Five alumni of National Law School of India University (NLSIU) have cracked the UPSC civil services exam 2014, with one of them featuring in top-20 bracket of all India ranking.
Saket Musinipally, who secured 14th rank in the country, had passed out from the NLSIU in 2011.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Saket said that he wants to join the Indian Foreign Service and that is something based on his interest in International relations and law. “At a time when India is looking more and more outward I think it would be an ideal decision. Plus it is relatively free from political interference,” he said.
Saket took Law as his optional subject for the Mains. “I did not have any fixed schedule, but I would set goals on a weekly basis and try to achieve them. So, my studying hours were four hours and, at times, it would even stretch to 10 or 11 hours,” he said.
Originally from Hyderabad, Saket’s parents are also civil servants and so the aspiration for the top job was something that was always at the back of his mind, he said. While his father M Ratan is an IPS officer, his mother Chaya Ratan is a retired IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre.
Soon after passing out from NLSIU, Saket joined a law firm in Delhi, where he worked for over two years before taking a sabbatical to pursue his civil service dreams. He joined a new firm in January.
Other former students who cracked the Civil Services exam 2014 are: Seema Pujani who had passed out from NLSIU in 2011, had secured 37th rank. Likewise, Sartaj Chahal a 2013 pass out, had bagged 124th rank while Vinayak Varma who passed out of the institute in 2010, managed to secure 168th rank. Similarly, George Thomas, who completed his course at NLSIU IN 2012, secured 548th rank in the civil services exam.
Vice-Chancellor of NLSIU Prof R Venkata Rao told Deccan Herald, The alumni of the institute have done exceptionally well in the UPSC examinations in the past too.
“There was one former student, Gitanjali Brandon who secured one of the highest ranks in the UPSC exam by an NLSIU student,” said Rao referring to the UPSC Civil Services exam-2011 topper who secured the sixth rank.