India lives in villages

“I love to try out different ways to do a task; I guess it’s just my personality. If one way doesn’t work out, as it has happened many times, I try it out some other way. I initially did electrical engineering and then went on to do my MTech at IIT BHU where I started preparing for civil services. Luckily, after graduating, I got selected at NTPC, followed by PCS and was then promoted to IAS in 2010. While working as a bureaucrat, I realized the need for training in a corporate level environment, for which I needed an MBA. I always wanted to pursue studies at one of the top universities abroad. Coincidentally, it so happened that around the same time, the Government of Uttar Pradesh released a scheme, where a government employee, i.e. PCS and other state employees could join private organisations for a certain amount of time and would still be able to retain their job in India with 50% salary. I wanted to take advantage of this scheme, but since I did not have an MBA, I decided to appear for GMAT. But, I couldn’t get admission to good universities since my score was not enough and had almost given up on pursuing MBA.

Fortunately, I came across an opportunity under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) which allowed me to go for a management degree and I completed a Master’s in Public Administration at Syracuse University. The whole experience of one year changed my perspective and I realized…