This dentist-turned-IFS officer cracked UPSC in 3rd attempt, secured AIR...

UPSC is one of the toughest recruitment exams in the world. Every year lakhs of students appear for the UPSC Civil Services exams but only a handful get the chance to crack the exam.  Most aspirants take multiple attempts to crack the exam. One such example is Dr Apala Mishra who cracked the UPSC exam and secured an All India Rank (AIR) 9 in 2020. 

Apala Mishra hails from Uttar Pradesh, Ghaziabad. She was born to her father Amitabh Mishra, who is a retired Colonel from the Army and her Mother Dr Alpana Mishra, a professor at Delhi University.  Apala Mishra, before appearing for the UPSC CS exam graduated in BDS from Army College but left her practice to prepare for the UPSC exam. 

Apala Mishra appeared for the UPSC three times and cracked the exam in the third attempt. On her first attempt in 2018, she could not even crack the preliminary exam. However, on her third attempt, she cracked the exam and secured top rank. 

Read: Meet IIT alumna, who suffered family loss during UPSC preparation, bagged AIR 14 in second attempt

Not only did Dr Apala Mishra crack the UPSC exam, but she even secured the highest marks in her batch in the interview round. Mishra got a 215 out of 275 marks. Dr Apala Mishra is now serving as an Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer.