey of IAS officer Priya Rani reflects these words. From leaving a promising corporate career to pursue her dream of joining the civil services, and from securing AIR 284 in her first attempt to improving her rank to AIR 69, Priya’s story is one of perseverance, courage, and unwavering determination to achieve her goal.
Academic qualifications
A 2024-batch IAS officer, Priya Rani, was born into a farmer’s family. Her father is a farmer, while her mother is a homemaker. Despite coming from a modest background, Priya was academically inclined and pursued a B.Techin Electrical and Electronics Engineering at the Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Ranchi.
A corporate employee
After completing her engineering degree, Priya secured a job with a multinational company in Bengaluru. While the job offered her a stable and promising career, she had a bigger dream — to become a civil servant. Determined to pursue it, she took the difficult decision to leave her corporate job and moved to Delhi to prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
Her first success came in 2021, when Priya appeared for the civil services examination and secured an impressive AIR 284. She was selected for the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES). However, getting selected for a government service did not make her give up on her ultimate goal of becoming an IAS officer.
Instead, Priya chose to try again.
Secured AIR 69 in second attempt
Her persistence eventually paid off. In the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2023, she not only cleared the examination again but also significantly improved her performance, securing AIR 69. She was subsequently allotted the Bihar cadre.
Today, Priya Rani is serving as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Sasaram in Bihar’s Rohtas district, marking the beginning of her journey as an administrator.
As Sasaram SDM, Priya has said that the concerns of people approaching her office would be heard with sensitivity. Improving administrative transparency, maintaining law and order, and ensuring the effective implementation of government schemes are among her priorities.
Priya could have continued with her corporate career after securing a good job in Bengaluru. She could also have settled for the IDES after securing AIR 284. Instead, she kept her eyes on the larger goal and continued her preparation until she achieved it.
For thousands of UPSC aspirants who face setbacks during their preparation, Priya Rani’s journey carries a simple message: a setback does not have to be the end of the journey. With persistence, determination and the courage to keep going, the goal can still be within reach.
