Karnataka's Nandini tops civil services exam

Great feat

A 26-year-old civil engineer from Karnataka, Nandini K R, has topped the prestigious Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission.

Anmol Sher Singh Bedi, a computer science engineer from BITS Pilani, came second, while the third spot was bagged by Gopalkrishna Ronanki, son of illiterate parents. Also, three women figure in the top 10 rank list.

A native of Kembodi village in Kolar District, Nandini chose Kannada as her optional subject for the main examination. She is currently employed as a Group A officer in Central Excise and Customs and is undergoing training in Haryana’s Faridabad. This was her fourth attempt.

“I am really happy. It is an opportunity to serve the poor. I did not expect this...,” Nandini, who graduated from M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, told DH.

Nandini has also worked as a junior engineer in Karnataka Public Works Department for two years and was posted at Karnataka Bhavan in Delhi.

Her father, Ramesh, is a government primary school teacher in Mudavadi, Kolar, while her mother is a housewife. Nandini’s brother is pursuing PhD from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi.

Ronanki, who wrote the exam in his mother tongue Telugu, said he studied in a government school and through distance education. “It is a big achievement for me as I attained this position despite the fact that my parents are not literate,” he said.

The commission received 13.5 lakh applications for the 2016 examination. Of the 4.59 lakh candidates who appeared for the preliminary examination, only 15,452 qualified for the main examination.

The commission has recommended 1,099 candidates, of this 846 are men and 253 women, including 44 physically disabled candidates. Among the selected candidates, 500 belong to the Generalcategory, 347 Other Backward Class, 163 Scheduled Castes and 89 Scheduled Tribes.

There are 180 vacancies in the IAS, 150 in IPS and 45 in IFS. The commission said 603 candidates will be allocated Group A services, while 231 will get Group B.