Daijiworld Media Network - Bhopal

Bhopal, Oct 14: IAS officer Dr Nagarjun B. Gauda of Madhya Pradesh is facing serious bribery allegations. He is accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 10 cr to reduce a Rs 51 cr fine related to illegal mining to just Rs 4,000, effectively waiving Rs 50.99 cr. Following this controversy, his wife, IAS officer Srushti Deshmukh, has come into public focus.

Srushti Deshmukh, a 2019-batch officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, had secured an impressive All India Rank 5 in the 2018 UPSC Civil Services Examination. She is widely regarded as one of India’s most inspirational young bureaucrats due to her academic excellence and remarkable achievements at a young age.

Born and raised in Bhopal, Srushti completed her schooling from Carmel Convent School, scoring a perfect 10 CGPA in her 10th-grade exams and 93.2% in 12th grade. She then earned a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Lakshmi Narayan College of Technology in Bhopal. While pursuing engineering, she started preparing for the UPSC exam, focusing on Sociology as her optional subject. She relied on self-study rather than coaching, dedicating 6–7 hours daily, keeping herself updated with current affairs by reading The Hindu and watching Rajya Sabha TV programs. Notably, she had decided that she would attempt UPSC only once.

Srushti’s UPSC scorecards frequently go viral online. She topped among female candidates, securing All India Rank 5 with outstanding marks at every stage of the examination.

The couple’s love story began during their training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie. Dr. Nagarjun B. Gauda, a 2018-batch IAS officer, had previously completed his MBBS and secured All India Rank 418 in the UPSC exam. Srushti and Nagarjun married in April 2022, and Nagarjun later shifted his cadre to Madhya Pradesh.