The Hindu : New Delhi News : Civil Services results out; top three ranks go to women

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Civil Services results out; top three ranks go to women

Parul Sharma

Varinder Sharma, a differently-abled candidate, is the topper among the men

– PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

ON TOP OF THE WORLD: The all-India Civil Services topper of the year, Shubhra Saxena, with husband Shashank Gupta at home in Indirapuram nextdoor to Delhi on Monday evening.

NEW DELHI: Perhaps for the first time in the past 25 years, the top three ranks in the Civil Services main examination – the results of which were declared on Monday -- have been secured by women candidates.

Young Shubhra Saxena has topped the examination, followed by Sharandeep Kaur Brar and Kiran Kaushal, who achieved the second and third position respectively.

Varinder Kumar Sharma, who secured an all-India fourth rank, is the topper among the male candidates. Varinder, who is a differently-abled candidate, has cracked the prestigious exam in his first attempt.

The top 25 candidates include 15 males and 10 females. Of the first ten positions, four have been secured by Delhi-based candidates and all of them have preferred the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) over the other services.

Speaking to The Hindu at her residence on Monday evening, Shubhra Saxena said: “It is God’s grace that everything has worked out perfect for me. You can just pray for such an achievement; you never expect it. It has still not sunk in…..”

With subdued celebrations at her suburban Indirapuram home in Ghaziabad nextdoor to Delhi, Shubhra sought to underplay her huge achievement.

“I am no special. Last year I attempted, but could not make it to the final list. It was very painful. I believe if I can do it, then anyone can. Keep believing in yourself and keep working hard,” she said.

The 30-year-old, who is married, said she decided to go for the Civil Services because she realised she wasn’t in a “position to make a substantial contribution to society while working in the IT industry”.

Shubhra has done her schooling from Jharkhand, studied B.Tech. at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee. Her husband is also from the same institute.

“There are a lot of problems that our country is facing. I chose the IAS because it gives you a multitude of options. Rural development is my first choice,” said the topper who was born in Bareilly.

P. S. Ravindran, director of Vajiram and Ravi institute for civil services examination, noted that after 2003 this is the first time that the first rank has been achieved by a candidate in her second attempt. Interestingly, Shubhra and four other candidates to have made it to the top ten ranks have been trained by this institute.

Kiran Kaushal, the third ranker, is the first person to have taken the examination in the Hindi medium and reached this high a rank.

Vijay Ketan Upadhyay, who secured the fifth rank overall in his third attempt, said: “I was expecting something within the first 200 ranks, but the fifth position is really unbelievable! In fact, I had already started preparing for the UPSC preliminary examination for this year as I was desperate to clear it on my last attempt…..”

Vijay has studied Veterinary Science at the Orissa Veterinary College.

An MBBS graduate from Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, Yash Garg has achieved the sixth all-India rank. Hailing from Sonepat in Haryana, Yash was clear that he wanted to join the IAS since he dreamt of becoming a good administrator.

“While working as a doctor in the hospital, I realised I was only impacting an individual patient. Through the IAS, I can impact a larger section of people,” said Yash, who is currently working at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan Hospital.

Just like Shubhra, Delhi-based Surya Pal Gangwar, who has achieved the eighth position, is also from Bareilly. He went on to do his B.Tech. from IIT-Roorkee.

“This is my fifth attempt. I was confident it would be something good, but did not imagine it would be this good!” he said.

For someone who is married and has a child, Surya said it was “good time management” that helped him achieve his goal.

A graduate of Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhiite Aditi Singh secured the 12th rank. “My father and husband are IAS officers. I always dreamt of becoming one. Focus and perseverance are the two key things needed while preparing for the Civil Services,” she added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi