IAS Isha Duhan Biography: The Story of a Determined and Hard Working Officer

Reading stories about great leaders not only inspires us but also teaches us how to tackle things in tough circumstances, how to deal with life when it’s testing us and how to achieve our ambitions under those difficult situations. Life is unpredictable, we never know what is going to happen in future, yet we just prepare ourselves for tomorrow having that faith and believe in God.

Sometimes what we plan doesn’t happen the same. Sometimes something unexpected just happens around us and we remain surprised. And, this is what life is. It teaches us many aspects specifically in tough circumstances.

In school, we make up our minds to achieve a certain goal. Later when we grow up we might change our objective. Some people have a desire to achieve something from childhood. Such people have a very strong motive and determination to accomplish their ambitions.

In this article, we shall learn about a great leader IAS Isha Duhan, a prominent and prosperous leader who smashed the UPSC examination with flying colours in just the first attempt. Let’s have a view of her motivational journey of success.

IAS Isha Duhan Biography

Isha Duhan, a nominee who cracked the UPSC CSE in just the first attempt, was a motivated and focused student since her childhood. His father always used to encourage her and support her to achieve her desires. She made up her mind to give the Civil Services Examination when she was in 8th standard. She always had interest and enthusiasm about serving her country with all commitment.

She was great at her studies and wanted to pursue a professional course. After school, she opted for the non-medical field and pursued a Bachelor in Technology in Biotechnology from Thapar Institution of Engineering and Technology (TIET ) in Patiala. She lived in a hostel with many other pupils and worked hard to accomplish her goals.

Also Read: IAS Pradeep Singh Biography: Have a Look at the Journey of UPSC IAS Topper 2019

Isha Duhan UPSC Journey

Isha started her UPSC CSE preparation during her last year of graduation. She faced many difficulties while starting her preparation as there was no such culture of IAS in Patiala. There were no coaching centres and someone who could guide her to prepare for the UPSC examination.

After encountering tough situations she found a very old teacher who would help her prepare for the examination. She used to wake up early in the morning around 4:30 AM along with a few students and get ready for the classes which used to begin at 5:30 AM. There were no transport facilities in the early morning.

Isha along with a few students managed to hire a rickshaw and go to the teacher, who trained them to educate for the IAS examination. It was a very tough time for Isha, getting up early in the morning and going for CSE training and then her college from 8 AM to 5 PM.

More in-depth

Since 75% of attendance was mandatory in her university, it became very difficult for Isha to manage both tasks simultaneously. Many students gave up and left the morning training but Isha didn’t.

She continued her classes for two to three months and until she thought it was becoming very difficult for her to focus on both jobs constantly.

She decided to stick to the newspaper until she finishes her graduation. She used to read the newspaper every day and stay updated about the current affairs which kept her in continuous touch with the CSE preparation.

She was consistent about her goal from the beginning. She managed to pass her final year in B.tech with a reasonable score. After then she was more focused on preparing for the UPSC.

In 2012, after obtaining the b.tech degree, Isha moved to Rajendra Nagar in Delhi for her UPSC preparation. Although she had a self-study plan, she required the culture and surroundings of UPSC preparation, and Delhi was the spot that had a lot of scholars around which helped her have a good atmosphere for the CSE preparation.

Isha Duhan UPSC Rank

Isha was ranked all India 59th in the UPSC examination 2014, which was completely unbelievable and shocking for her. Candidates take three to four years to clear the CSE exam while Isha managed to get a double-digit rank in just her first attempt.

Optional Subject

Her optional subjects were geography, as she was interested in it from her school and the other was public administration. The year when she appeared for the examination there was a slight change in the pattern. The subject ethics was added in paper 4, world history was introduced and one of the optional subjects was dropped.

She already started preparing for the optional subjects and then general studies, when she heard about the pattern, which has been changed, which made her realise that we need to be adjustable in life and stay updated about everything or else we end up being at the last.

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Journey of IAS

She appeared for the prelims examination in May 2013, and the Mains examination in December 2013. The mains was a little late because of the pattern being changed which was an advantage for her to prepare well in the extra time provided.

After the mains examination, her interview was fixed on 1st May 2014. It took a full year to complete the process of the UPSC examination. Results were out in June 2014. She was ranked 59th in India. Her mark sheet and rank was an incredible record.

People take three to four years to obtain such a rank while Isha had a small yet remarkable journey in the UPSC CSE 2014.

IAS Isha Duhan Strategy

Isha’s strategy was consistent from the beginning. She never had a backup plan or thought of not clearing the examination. She had a strong belief and willpower to achieve her desire. In one of the interviews, she stated a quote that was inspired by her father.

“You need positive stress to keep you motivated”

She also added that stress is not bad for you until it’s a negative one. Take positive stress and then let it keep you determined towards your goal.

Isha before starting her preparation just focused on the syllabus. Usually, candidates focus on learning and forget what is going to be asked in the exam.

Knowing the syllabus in depth is a very essential aspect for scoring well. Isha always believed in self-study schemes. She made a plan of her comfort and was consistent.

Current Posting

Isha Duhan ranked 59th in IAS 2014-Batch has been transported and elected as vice president of Varanasi Development Authority.

Preparation Tips by Isha Duhan

Below are a few tips for the aspirants by the prominent leader IAS Isha Duhan. Read it till the end to know the incredible preparation strategy inspired by the prosperous officer.

# Be consistent about your goal. Decide on one objective and just stick to it. Don’t get confused about your purpose. Do what you love and enjoy achieving it. Don’t do something forcefully or just others are doing.

# Know your strategy. No one will help know your power. You need to identify your skill and understand what will assist you to prepare well for the exam. If you are a night person then make a plan to study at night. If you are comfortable studying in the morning time then wake up early and work hard. Stick to just one strategy and that will enable you to stay motivated towards your goal.

# Don’t get pressurised. There will be many people who will say you can’t achieve your goal and discourage you. You have to ignore them and just believe in your strategy. Never think that if you fail what will be the other plan. This will not demotivate you but also disturb you while preparing for the examination.

Some More Tips

# Know the syllabus thoroughly. Before starting with your preparation, it is significant to learn the syllabus well. You can understand everything that needs to be covered while preparing for the exam but if you don’t know what is going to be asked, then what’s the use of working so hard? First, understand what will be asked in the examination. The pattern of questions, check out the previous papers and study accordingly.

# Physical health and mental health are equally important for you to prepare well for the exam. Candidates usually study late at night before the exam and end up not getting proper sleep. It is very significant to have good mental health that will keep your mind fresh and motivated.

Also Read: Motivational Quotes For UPSC Aspirants: A List of Inspirational Quotes Along With their Meanings

A Few More

# Don’t count the hours you study instead count the topics you covered. Every student is different, few students grab the topic easily while others acquire more time. Few students get perfect in one revision, while others require 3 to 4 revisions. Understand how much time you will require to cover a topic and make the plan accordingly. Don’t worry about the quantity, instead focus on the quality.

# Focus on those subjects whose weightage is more. Don’t waste your time on subjects you don’t get asked many questions in the exam. Concentrate on the one whose weightage is more. Review the last year papers thoroughly and understand how the questions are asked from which topics and the pattern of asking. This can benefit to prepare smartly without acquiring much time.

Conclusion

Believing that the above article was valuable to you to learn about the IAS Isha Duhan. Her journey in UPSC, rank, optional subject, strategy, current posting and mark sheet. There are many such stories of great leaders that inspire us in several aspects.

If you wish to read more about such inspiring stories of successful leaders then visit the website UPSC Pathshala for great guidance and motivational articles for the aspirants. If you have any issues do let us know in the comment section below.