24-Year-Old Noida Woman Wardah Khan Makes UPSC Top 20 After Leaving Corporate Job

Wardah Khan, a resident of Vivek Vihar in Noida’s Sector 82, pursued her Bachelors in Commerce (Honours) from the Khalsa College of Delhi University. She expressed her surprise at achieving a rank within the top 20, and attributed her interest in UPSC to her college days where she developed a strong inclination towards geopolitics, history, and polity.

Reflecting on her career path, she recounted her dissatisfaction with a corporate job and her desire to contribute to society and make a difference in people’s lives, which led her to pursue civil services. During her preparation, she availed both self-study and online coaching from a private institution for one year.

Providing advice to aspiring UPSC candidates, she stressed the importance of thorough understanding of basic books like NCERT and Polity by Laxmikant, along with comprehensive preparation of syllabus heads for mains and optional subjects. The Union Public Service Commission announced that a total of 1,016 candidates, including 352 women and 664 men, have qualified in the civil services examination and have been recommended for appointment to various services.

Aditya Srivastava secured the top position in the examination, followed by Animesh Pradhan, Donuru Ananya Reddy, P K Sidharth Ramkumar, and Ruhani in the second to fifth positions respectively.