She failed UPSC twice, quit her job amid marriage pressure, then she made it to IAS

For Nidhi Siwach, the road to the Indian Administrative Service did not begin with a coaching classroom. It began with a mechanical engineering degree, a corporate job and an interest in the armed forces.A graduate of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, Siwach joined Tech Mahindra in Hyderabad as a Design Engineer after completing her BTech. She had also explored a career in the armed forces, clearing the written AFCAT exam and appearing for the Services Selection Board interview before turning her focus to the civil services.But the UPSC journey did not go as planned immediately.TWO FAILURES CHANGED THE PLANSiwach appeared for the Civil Services Examination twice but could not clear it. At the same time, she was under increasing family pressure to get married. She decided that another serious UPSC attempt would require her to step away from her job. She left her Tech Mahindra position in 2017 and returned home to prepare full-time. (Photo: Nidhi Siwach/LinkedIn/AI-edited) She also changed the way she prepared. She had not used coaching in her earlier attempts and continued with self-study for the third attempt. The focus this time was on completing the syllabus, practising answers and understanding where she had gone wrong.SHE CHANGED HER APPROACH FOR THE FINAL ATTEMPT AND SUCCEEDED Siwach’s academic background was in Mechanical Engineering, but when it came to the UPSC examination, she chose History as her optional subject for the 2018 attempt.Her preparation was largely based on self-study. She worked with NCERT textbooks, NIOS material and standard history books, while also using previous years’ question papers to understand the pattern of the examination.She also put greater emphasis on answer writing during her Mains preparation. Her preparation included practice tests for General Studies and History, along with self-made notes for revision.The strategy was simple: understand the syllabus, identify what had gone wrong in the earlier attempts and spend more time practising rather than constantly adding new study material. This helped her work on answer structure, speed and presentation before the Mains examination.The final attempt brought a major change in the outcome. In the 2018 Civil Services Examination, Siwach secured All India Rank 83 and went on to join the Indian Administrative Service.Siwach is an IAS officer of the 2019 batch of the Gujarat cadre. She is currently serving as Deputy Municipal Commissioner at the Surat Municipal Corporation, a position she has held since January 1, 2026.- Ends