Creating a history of sorts, three women secured the first three ranking in the Civil Services Examination 2021 the result of which were declared on Monday.
Shruti Sharma, a student of JNU, topped the IAS exam followed by Ankita Agarwal as second rank holder, Gamini Singla in third position in the CSE examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his other Cabinet colleagues, and former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi shared their congratulatory messages on social media to the successful candidates.
Of the total of 685 successful candidates, 244 fall in the general category, 73 in EWS, 203 OBC, while 105 are Scheduled Caste (SC) and 60 successful candidates are from Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
A total of 685 candidates — 508 men and 177 women — have qualified, and their names were recommended by the Commission for appointment to various Central services, the UPSC said. The top 25 candidates comprise 15 men and 10 women.
Shruti, who has graduated in History (Hons) from St Stephens college of the University of Delhi and post-graduation from JNU, topped the examination with history as her optional subject.
Ankita, a graduate in economics (Hons) from the University of Delhi, secured the second rank with political science and international relations as her optional subjects. Gamini, a Bachelor of Technology (BTech) in computer science, stood third in the rank with sociology as her optional subject, the UPSC said. Aishwarya Verma secured the fourth position and Utkarsh Dwivedi achieved the fifth rank, it said.
Talking to media on her success, Shruti said her “extremely supportive” parents and friends helped her in her journey which required a lot of hard work and patience and was preparing for the civils for the last four years.
She was a student of Jamia Millia Islamia’s Residential Coaching Academy. A Jamia official claimed that 23 students of the coaching academy have cleared the exams.
Ankita said she would like to work for women empowerment and primary healthcare after joining the IAS.
A 2020 batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer, Ankita is currently under probation at the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) in Haryana’s Faridabad.
Elated over her selection, Gamini from Bhatinda Punjab, who bagged the third rank, said women are capable of achieving anything through their hard work and dedication.
“Congratulations to all those who have cleared the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2021. My best wishes to these youngsters who are embarking on their administrative careers at an important time of India’s development journey, when we are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. I fully understand the disappointment of those who couldn’t clear the Civil Services Exam but I also know that these are outstanding youngsters who will make a mark in any field they pursue and make India proud. My best wishes to them,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
Rahul congratulated all those who cleared the civil services examination 2021 and said they now have a great responsibility of serving the country with integrity and commitment. He also lauded the women candidates who secured the top positions.
Educational qualifications of the top 25 successful candidates range from graduation in engineering; humanities; commerce and medical science from premier institutions of the country such as IIT, AIIMS, VIT, PEC, University of Mumbai, University of Delhi, GB Pant University, etc, the UPSC said.
“Top 25 successful candidates have opted for subjects like anthropology, economics, geography, Hindi literature, history, mathematics, medical science, political science & international relations, public administration, sociology and zoology as their optional choice in the written (main) examination,” said the UPSC.
The recommended candidates also include 25 persons with benchmark disability (seven orthopedically handicapped; five visually challenged, eight hearing impaired & five with multiple disabilities), the Commission said.
Of the successful candidates, 244 are from the General category, 73 from Economically Weaker Sections, 203 of Other Backward Classes, 105 from Scheduled Castes and 60 from the Scheduled Tribes.
A total of 10,93,984 candidates applied for this examination, out of which 5,08,619 candidates appeared in the examination, the UPSC said.
