IAS Neha Byadwal came upon this realisation when she failed in her first attempt in the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), and decided to avoid social media and restrict her mobile phone usage for three years.
While mobile phones and social media are indeed great tools without which we can not even imagine our day-to-day lives in this modern age, but on the flip, these marvels of modern technology can also prove to be major distractions, preventing us from working on achieving our career and life goals.
Neha Byadwal came upon this realisation when she failed in her first attempt in the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), and decided to avoid social media and restrict her mobile phone usage for three years while she prepared for her next attempt of one of the country’s toughest exams.
Who is IAS Neha Byadwal?
Born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, but raised in Chhattisgarh, Neha Byadwal, started her schooling in Jaipur and later went to Kidzee High School, Bhopal. Due to the nature of her father’s government job, Neha had to frequently switch schools, and completed her schooling at DPS Korba, and later at DPS Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh.
Neha’s father, Shravan Kumar, is a senior Income Tax officer, and his service to the country and its people, inspired her to become an IAS officer. After her early education, Neha Byadwal joined the DB Girls College in Raipur, and later emerged as a university topper.
IAS dreams and setbacks
After completing her education, Neha Byadwal started preparing for the UPSC CSE, however, the path to success was paved with setbacks as she failed to clear the test in her first three attempts.
Neha reveals that after failing in her first attempt, she realised that social media and mobile phone usage was distracting her from studying in a diligent manner, so she took a decision to avoid these during the course of her UPSC preparation for nearly 3 years. During this period, Neha devoted all her time to preparing for the civil services exams, and even became distant from friends and relatives.
Notably, Neha Byadwal managed to clear the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exam several times while she was preparing for UPSC CSE, but decided not to join a government job as her ultimate goal was to become an IAS officer. However, the path proved to be more difficult than she might have imagined, as she failed to clear the CSE in her first three attempts.
IAS at 24!
Ultimately, after battling numerous setbacks and even sacrificing her social life, Neha Byadwal’s hard work and perseverance paid off as she cracked the UPSC CSE in her fourth attempt in 2021, securing an All India Rank (AIR) of 569, and finally achieving her dream of becoming an IAS officer. She was only 24 at the time.
Neha secured a total of 960 marks in the UPSC Civil Service Examination, including 151 marks in the interview.
After her UPSC success, Neha Byadwal became sort of a celebrity on social media, and has amassed over 28,000 followers on Instagram where she often gives tips to UPSC aspirants on how to prepare for the tough test.