My motto in life is that nothing is impossible, no target unachievable- One just has to try harder and harder- Kiran Bedi

This inspirational quote by India’s first female IPS officer, and an epitome of courage & intelligence, Kiran Bedi, tells a lot about her personality. There is hardly any UPSC aspirant who’s not aware of her name.

Her valuable teachings and UPSC wisdom have helped many aspirants to reach the top of the success ladder. 

In this article, we will take you through the life of Kiran Bedi and how she carved a niche in the Indian Police Services which was dominated by male officers back in 1972. She is our guest in Episode 8 of PrepLadder’s Legends of LBSNAA series. 

In-Built Leadership Quality

Kiran Bedi’s strong academic background and her unconditional love for books made her a bright student during her school days. Her in-built leadership quality came from being actively participating in sports (Tennis), and being a Head Girl at her school. 

With sports, academics, extracurricular activities, leadership qualities, and strong woman, Kiran Bedi grew into a very confident girl. She was destined to become a Civil Servant as she had a strong inclination toward serving society. She took Humanities and studied subjects such as the Indian Constitution, and Polity. 

Policing came to me naturally as I was a strong NCC cadet. I loved uniform and discipline, opines Kiran Bedi.

Her Professional Journey

During her tenure, Kiran Bedi has served as a Police officer in different capacities. She worked as a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), in North Delhi and West Delhi. Famous for coordinating and working with minimal resources, she was given the title of a “Collaborating Police Officer”. 

She recalls that effective policing was challenging at the time when she joined due to the availability of very few policemen. Despite having a crunch of resources, she took a lot of initiatives in crime prevention such as Welfare Policing, Community Policing, the Beat Box, and Night Patrolling with villagers. She retired as a Director General of Police and post that she spent her time mostly in community work. She was one of the big faces of the Against Corruption Movement. She has also served as the 24th Lieutenant Governer of Puducherry from May 28, 2016, to February 16, 2021. 

Kiran Bedi has also authored a famous book Fearless Governance. 

Watch excerpts of the Episode 8 of Legends of LBSNAA series featuring Kiran Bedi. To watch the full episode, download the PrepLadder app:

Ideal Qualities of an Aspirant

Kiran Bedi shares that an ideal aspirant must have the below-listed qualities if he/she wants to step into the domain of UPSC:

• A candidate must be people-oriented and not person-oriented.
• The candidate should have the courage to say NO! 
• Candidates must upskill themselves before and after giving the UPSC exam as becoming an officer is not the end of the journey. One must be always updated. 
• The key to becoming a successful Civil Servant is to be field visible. Since UPSC is all about serving people, after becoming an officer, one should be accessible to people. 

Becoming a Civil Services officer is no cakewalk. It requires perseverance, dedication, patience, and most importantly, the backing of an authentic and reliable training partner.

Since the day PrepLadder has stepped into the domain of UPSC education, it has revolutionized the way aspirants prepare for CSE. 

Home to some unique features such as conceptual and engaging video lectures from the DREAM TEAM– comprising India’s best UPC faculty, QBank with detailed explanations and solutions, Subject tests & Mock tests for practice, and much more, PrepLadder will transform your UPSC exam preparation from the Beginner level to the Advanced level.

So, download the PrepLadder app now and supercharge your UPSC preparation! 

To stay updated with the latest information about the exam, keep following our articles and our Telegram Channel.

Own Your Dream

Team PrepLadder