Meet woman, first tribal IAS officer from THIS Indian state who cracked UPSC on third attempt with AIR..., she is...

Cracking UPSC civil service exam-- deemed one of the most challenging exams in the country-- requires resilience, patience and most importantly, determination. Looking around, there are plenty of examples in front of us that stand as a testament to passion and dedication. One such notable name is IAS Sreedhanya Suresh, first tribal woman from Kerala to clear UPSC CSE. Let’s get to dive into her success story. 

Who is Sreedhanya Suresh? 

Born in the Wayanad district of Kerala, Sreedhanya Suresh belongs to the Kurichiya tribe. Her father was a daily wage labour. Due to lack of resources, she had to go through difficulties while pursuing her education. Despite this, she completed her school education at St. Joseph’s College in Calicut. 

After this, Sreedhanya went on to pursue graduation in zoology from Kozhikode. Later, she went to pursue a master’s degree in applied zoology again from Calicut University.

After completing her master’s, Sreedhanya started working in the Scheduled Tribe Development Department of the state government. Alongside this, she also worked as a warden in the hostel of tribal students in order to earn additional income. 

 However, Sreedhanya wasn’t satisfied with her job. Later, she decided to give civil service exams a shot. In 2018, she cleared the first two rounds on her third attempt. The interview round was scheduled in Delhi and she didn’t have enough money to travel to the capital. 

Thankfully, her friends stood up for her and provided her with a sum of Rs 40,000 to travel to Delhi. Sreedhanya successfully cleared the interview round, emerging as the first tribal IAS officer from Kerala with an impressive All India Rank (AIR) 410.