Meet IAS officer who was once mocked for not speaking English, left job at Ratan Tata's TCS, cracked UPSC exam, secured AIR..., she is...

The UPSC Civil Services Examination is considered one of the toughest competitive exams in the country, with only a handful of aspirants succeeding to become IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS officers. To crack the exam, one has to be extremely dedicated, hardworking and resilient. In this article, we are sharing the inspiring story of a woman who was once mocked for her poor English skills but went on to become an IAS officer — Surabhi Gautam.

Surabhi Gautam belongs to Amdara village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. She completed her schooling in Hindi medium in her village and ranked in the state merit list for both her 10th and 12th board exams. Coming from a rural, Hindi-speaking background, Surabhi faced many challenges.

Her father is a lawyer at the Maihar Court, and her mother, Dr. Sushila Gautam, is a high school teacher. During her school years, Surabhi battled rheumatic fever, which required her to travel 150 km to Jabalpur every 15 days for treatment with her parents.

Struggle With English Language

Surabhi later pursued a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from a college in Bhopal. Initially, she struggled with English, which led many people to mock her. Determined to overcome this hurdle, Surabhi began speaking to herself in English and made it a goal to learn at least 10 new English words daily.

She listened to English phrases and vocabulary wherever she could and practiced consistently. Her hard work paid off — she topped her first semester and was awarded the Chancellor's Award.

From TCS to Civil Services

After completing her engineering degree, Surabhi was placed with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) through campus recruitment. But her childhood dream was to become a civil servant.

She appeared for multiple competitive exams and was selected for several prestigious institutions, including ISRO, BARC, GTE, MPPSC, SAIL, FCI, SSC and Delhi Police. In 2013, she secured the top rank in the IFS (Indian Forest Services) exam at the All India level, but she was still not content. Her ultimate goal was to become an IAS officer.

Finally, in 2016, Surabhi appeared for the UPSC Civil Services Examination and successfully became an IAS officer by securing All India Rank of 50.