Alarmed by the high cost of UPSC coaching in Delhi while seeking admission for his daughter nearly a decade ago, Ludhiana police ASI Gurdev Singh decided to help students who could not afford expensive private coaching.Posted as a head clerk in the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate, he founded the Satguru Ravidas Welfare and Educational Society in 2016. The organisation provides free coaching, food and accommodation to students from financially weaker families aspiring for government jobs.The centre admits students whose annual family income is up to Rs 2.5 lakh through an entrance examination. Gurdev Singh said a batch of 50 students is formed every year and currently has 35 boys and 15 girls. Experienced teachers, including those who have previously worked with reputed UPSC coaching institutes in Delhi, conduct classes seven days a week.Students from Punjab as well as Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Karnataka have attended the centre. Several students who received coaching have secured government jobs, including as Punjab Police sub-inspectors, Delhi Police sub-inspectors, jail wardens, judicial officers, revenue officials, schoolteachers and railway employees. Some have also cleared the UPSC Mains examination but could not qualify the interview stage.He said the idea emerged in 2016 when he visited a reputed Delhi institute to enquire about UPSC coaching for his daughter. The combined cost of coaching and accommodation was around Rs 5 lakh.“Though I could afford it, I thought about parents who could not spend so much on their children’s coaching,” Singh said. He then approached like-minded police personnel, NRIs and social workers, who supported his initiative.Among the beneficiaries is Singh’s daughter, who later became a Punjab Police sub-inspector. He also cited students such as Jaskiran Kaur, who secured a Punjab Police sub-inspector post, and Jagjit Kaur, who became a constable. Another student cleared the judicial examination and became a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC).To improve students’ performance in the UPSC examination and interview, the society has also started inviting IAS and IPS officers for guest lectures. Recently, IPS officer Abhinav Jain interacted with the aspirants.Jaspal Singh, a member of the first batch in 2016, recalled that he initially aspired to become an IPS officer but could not reach the interview stage. He later secured a post as a senior industrial officer in the Industry Department.Jaspal, whose farmer father could not afford costly coaching, now teaches UPSC aspirants at the centre and has been associated with it as a tutor since 2017.