Who is Shakti Dubey? How did she clear UPSC Civil Service examination after 5 attempts?
The UPSC stated that about 28% of all recommended candidates were women, adding that in the top five candidates, three were women, at the ranks of 1, 2, and 4, and 11 candidates were women out of top 25 rank-holders.
Shakti Dubey hails from Naini, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. She had graduated from the University of Allahabad and the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) prior to beginning her preparation for the civil services examination around 2018. She secured first rank in CSE 2024. Her subject included Biochemistry at the undergraduate level. She passed the CSE with the optional subject of Political Science and International Relations.
She initially thought to become a doctor.
'I was a PCB (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) student in school, but based on my rank, I was allotted a seat in dental. I wasn't interested in that path, so I chose to pursue a BSc instead,' Indian Express quoted Dubey as saying. 'I couldn't even clear the prelims in my first three tries. In the fourth attempt, I made it to the interview stage but fell short. And last year, I missed the cut-off by just 12 marks. That was the lowest point in my life—I genuinely thought about quitting,' she added.
'I'm going to sleep peacefully tonight. For years, jo neend puri nahi hui, aaj usko pura karungi (Today, I'll make up for the years of lost sleep)," Dubey mentioned.
"Shakti studied till Class 12 at the SMC Ghoorpur, just nearby, and later topped the B.Sc exam from the University of Allahabad," her father, Devendra Dubey, a sub-inspector in the Uttar Pradesh Police said. "After graduation, she pursued M.Sc from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where she also topped. Though we initially sent her to Delhi for coaching, the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to return home and she continued her preparations on her own," he added.
UPSC CSE Interview took place between January 7 to April 17, 2025. After Dubey, the list of five toppers consisted of Harshita Goyal, Dongre Archit Parag , Shah Margi Chirag, and Akash Garg.
First Published: 24 Apr 2025, 08:43 AM IST
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
7 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Tourism on upward path': Goa minister slams ‘social media influencers' over ‘false narratives'
Goa minister Rohan Khaunte slammed 'social media influencers', alleging that they take money to create false narratives about a decline in the state's tourism. He countered their claims with official data that shows Goa's "strong upward trajectory". Goa's tourism is on a strong upward trajectory, supported by robust efforts and initiatives undertaken by both the state and Central governments, the minister said. (Unsplash) Addressing the Parliament during the ongoing Monsoon session, Khaunte said that the government has "nothing to hide as data speaks for itself". He dared the influencers to show proof of the 'decline' they are making claims about. He spoke about the reports of a decline in tourists to the coastal state. He said, "They (influencers) take money to create noise and circulate false narratives. But when we presented official data, none of them countered it. If there is a decline, show proof. We have nothing to hide, data speaks for itself." "There is a rise in tourist arrivals. Goa's tourism is on a strong upward trajectory, supported by robust efforts and initiatives undertaken by both the state and Central governments. Flights arriving in Goa and the hotels in the state are almost full with tourists," PTI news agency quoted the minister as saying. 'Increased flight arrivals, hotels mostly full' Citing official data, the Goa tourism minister said that between January and June this year, Goa recorded more than 57 lakh (57,12,758 precisely) tourist arrivals. Of these, over 34 lakh domestic arrivals were via Vasco's Goa Dabolim International Airport, and more than 22 lakh were through the Manohar International Airport at Mopa. There were a total of 3,23,835 international arrivals, with over 1 lakh via the Dabolim airport and over 2 lakh through Manohar airport. Khaunte said that in the past six months alone, Dabolim and Mopa airports have witnessed a huge number of arrivals. Additionally, hotels have also remained occupied between 70 and 100 per cent throughout the year. The state minister presented a comparative analysis, showing pre-pandemic numbers to illustrate Goa's remarkable recovery in tourism. "In 2019, Goa recorded 71,27,287 domestic and 9,37,113 international tourists, totalling 80,64,400. In 2024, the number surged to 99,41,285 domestic and 4,67,911 international tourists, totalling 1,04,09,196," he said. Khaunte went on to add, "This reflects a 39.48 per cent growth in domestic tourism compared to pre Covid-19 levels and a 50 per cent recovery in international tourism. Goa has bounced back stronger than ever. These numbers clearly show that tourism is thriving." Further, Goa has also tapped into new markets for tourism, with flights and international promotions for countries like Poland, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan driving the connections. "Goa is now linked to several parts of the world. Efforts like roadshows and marketing campaigns have opened up previously untapped tourist segments," the state tourism minister said in the assembly.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘So-called influencers sitting outside state, paid to create false narratives': Goa tourism minister
Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte on Thursday slammed 'paid' social media influencers, claiming that they were spreading false narratives about tourism footfall in the state. Speaking during the ongoing legislative assembly session, Khaunte said there has been a continuous rise in tourist arrivals in Goa. 'There is no decline in tourism,' the Minister told The House. During the Question Hour, BJP MLA Michael Lobo asked 'whether the minister is aware of the decline in tourist footfall, especially the international tourists' visiting the state and questioned the methodology to calculate the data of tourist arrivals. 'Goa is not being treated as a favoured destination by some European tourists. The tourists from Europe want to come to Goa, but they want a visa-on-arrival facility. Will this happen? Visa-on-arrival will be a game-changer,' he said. Lobo, who represents Calangute constituency, also called for measures to address issues related to illegal touting, taxis and garbage disposal in the coastal belt. Rejecting Lobo's claims, Khaunte said Goa's tourism is on a 'strong upward trajectory' due to efforts and initiatives undertaken by the state and central governments. 'Flights and hotels are almost full. We (Goans) can see the growth happening. In the past six months, both airports have seen consistently high footfalls, and hotel occupancy has remained between 70 and 100 per cent all year-round,' he said. 'Many of these so-called influencers are sitting outside the state and are getting paid to create noise and circulate false narratives. But when we presented the official data, none of them countered it. If there is a decline, show the proof. We have nothing to hide… the data speaks for itself,' he said. Khaunte said Goa recorded 71.27 lakh domestic and 9.37 lakh international tourists in 2019, and in 2024, the footfall surged to 99. 41 lakh domestic and 4.67 lakh international tourists. 'This reflects a 39 per cent growth in domestic tourism compared to pre-Covid levels and a 50 per cent recovery in international tourism. These numbers clearly show that tourism is thriving,' he said. According to the data tabled by the minister in the House, between January and June 2025, 51.83 lakh domestic tourists and 2.71 lakh foreign tourists have visited Goa. A total of 1.04 crore tourists visited the state in 2024, higher than in 2023 when 86.28 lakh tourists visited. As per the data, 99.41 lakh domestic tourists visited Goa in 2024 as compared to 81.75 lakh tourists in 2023, while the number of foreign tourists rose from 4.52 lakh in 2023 to 4.67 lakh in 2024. In 2020, when the pandemic hit, 26.71 lakh domestic tourists and 3 lakh foreign tourists visited Goa. In 2021, during the second wave, only 22,128 foreign tourists and 33.08 lakh domestic tourists visited Goa. In 2022, the numbers rose to 1.69 lakh foreign tourists and 70.18 lakh domestic tourists. The Minister said Goa's post-Covid recovery has outpaced other states, and called on Goans to 'participate in building a positive narrative.' Acknowledging that the state has challenges 'like every other tourist destination', Khaunte reiterated the state's request to the Centre to facilitate a visa-on-arrival facility. 'The e-visa programme has been incorporated for over 170 countries. The visa-on-arrival facility is currently restricted to a select group of four countries, including Japan, South Korea, UAE and Russia, and is operational only at six designated metro airports. We have raised this matter with the Union Civil Aviation Minister and are planning to take it up with the Home Minister as well. We have also corresponded with the Ministry of External Affairs and are pursuing the matter to ensure that Goa is included as a visa-on-arrival airport,' he said. The Minister said that Goa has tapped into emerging markets such as Poland, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, 'which previously had limited or no direct tourism linkage with the state'. 'This growth is attributed to targeted international roadshows and sustained global destination promotion, which have expanded Goa's reach and visibility across new geographies,' he said. In the written reply on tourists' arrivals, the Minister said the tourism department compiles the data from source agencies through different modes – flights, railways, seaport and roadways.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Jal Jeevan Mission guidelines changes in 2022 were due to requests from states, minister V Somanna tells Lok Sabha
Minister of State for Jal Shakti V Somanna said Thursday that Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) operational guidelines were changed after considering requests from various states seeking Central support for meeting additional costs of raw materials increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine crisis. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Somanna said, 'Considering the requests from various states seeking central support for meeting additional cost of raw materials increased due to Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine crisis, requisite amendments were made in operational guidelines of the mission with effect from 21.06.2022 for sustaining the pace of implementation during mission period.' Somanna's reply came in response to a question asked by Samajwadi Party (SP) member Anand Bhadauriya, who wanted to know 'whether the change in the tender rules under the JJM, which were removed a few years ago, has led to huge additional cost amounting to crores of rupees across the states'. The government's reply to questions regarding the change in operational guidelines, which resulted in an increase in cost, is significant in view of concerns in some government sections that the cost of JJM works was inflated in certain states. On May 21, The Indian Express reported that an investigation into the data uploaded by states and Union Territories on the JMM dashboard showed that the crucial changes in the JJM guidelines three years ago had lifted the check on expenditure, leading to cost escalations. This resulted in additional costs totalling Rs 16,839 crore for 14,586 schemes, an increase of 14.58 per cent from their estimated cost. At the time of the revision of the guidelines in June 2022, Gajendra Sigh Shekhawat was heading the Jal Shakti Ministry. The payment of tender premium was prohibited in the original JJM guidelines issued in 2019. However, two-and-a-half years later, the Jal Shakti Ministry, with the approval of 'competent authority', made a crucial change in these guidelines on June 21, 2022. The ministry defined the 'approved cost' and deleted two words 'tender premium' from the suggestive list of inadmissible expenses. This paved the way for payment of tender premiums. Earlier this month, Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil stated that the Centre has halted the payment of tender premiums under the rural tap water scheme. Tender premiums refer to the additional amount a bidder quotes, which is higher than the government's approved cost. Responding to a question at the Idea Exchange programme of The Indian Express, Patil said, 'Tender premium ka bhugtan humne rok diya hai. Jo thha, jo gaya hoga woh alag baat hai, magar jo naya hai usse poori tarah hamne rok diya hai (We have stopped the payment of tender premium. What was there, what has gone is a different matter, but what is new has been completely stopped).' In a written response to a question posed by Congress member Praniti Shinde, Somanna stated that a proposal to continue the JJM until 2028 with an enhanced total outlay is under consideration by the government. Shined had asked 'whether the Government has sought an additional 2.79 lakh crore for the completion of the mission' and whether the 'Expenditure Secretary-led panel has approved only a part of the requested amount and proposed a 46% cut in central funding support upto December 2028'. In reply to Shinde's question, Somanna said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her Budget speech 2025-26, announced extension of Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028 with 'enhanced total outlay'. 'Accordingly, a proposal for continuation of Jal Jeevan Mission until 2028 with enhanced total outlay is under consideration of the Government,' Somanna said. Since the launch of the JJM in 2019, 6.4 lakh water supply schemes with a total estimated cost of Rs 8.29 lakh crore – more than double the scheme's original outlay of Rs 3.60 lakh crore (Centre: Rs 2.08 lakh crore, states: 1.52 lakh crore) – have been approved by the states. To meet the additional funding requirement, the ministry approached the Expenditure Finance Committee, headed by the Expenditure Secretary, to approve an additional Rs 2.79 lakh crore in Central funding over and above the existing Rs 2.08 lakh crore. But the EFC recommended only Rs 1.51 lakh crore as the Central share, 46 per cent lower than what was sought by the ministry, as reported by The Indian Express on April 21. Like the Lok Sabha, members of the Rajya Sabha have also raised questions about the increase in the JJM cost due to the change in guidelines in 2022. On July 21, SP members Javed Ali Khan and Ramji Lal Suman asked the Jal Shakti minister about a change in the JJM guidelines and an increase in the cost.
