Keralites put up stellar performance in Civil Services exam

Keralites have yet again put up a stellar performance in the UPSC Civil Services 2023 exam, the results of which were declared on Tuesday.

P.K. Sidharth Ramkumar, a native of Kochi, figured on the top of the list of Keralites who won the laurels, securing the fourth rank.

This was Sidharth’s fifth attempt at one of the most competitive exams in the country and though he had been selected for IPS twice, in 2021 and 2022, he had chosen to attempt the exam again in the hope of entering the Indian Administrative Service. He is at present an IPS trainee at Hyderabad.

A total of 1,016 candidates figure on the final list who have been recommended for different central government services.

Vishnu Sasikumar secured the 31st rank, P.P. Archana 40, R Ramya 45, Benjo P. Jose 59, Fabi Rasheed 71, S. Prashant 78, Annie George 93, G. Harishanker 107, Febin Jose Thomas 133, Vineeth Lohithakshan 169, Amrutha S. Kumar 179, Manjusha B. George 195, Anusha Pillai 202, Anjit A. Nayar 205, Anakha K. Vijay 220, Nevin Kuruvila Thomas 225, Manjima P. 235, Jacob J. Puthenveettil 246, Megha Dinesh 268, and Parvathy Gopakumar 282 are some of the Keralites who made it to the top 300.

A total of 5,92,141 candidates had appeared for the Civil Services (preliminary) examination 2023, which was conducted in May last, of whom 14,624 had qualified for the written Main exam held in September last.

Of these, a total of 2,855 candidates made it to the last leg of the gruelling exam, the interview or the personality test.

Amongst the top 300 rank holders, the achievement of Parvathy Gopakumar from Alappuzha stands out. Parvathy’s arm had to be amputated at the elbow following an accident when she was a Class VII student and, from there, it has been sheer determination and grit which set her path as she had to train herself to write with her left hand.

This was her second attempt at the Civil Services exam and though writing with the left hand had slowed her down, she had managed to write all her exams herself.

Annie George, a native of Alakode in Kannur, achieved a remarkable feat by securing the 93rd rank in her first attempt. “Though I was hopeful, I never expected to fare in ranks, especially considering that it was my first attempt. I feel on top of the world and excited,” she said.