IAS officer Smita Sabharwal is one of the few candidates who cracked the UPSC exam in the second attempt.

IAS Success Stories: Success is not given, it is earned. Try, stay committed and victory will be yours. Cracking the UPSC Civil Services Exam is not an easy task. Some aspirants find it challenging to crack the exam even after two or three attempts, while others struggle to crack the subsequent selection rounds. IAS officer Smita Sabharwal is one of the few aspirants who cracked the UPSC exam in the second attempt. Learn the inspiring story of IAS officer Smita Sabharwal.

Smita Sabharwal created a controversy with her statement during the debate on reservation for UPSC candidates in the PWD category. The debate was sparked by the controversy over the recruitment of IAS probationary officer Pooja Khedkar under the disabled quota. She questioned the need for a disability quota in the IAS and suggested that persons with disabilities would struggle to meet the demands of the service.

“With all due respect to Differently Ableds,” she wrote. Do airlines hire pilots with disabilities? Or would you trust a surgeon with a disability? The nature of IAS/IPS/IFoS is field work, long taxing hours and listening to public grievances – which requires physical fitness. Why does this premier service need this quota in the first place!”

Smita Sabharwal is a 2001 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Sabharwal cleared the UPSC examination in 2000, securing an effective All India Rank (AIR) of 4. In early January 2024, Sabharwal, a senior bureaucrat and secretary in the Chief Minister's Office of Telangana, took charge as member secretary of TS Finance Corporation.