Shah Margi Chirag: UPSC AIR 4 (2024), Strategy, and the Story Behind the Rank
She holds a Computer Engineering degree with a 9.21 CGPA. She chose Sociology as her optional subject. She cleared GPSC at Rank 55 while still preparing for UPSC. And she did all of this after losing her father at a formative age, with her mother, a school teacher, as her only support.
Shah Margi Chirag secured AIR 4 in UPSC CSE 2024. She was 26. It was her fifth attempt.
The rank did not come from extraordinary circumstances. It came from extraordinary persistence.
Who Is Shah Margi Chirag?
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Shah Margi Chirag |
| AIR | 4 |
| Exam Year | UPSC CSE 2024 |
| Total Score | 1035 |
| Number of Attempts | 5 |
| Optional Subject | Sociology |
| Medium | English |
| Hometown | Ahmedabad, Gujarat |
| Service Allotted | IAS (cadre allocation to be verified from official UPSC list) |
| Notable Parallel Achievement | GPSC Rank 55, appointed as State Tax Officer |
Her full name carries a quiet tribute. “Chirag” was her late father’s name. Her parents named her Margi Chirag Shah, weaving his identity into hers permanently.
Shah Margi Chirag UPSC Marksheet and Score Details
| Component | Marks |
|---|---|
| Written Score | 825 |
| Interview Score | 210 |
| Total Score | 1035 |
| Sociology (Paper 1 + Paper 2) | 291 out of 500 (as per available reports) |
Her interview score of 210 is notably high. It reflects strong DAF preparation and confident articulation of her unconventional profile, an engineer speaking fluently about sociology, governance, and public policy.
Prelims marks are not disclosed by UPSC. Verify the latest score breakdown from official UPSC publications.
Educational Background and Early Life
Margi completed her Class 10 from St. Ann’s High School, Ahmedabad, scoring 92.7%. She then moved to St. Xavier’s High School, Gandhinagar, where she scored 90.31% in Class 12.
She pursued a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad, under Gujarat Technological University. She graduated in 2020 with a CGPA of 9.21, placing her among the top performers in her batch.
In 2017, while she was still a student, her father Shri Chirag Shah passed away due to cardiac failure. She was in her early teens. Her mother, Smt. Rupa Shah, a school teacher, took on the responsibility of raising Margi and her younger brother, who later went on to study at IISc Bangalore.
That household, anchored by a mother who valued education above everything else, shaped the discipline Margi would later bring to her UPSC preparation.
How Many Attempts Did Shah Margi Chirag Take?
Margi took five attempts to clear UPSC CSE.
Five attempts is not a failure narrative. For Margi, each attempt was a calibration. Her engineering background gave her analytical strength but not the fluid writing style UPSC Mains demands. That gap took time to close.
Between attempts, she did not sit idle. She appeared for GPSC and cleared it, securing Rank 55 and an appointment as a State Tax Officer in Gujarat. This is a significant detail for aspirants. She was functional, earning, contributing, and still preparing.
Many aspirants treat a government job during UPSC preparation as a distraction. Margi’s example challenges that assumption. The job gave her financial stability, reduced household pressure, and, importantly, gave her real administrative exposure that fed directly into her GS and interview answers.
The mindset shift that matters most: she stopped treating each failed attempt as a verdict on her potential. She treated it as data.
Shah Margi Chirag’s Optional Subject: Sociology for an Engineer
Choosing Sociology as an optional when your degree is in Computer Engineering is a deliberate, strategic decision, not an accident.
Sociology overlaps significantly with GS Paper 1 (Indian society, social issues), GS Paper 2 (governance, social justice), and GS Paper 4 (ethics, human values, social influences on behavior). It also enriches essay writing, where social analysis is a recurring demand.
For Margi, the choice worked because Sociology is a conceptual subject. It rewards clear thinking and structured expression over rote memorization. An engineer trained to think in frameworks adapts well to it.
Her combined Sociology score of 291 out of 500 (as per available reports) is a solid performance that would have contributed meaningfully to her final tally.
Standard books aspirants typically use for Sociology optional, and which Margi’s preparation is reported to align with, include:
- C.N. Shankar Rao’s Introduction to Sociology for the foundational layer
- Anthony Giddens’ Sociology for western theoretical depth
- Haralambos and Holborn for conceptual breadth
- Ram Ahuja for Indian sociological context
- Ignou MA Sociology notes for structured syllabus coverage
- Previous years’ UPSC Sociology papers for answer pattern calibration
The key to Sociology is not reading more. It is connecting thinkers to current events. Margi’s engineering habit of mapping concepts to real-world outputs translated directly here.
UPSC Preparation Strategy of Shah Margi Chirag
Margi’s preparation was structured around three principles: strong basics, consistent writing practice, and disciplined revision.
Foundation first. She built her GS base on NCERTs before moving to standard references. This is not glamorous advice, but it works. NCERTs create a mental map that makes advanced reading faster and more retentive.
Current affairs through The Hindu. She followed The Hindu daily and made notes organized by GS papers. The habit of tagging news items to specific syllabus points, rather than reading passively, is what separates productive current affairs revision from information overload.
Test series. She enrolled with VisionIAS for their All India Test Series, the Abhyaas mock test program, and the Interview Guidance Programme. Test series matter not because the questions repeat, but because timed writing under exam conditions builds the muscle memory you need in the actual hall.
Coaching vs. self-study. Margi used coaching as a supplement, not a crutch. Her strategy and content remained self-directed. This is the approach that tends to produce high ranks. Toppers use coaching for feedback, not for thinking.
Study hours. Specific daily hours are not confirmed publicly. What is clear from her profile is that her preparation was sustained over multiple years, with the GPSC job running in parallel during some phases.
Books and Resources Recommended by Shah Margi Chirag
| Subject | Book / Resource | Author / Source |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Polity | Indian Polity | M. Laxmikanth |
| History (Ancient, Medieval) | NCERT Class 6-12 | NCERT |
| Modern History | India’s Struggle for Independence | Bipan Chandra |
| Geography | Certificate Physical and Human Geography | G.C. Leong |
| Economy | Indian Economy | Ramesh Singh |
| Environment | Environment and Ecology | Majid Husain / Shankar IAS |
| Ethics (GS4) | Lexicon for Ethics | Chronicle Publications |
| Current Affairs | The Hindu (daily) | Newspaper |
| Sociology Optional | Introduction to Sociology | C.N. Shankar Rao |
| Sociology Optional | Sociology | Anthony Giddens |
| Sociology Optional | Haralambos and Holborn | Haralambos |
| Sociology Optional | IGNOU MA Sociology Notes | IGNOU |
| Mains Practice | VisionIAS Test Series, Abhyaas | VisionIAS |
Cross-check this list against her published interviews, as specific recommendations may vary.
Mains Answer Writing Approach
Answer writing is where most UPSC aspirants lose marks they should not lose. Margi’s approach was consistent and structured.
She followed a tight format: a crisp introduction that defines the issue or sets context, a body with organized points (not scattered paragraphs), and a conclusion that connects to policy, constitutional values, or a forward-looking idea. This three-part structure is not revolutionary. But executing it reliably under time pressure, for every answer, every day, is what makes the difference.
She practiced answers daily, not just during test series weeks. Daily writing builds speed. It also surfaces gaps in content that reading alone never reveals. You discover what you do not know when you try to write it.
Feedback on those answers is what separates productive writing from repetitive writing. Aspirants who write without external evaluation tend to reinforce their existing habits, good or bad. Platforms like AnswerWriting.com offer an Answer Evaluator that gives structured AI feedback on Mains answers covering content, structure, language, and UPSC scoring parameters. For aspirants without regular access to a mentor or test series evaluator, that kind of consistent feedback loop is genuinely valuable.
Margi also used diagrams and flowcharts selectively, particularly in GS3 (economy, internal security) and Sociology answers where structural relationships benefit from visual representation.
Word limits were non-negotiable for her. She practiced staying within UPSC’s expected range and never treated “writing more” as the same as “writing better.”
Interview (Personality Test) Experience
Margi scored 210 in the Personality Test, a strong performance that reflects preparation well beyond memorizing DAF answers.
Her DAF presented an interesting profile to any board: a computer engineer with a Sociology optional, a GPSC-cleared State Tax Officer, a National Youth Festival participant (western group song), and someone learning Spanish as a hobby. That combination gives a board enough threads to pull in multiple directions.
She prepared through VisionIAS’s Interview Guidance Programme, which involved mock interviews and DAF-based question simulations. The preparation focused on articulating her background coherently, connecting her engineering skills to administrative problem-solving, and framing her personal story, including her father’s passing and her mother’s support, without letting it become a performance of grief.
Her hobbies, particularly music and learning Spanish, signal intellectual curiosity beyond academics. Boards value that. It suggests a person who will continue to grow inside the service, not just execute instructions.
Service and Cadre Allotted to Shah Margi Chirag
With AIR 4, Shah Margi Chirag is allotted the IAS. The specific state cadre had not been officially confirmed in publicly available reports at the time of writing. Readers should verify cadre allotment from the official UPSC allocation list once published.
Her prior appointment as a State Tax Officer under GPSC will be superseded by the IAS appointment. That earlier posting was a waystation, not a destination.
Key Lessons Every UPSC Aspirant Can Take from Shah Margi Chirag
- Five attempts is not five failures. It is five rounds of targeted improvement. Each attempt gives you data about where you lose marks. Use it systematically, not emotionally.
- A parallel government job is not a distraction if managed well. Margi’s GPSC posting gave her financial stability and real administrative exposure. If you clear a state service while preparing for UPSC, treat it as an asset, not a compromise.
- Optional subject choice should follow your thinking style, not just your degree. Margi chose Sociology despite being an engineer. She chose it because the subject matched how she thinks and wrote. Match your optional to your cognitive strengths, not to the herd.
- Interview scores matter more than most aspirants believe. A 210 in the Personality Test is a reflection of months of structured preparation, not of personality that you either have or do not. Prepare your DAF like a document that needs to be defended in every direction.
- Build your feedback loop early. Writing answers without evaluation is like practicing a sport without a coach. Whether through a test series, a peer group, or an AI-powered tool, ensure someone is reviewing your writing regularly.
FAQs About Shah Margi Chirag
What is Shah Margi Chirag’s UPSC rank? She secured AIR 4 in UPSC Civil Services Examination 2024.
What was Shah Margi Chirag’s optional subject? Her optional subject was Sociology.
How many attempts did Shah Margi Chirag take to clear UPSC? She cleared UPSC CSE in her fifth attempt.
What is Shah Margi Chirag’s total UPSC score? Her total score is 1035, comprising 825 in written and 210 in the Personality Test (Interview), as per available reports.
Which coaching did Shah Margi Chirag attend for UPSC? She enrolled with VisionIAS for test series (All India Test Series and Abhyaas) and their Interview Guidance Programme. She also used ForumIAS and NEXT IAS resources, as per available reports.
What is Shah Margi Chirag’s educational background? She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science from L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad (GTU), with a 9.21 CGPA, graduating in 2020.
What service was allotted to Shah Margi Chirag? She is allotted the IAS. Specific cadre details should be verified from the official UPSC allocation list.