More than 11 years ago, Divya* wrote her Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) with the dream of joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
She went through the same process a future IAS officer would undergo, but as her score was lower than required, she joined another Civil Service, the Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service [AFHQ(CS)], as a Section Officer, a Gazetted post.
More than a decade later, Ms. Divya is yet to receive her first promotion. She is still a Section Officer.
