Tina Dabi, a Dalit woman at the young age of 22, managed to clear the IAS exam in the first attempt and brought laurels to her community. She did not just clear the UPSC with flying colours but bagged the first rank for herself in the year 2015-16 batch. She secured a whopping 1063 marks for a total of 2025 marks.
Many women from her community (Scheduled Caste) have cleared the Civil Services Exam previously, but none have done it by getting the 1st rank like her. She especially credits her success to her mother, from whom she draws her greatest qualities of strength, dedication and goal setting in life.
Tina hails from the city of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. She lives in New Delhi at present. Her family chose to shift to New Delhi from Bhopal when she was in her seventh grade. She continued her schooling at the Convent of Jesus & Mary and pursued college from Lady Sri Ram College for Women, New Delhi.
She did her graduation in Arts, developed a keen interest in Political Science and has studied the same subject under graduation. She is an avid reader, travels a lot to other places to know more about people and cultures.
Tina Dabi Wiki
| Personal Information (Biography) | |
| Full Name | Tina Dabi |
| Profession | IAS Officer |
| Date of Birth | 09 November 1993 |
| Age (as of 2020) | 27 Years |
| Caste | Scheduled Caste (SC – Kamble) |
| Birth Place | Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| School | Convent of Jesus & Mary (New Delhi) |
| College | Lady Shri Ram College for Women (New Delhi) |
| Qualification | Bachelor of Arts in Political Science |
| Physical Stats | |
| Height | 5.4 ft |
| Weight | 56 kg |
| Family Background | |
| Father | Jaswant Dabi |
| Mother | Himani Dabi |
| Sister | Ria Dabi (Younger Sister) |
| Brother | None |
| Husband | Athar Amir Khan |
| Official Social Handles | |
| instagram.com/dabi_tina/ | |
| twitter.com/dabi_tina | |
| facebook.com/tina.dabi | |
| Blog | None |
| Key Points | |
| Salary | ₹56100/month + other allowances |
| Current Posting | Tina Dabi posted as Joint Secretary Finance to Govt of Rajasthan |
It is interesting to note that both her parents had cleared the Indian Engineering Services exam under UPSC earlier. Tina recalls that she had a keen interest to pursue a commerce graduation and not take to arts. But her love for political science pushed her towards the arts stream. It was along with political science as a subject that she even built her IAS dreams around, and then there was no looking back from there. Tina took coaching from Rau’s IAS Academy back in 2011 when she was just 18 years old.
Tina Dabi Marksheet
| Papers | Total Marks | Marks Obtained |
| Essay | 250 | 145 |
| General Studies I | 250 | 119 |
| General Studies II | 250 | 84 |
| General Studies III | 250 | 111 |
| General Studies IV | 250 | 110 |
| Optional Paper – I (Political Science & International Relations) | 250 | 128 |
| Optional Paper – II (Political Science & International Relations) | 250 | 171 |
| Total (Written Exam) | 1750 | 868 |
| Interview | 275 | 195 |
| Total | 2025 | 1063 (52.49%) |
Tina Dabi Preparation Strategy
She spent almost 10 to 14 hours of rigorous preparation for chasing her IAS dreams. Tina spent her efforts answering old question papers of General Studies and referred to nearly twenty years old question papers.
As she calls it, IAS is not an easy cake ride but a very tough nut to crack and the amount of commitment and perseverance needed to clear the exam is immense.
She has maintained a consistent and top-performing academic record throughout her educational journey from school till college days and maintains excellence in all circles.
Timetable and Study Plan by Tina Dabi [source – Instagram]
Recommended Books List for IAS Preparation
- India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
- Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth
- Geography of India by Majid Husain
- International Relations – Pushpesh Pant
- Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
- Challenges to Internal Security of India – Ashok Kumar
- Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – RS Aggarwal
- NCERT Books
Interesting facts about Tina Dabi
She was appointed as the vice speaker at the Youth parliament back in 2012, where she showcased her talent as one of the most motivational speakers. Tina has expressed deep concerns over women’s safety in our country and vows to work for women empowerment as the top priority. She aims to bring a change in women’s lives in our society.
She also aims to move further up the ladder in her career and plans to become a Cabinet Secretary in Parliament someday. Tina called her achievement a very proud moment for herself and her family. She was confident of making it to the final list of candidates, but bagging the first rank was something she never sighted even in the farthest of her dreams.
She calls it a very ecstatic and happy moment in her life. Her motto is to help women achieve a good ranking in the very first attempt itself. Tina is secular at heart and encourages healthy nation-building activities under her mentorship.