About Shalini Duhan upsc topper, Shalini Duhan IAS Topper Interview, Shalini Duhan marks, Books for UPSC preparation, Strategy by UPSC topper Shalini Duhan, Strategy to crack UPSC Examination, Success story of UPSC topper
The Motivational Journey of Shalini Duhan: 2015 UPSC Topper, AIR 21
UPSC is a dream career for many young aspirants. Every year there is a huge number of candidates who sit for the exam of UPSC. But there are few candidates whose hard work paid off. You have to do hard work in order to clear the exam. You do not need any other support rather than your hard work and dedication.
IAS officer is a prestigious job in our country. But to become an IAS officer is also not easy, you have to suffer from a lot to achieve your dream career. You have to be dedicated throughout your preparation.
So, in this article, we are going to discuss another inspirational story for all the young aspirant who needs guidance. Shalini Duhan is another example of a dedication and intelligence. She made her family proud by her achievement. She got 21st rank all over India and become a national topper.
So, let’s begin with her story and strategy.
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About Shalini Duhan
Name: Shalini Duhan
Father’s Name: Sumer Singh Duhan
Brother’s Name: Alekh Duhan
Age: 25
Hometown: Haryana
Residence: Shaharmalpur
Rank: AIR 21
Year: CSE 2015
Optional Subject: Public Administration
Optional Code: 44
Category: General
Service Allotted: IAS
Exams Cleared: SSC & UPSC
Nationality: Indian
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Early Life
Shalini belongs to a small place of Haryana. She used to live in Shaharmalpur Village. She has secured 21st rank in UPSC CSE while her brother also cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination by securing the 483rd rank. Both the children made their parents proud by clearing one of the toughest examinations.
On her achievement, she said, “I wanted to show that a girl from a middle-class family of Haryana, which was known for its skewed sex ratio, can also make her family and state proud if given the right atmosphere.”
Her struggle is not only the motivation to others but also motivated his brother to prepare for CSE. She said, “We prepared together and my experience helped my brother clear the exam.”
Shalini’s father is posted in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Her father always supported the decision of their children. Her mother is a teacher at a government school at Machroli Village. Her brother is a Mechanical Engineer from Delhi College of Engineering.
While her brother gets inspired by her so, in one of his interviews he quoted that “My sister has been my role model & her success has motivated me & I am preparing to appear in Civil Services Examination 2016 again.”
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Educational Qualification
As Shalini used to live in a small town so, she completed her initial schooling from the school at Shahrmalpur Village. After that, she shifted to a premier school in Gannaur, Sonepat.
After completing her schooling she decided to study biomedical sciences. She studied biomedical science at Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology at Murthal.
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Marks of Shalini Duhan
She has secured 967 marks & got 21st rank & made her family proud by her achievement. Her marks are given below.
Compulsory/ Mandatory Subjects
Essay: 130
General Studies 1: 112
General Studies 2: 92
General Studies 3: 114
General Studies 4: 114
Optional Papers
Optional Paper 1: 103
Optional Paper 2: 120
Written Total: 785
Personality Test/ Interview: 182
Total Marks: 967
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Struggle
As struggle is the hard work you do to achieve your dreams. Same happens with the Shalini. She had worked a lot to become an IAS officer. After completing her studies she moved to Delhi for the preparation of SSC. She prepared for SSC & got selected as an excise duty officer.
When she got selected in SSC, she realized her strengths. So she thought to prepare for UPSC. Then she started searching for the optional subject & she found public administration as the suitable subject for her.
She first attempted the UPSC CSE in 2013 & at first, she was able to clear the exam with 190th rank. After getting 190th rank she got selected in IRS (Indian Revenue Services). But she was not satisfied with her first attempt, so decided that she will give one more attempt. And in 2014 she gave her second attempt & improved her rank by getting 100th rank from 190th rank. This time she becomes an IPS officer.
She was happy that she will call an IPS officer from now, but she wanted to become an IAS officer that’s why she thought to give one more attempt to achieve her dreams. In 2015 she appeared in UPSC CSE this time her initial target is IAS officer. By her hard work in 2015, she got selected as an IAS officer by getting all India rank of 21. She made her parents proud of her achievement.
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Reference Books/ Materials
The books or reference material which Shalini used to read during her preparation is given below.
- History Ancient: NCERT
- History Medieval: NCERT
- History Modern (Freedom Struggle): NCERT Modern India, Bipin Chandra
- Culture Society: Nitin Singhania, NCERT- Art
- Polity (Theory + Current): Laxmikanth, Sriram Material
- Economy (Theory + Current): Economy Survey, Sriram Booklet, NCERT
- Science (Theory + Current): Class Notes, Current Affairs Booklet
- Environment (Theory + Current): Vajiram Booklet on Environment, Shankar Booklet
- Geography: NCERT, Class Notes, G.C. Leong
- Geography: NCERT
- Geography: NCERT
- Other National/ International Current Affairs: Newspapers, Vajiram & Vision IAS Current Affairs Booklets, IDSA, Yojana & Frontline Selected Articles
- Scheme, Policy & Filler: Newspapers, Vajiram & Vision IAS Current Affairs Booklets, IDSA, Yojana & Frontline Selected Articles
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Essay Preparation & Writing Strategy
We all know the importance of essays in UPSC Civil Services Examination. So to fetch marks in the essay is very important. You need two things to fetch marks in this area:
Knowledge: You should have the deep knowledge of the topic of the article. The only way to gain knowledge is to read all the material for Mains Preparation. This will help you to get to know more about everyday topics. So, if you prepare thoroughly this will be easy for you.
Writing Skills: There is also no need to tell all of you the importance of your writing skills in CSE. For this, you have to start practicing essays on the recent or trending topics before the day of the exam. After writing each essay, try to gather the feedback of other people & work on that. This will let you know where your stands in the terms of your writing skills.
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If you have any doubt or need guidance you can comment below, our team will try to answer it.