Meet doctor who left practice to crack UPSC with AIR 9, got highest marks in interview, but didn’t become IAS because...

Medical and UPSC are considered two of the most reputed careers in India, and millions of youth aspire to become a part of them, but only rare people get the chance to do so.

However, some extraordinary people are able to become both a doctor and IFS in their lifetime. One such inspiring story is of IFS Apala Mishra who left medical practice to crack UPSC. 

Belonging to Ghaziabad, Apala’s father is a retired Colonel in the army and her brother is a Major. Her mother Dr Alpana Mishra is a professor at Delhi University.

Since a young age, she has been bright in her studies. Thereafter, she completed a Bachelor's in Dental Surgery (BDS) degree from Army College. However, she nurtured a passion to become an IAS officer. Hence, after completing her studies, she started her preparations. 

She gave UPSC exam in 2018 for the first time but could not pass the preliminary exam even. However, she appeared again in 2019 but even then couldn’t get through.

Despite numerous setbacks, Mishra was determined to crack this time, and her unwavering hardwork bore fruit in her third attempt in 2020 as she finally cleared the exam and became an IFS officer, as this was her first choice. She cleared it with a top rank of AIR 9. She secured 215 out of 275 marks in UPSC Interview, thus becoming the highest scorer in five years. While talking her preparation strategy, she asserted that she studied for 7-8 hours.