While the nation is sharing pride in her story, young IPS officer Kiran Shruthi D.V. herself finds her journey to be ‘ordinary’.
In all humble and modest way, the 29-year-old IPS probationer, who graduated from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, on Friday, looks at her achievement as a fruit of her labour and constant support from her doting parents.
Leading with aplomb the Dikshant Parade of her batch of officers, and winning the Prime Minister’s Baton and the Home Minister’s Revolver for being the best all-round probationer officer of the 71st batch of IPS, she has made her doctor parents proud, who had named her after Kiran Bedi, the first female IPS officer and the current Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
Hailing from Chengalpattu near Chennai, Ms. Kiran completed her engineering in Electronics and Communications from Tagore Engineering College, Chennai. She joined the State Bank of India as a probationary officer in 2013 and quit it after three years to chase her dream of becoming a civil servant.
Sharing her journey from a bank employee to the elite IPS, Ms. Kiran said that she was more of a indoor person and NPA helped her push the limits.
“Mine is an ordinary story. Both my parents, M Ramula and Durai Venkatesan, are doctors and they always supported in chasing and achieving my dreams,” she said in an exclusive chat with The Hindu . Allotted to home cadre (Tamil Nadu), Ms. Kiran was aspiring to become a civil servant since her childhood. Even when Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked about what made her choose the uniform service, she replied the same.
Daily-wager to elite IPS
Another inspiring story is one that of B Bala Swamy, a native of Vouthampally in Nagarkurnool district in Telangana, who had to undergo several challenges in his struggle to realise his dream.
Mr. Atul Karwal handed over certificate and group photo to B. Bala Swamy.
Mr. Bala Swamy, son of a poor farmer, did several odd jobs, believing in the dignity of labour, and came up the ladder by sheer determination, either in the academy or in the chosen profession.
The 38-year-old IPS officer, made it to the elite service after more than 20 years of hard work for his family. He was allotted Telangana cadre. He is the first educated person from his home. Although a recipient of a doctorate in mathematics, Mr. Swamy was a daily wager in his teens. “When I came to Hyderabad after finishing Intermediate in 1999, I worked as a daily-wager for ₹50 per day,” he said, adding that even during his school vacation, he worked in agriculture fields to support his family.
After completing his degree and post-graduation from Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University, he joined the College of Engineering, Osmania University, as an assistant professor in 2007, and worked there for more than eight years, before appearing for civil services. Mr. Swamy finished his Ph.D while working in OU. He quit the job in 2015 to appear for Civils. He got into Indian Revenue Service twice before he cracked IPS. Mr. Swamy says the vast exposure in the university changed his life. “There was no one to mentor me. Only after joining OU, did I get to know about civil services, and a few years later, I started appearing for it. The university gave me exposure to the world and changed my life,” the IPS officer said.
