Nari ‘Shakti’: Prayagraj womantops Civil Services exam 2024

Prayagraj: Soon after the release of the Union Public Service Commission results of the Civil Services Examination 2024 on Tuesday, a thin unpaved road of Someshwar Nagar, which was added to the municipal boundaries of Prayagraj city a couple of years ago, suddenly hogged the national limelight.
Shakti Dubey, 29-year-old daughter of a sub-inspector posted at the traffic department of Prayagraj, cracked the coveted examination, bagging the top position and thereby making history for the Sangam city. It was a show of ‘Nari Shakti' in the results as Harshita Goyal, a BCom graduate from MS University of Baroda, secured the second rank.
"I was working in my office as part of my routine, and suddenly the call came from my home, telling me that the result is out, and my daughter has topped the civil service examination. I immediately called her up, but she had not seen the result by then," said Shakti's Devendra Dubey, while talking to TOI at his residence in the Naini area of the city.
This was Shakti's second attempt as she had appeared in the UPSC 2023 and qualified the mains. "We all were very optimistic about her clearing the exam last year itself, but she missed out by a few marks, and I was very disappointed. But today, I feel she was destined to top the exam, not just clear it," said the proud father whose phone didn't stop ringing since noon.
After passing her MSc from Banaras Hindu University, with a gold medal, Shakti went to Delhi, got enrolled in a coaching class, and started her preparation with all the commitment. However, during the pandemic, she got somewhat disorganised and did not attempt the exam for two years. But within a few months, she regained her confidence and again started her preparations, cracking the prelims and mains in her first attempt itself and finally bagging the all-India top slot in Civil Services 2024.
It was also a proud moment for St Mary's Convent School, Ghoorpur, and Allahabad University too. After passing her class 12 from St Mary's Convent School, Ghoorpur, in 2012, Shakti was enrolled for BSc (biochemistry) from AU in 2013-14. She later moved to Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to pursue her MSc in biochemistry, where she topped in 2018.
"It is all because of the blessing of Bhole Nath and the hard work of my daughter that she has topped the most prestigious exam of the country. We all are very happy and indebted to Lord Shiva," said Prema, her mother.
Shakti, who is in Delhi, will be coming back to her hometown on April 23, where a grand welcome awaits her.
"She used to study day and night and managed to take out time for household work too. She was too laborious, and it is her hard work that has paid off now," said the proud mother.
Women from the Sangam city have even previously made their mark in the Civil Services exam. Saumya Pandey secured fourth rank in UPSC 2016 while Eva Sahay (also an alumna of AU) brought fame to the city by securing third rank in UPSC 2009. In 2023, Pratiksha Singh secured 52nd rank in her third attempt. In addition to this, Smriti Mishra (4th rank in 2022), Ananya Singh (51st rank in 2020) were other women achievers from the city. Muthiganj resident Wardah Khan secured 18th rank and Shreya Singh (639th rank in 2023) too joined the elite club.