Agra native Vaishali Sharma is one of the 1209 candidates who cleared the 2016 UPSC civil services and became the IAS Topper. But what makes her stand apart from the other successful candidates is that she is 80% hearing impaired.
Despite her disability, she cleared the IAS exam with a rank of 743 and became the topper in the physically handicapped category.
Read Vaishali’s IAS success story in this article.
IAS Topper Story – Vaishali Sharma
- Vaishali Sharma is a doctor by training from the Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh.
- 26-year old Vaishali had given an attempt in 2015 clearing the civil services exam and securing 824 marks in total.
- Despite clearing the IAS exam, Vaishali was not selected for service since she was overweight and did not clear the medical fitness test. Read more on the medical requirements for the IAS at the linked article.
- She then lost pounds instead of hope and got a certificate from the Government’s health department. Even this did not help her get selected into the final list.
- Although her family wanted to file a complaint, Vaishali was intent on proving herself in ‘another way’. In her own words, “Though I was shocked by what had happened then, I never gave up and was sure that I would succeed again.”
- She was confident of clearing the exam the following year and so, wrote the exam again in 2016. This time, she cleared the exam scoring 969 marks (48%) in the civil services exam and created an inspiring IAS success story.
- She had earlier started working as a junior resident in a hospital in Mathura.
The 2016 IAS exam was topped by Karnataka native K R Nandini, who was then undergoing her IRS training. Read Nandini’s UPSC success story here.
In 2017, another candidate with a hearing impairment succeeded in the IAS exam. Saumya Sharma secured a stellar 9th rank in the 2017 CSE despite battling hearing loss.
The following table will give you links to articles with important things to remember for UPSC Physically Handicapped Category:
| Physically Handicapped Criteria For UPSC Services |
| Ten Things Every PH Candidate should Know |
Vaishali Sharma Facts
Rank: 743
CSE: 2016
Written Marks: 799
Interview Marks: 170
Total Marks: 969 (47.85%)
For more such UPSC success stories for inspiration and motivation, you can check out our segment which posts articles on IAS toppers, Get Inspired.
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