Meet Sikkim’s First Woman IPS Officer, Aparajita Rai, Who Cracked UPSC Two Times – News18

Acing Union Public Service Commission is a dream for many especially for people who belong to disadvantaged section of a society. One such aspirant is Aparajita Rai, who is Sikkim’s first female IPS officer. In 2010 and 2011, Rai was successful in both of her attempts to crack the UPSC Civil Services exam. She is also credited for uncovering cases of smuggling of contraband including drugs and gold.

Aparajita Rai had won many awards in the Police Academy during her IPS training like includes 1958 Batch IPS Officers Trophy for Best Lady Outdoor Probationer, Shri Umesh Chandra Trophy for Field Combat, 55th Batch of Senior Officers Trophy for Best Turn Out and West Bengal Government Trophy for Bengali.

Aparajita, however, lost her mother, Roma Rai when she was just 8 years old. From a young age, she was aware of the callousness with which government workers treated the populace. It was at this stage when she made the decision to appear for civil services exam. In her first two attempts she aced the exam and became Sikkim’s first female IPS. During her schooling, Aparajita Rai excelled in academics and scored 95%  in the ICS board test in 2004. She received the Founder’s Medal from Tashi Namgyal Academy for being all rounder.

After completing her schooling, she graduated from West Bengal National University of Judicial Sciences with a BA LLB (Hons) and qualified the National Admission Test. She won the Gold Medal in Public Administration and Jurisprudence. It was in 2009 when she took the UPSC Civil Services Exam for the first time and could not clear it.

In 2010, Aparajita Rai once again attempted UPSC Civil Services Exam and aced with a rank of 768. She was not content with this, though. In 2011, she took the UPSC exam for the third time in a row and secured 358 rank. At present, Aparajita Rai is heading the West Bengal cadre. Despite her busy schedule, she takes time for sports activities. Rai is also a runner-up in the All India Police Badminton Championship.