Meet IPS Pooja Yadav Who Left Her Job Abroad And Cracked UPSC With AIR 174 – News18

Pooja Yadav, a resident of Haryana, cracked the UPSC exam in 2018 and was subsequently appointed an IPS officer. She quit her job in Germany so that she could serve her country. Pooja, however, faced her share of challenges and, in order to pay her expenses, she experimented with a number of part-time jobs, from giving tuition to students to occasionally working as a receptionist. Today, let’s take a look at the inspiring journey of IPS Pooja Yadav.

Pooja was born on September 20, 1988, in Haryana and that’s where she completed her schooling. She then completed her M.Tech in Biotechnology and Food Technology and worked for a while in Canada and Germany. After working for a while, Pooja reportedly came to the realisation that she was actually helping in the growth of another nation rather than India.

Hence, she made the decision to quit her job and appear for the UPSC examination. She followed her dreams and began preparing for the exams. However, it wasn’t a quick success. She cleared the civil services examination in 2018 on her second attempt and secured an All India Rank 174. She is currently the IPS officer in the esteemed Gujarat cadre.

Pooja Yadav’s family always supported her, whether she was pursuing an MTech or preparing for UPSC. However, they were not particularly financially very well off. Thus, in order to cover her expenses while pursuing her education, she worked as a receptionist and gave tuition to students. The IPS officer got married to IAS Vikalp Bhardwaj on February 18, 2021. The two had first met at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. Vikalp is a 2016 graduate and an officer from the Kerala cadre.

Pooja is quite active on social media as well and has around 73.8k followers on Instagram. In an interview, she said that she thinks social media is the best way to engage with the public and exchange ideas for making people’s lives better.

The IPS officer is currently enjoying a holiday with her husband in Mauritius. She has shared several pictures from her vacation on her social media handles.