Meet Poonam Dalal - the Supermom who Cleared UPSC CSE

At an age and time of life when most women would have abandoned hopes of a renewed career, Poonam Dalal showed the world what a woman determined to succeed can achieve. In 2015, she bagged an all-India rank of 308 in the IAS Exam.

What makes this achievement outstanding and an IAS success story is that Poonam was a mother to a 3 month-old boy when she gave the mains! Not only did she clear the exam but ended up in the UPSC Topper’s List.

Why you must know UPSC Toppers?

By knowing the stories of UPSC Toppers like Poonam Dalal, potential candidates will be inspired to achieve their level and in the process learn what they did and most likely succeed. Hence we curate some of the most inspiring stories of UPSC Toppers follows as an example.

UPSC Topper Poonam Dalal’s Background

• Poonam Dalal grew up in Delhi but has her ancestral roots in Chhara village, Jhajjar district, Haryana. Her career started in a government school in Delhi as a primary teacher.
• It was during this time that she pursued her graduation from Delhi University as an external student.
• After this, she took several competitive exams like SBI PO, other banks’ PO, SSC Graduate Level, etc.
• She cleared all of them and opted to become a Probationary Officer with SBI where she worked for three years.

Poonam Dalal’s Timeline

The UPSC age limit for the general category candidates was only 30 years. Poonam thought that the last of her attempts were over because of this.

However, destiny had different plans for her. Due to agitations and pattern change in 2011, the government decided to give one more attempt to all those who took the exam in 2011.

Poonam Dalal’s Challenges

• But the journey was not an easy one since she had lost touch with studies.
• She was working full time with Haryana Police.
• Also, when she took the prelims, she was nine months pregnant!
• She cleared this stage and prepared for the mains exam while taking care of her just 3 months-old child.

Despite challenges along the way, Poonam cleared the UPSC exam!

Inspirational Poonam

Get Inspired from Poonam’s story as it proves that circumstances need not bog you down when you are determined to pursue your dream. She didn’t go for any coaching and relied only on self-study to clear this tough exam. She also had to juggle a hectic job and an infant son while preparing for the exam. Hats off to this wonderful woman who is a source of inspiration to many people around the country.

Poonam Dalal’s story proves that age, marital status, motherhood and a full-time job are mere excuses, not reasons for failure.

Also Read | The Amazing Story of Sreedhanya Suresh, the First Kerala Tribal Woman to Clear IAS

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