Undaunted by the challenges that came her way, IRAS officer Dr Surya Lakshmi Chellapilla from Vikshakhapatnam cleared UPSC Civil Service examination in her first attempt without any coaching.
Promotion
As she awaited the results for her civil service examination, Dr Surya Lakshmi Chellapilla’s heart thumped loudly inside her chest. While she was confident of her performance in the Mains and interview, self-doubt hovered — and why not? This was, after all, India’s toughest competitive exam.
“It was a gamble,” she re-assured herself while her father, C Somasundara Rao, rummaged through the final list. “Even if I don’t clear it, I can always go back to teaching.”
The next few seconds were a blur, and it was only when thundering applause rippled through the room did Dr Surya realise she was going to be a bureaucrat.
While this is a common scenario in the lives of most civil service aspirants, the 2000-batch officer had one more reason to be nervous. Dr Surya was born…