How Delhi’s UPSC successes envision their work

A total of 1,016 candidates from across the country emerged victorious in the UPSC Examinations after results were declared on Tuesday. While the 664 men and 352 women await their appointments to the respective services, it’s worth recollecting that this time around 30 of the would-be officers had benchmark disabilities.

Although specific numbers are unavailable, around 50 successful candidates are from Delhi-NCR. Of the total successful candidates, four are among the top 20.

Ruhani, 28, an Economics graduate from St Stephen’s College, successfully claimed fifth rank in the race to become a part of the cogs in the wheels of the government. However, before she appeared for the test this time, she had already cracked the Indian Police Services (IPS) test, and continues to train as an IPS officer.

“This was her sixth and final attempt, and she did not want to deter her mind from being part of the government machinery because she has always wanted to give back to society. She was also preparing during the COVID years online. Her preparations bore fruit and she was able to crack the exam in her final try,” said her father, Suresh.

Srishti Dabas, 25, also emerged with flying colours as she earned an All India Rank (AIR) 6 in her first attempt. She wants to help Indian society shed conservative ideas. At present, she works at the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai and while being there, she spent her days and nights preparing for the test.

“Having grown up in a conservative household and having seen my mother toil, I wanted to bring change in the overall conservative way of life that persists in much of the country. My aim is to promote gender equality and equity, one step at a time which is why I have included Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as my primary preferences to be an officer in,” she said.

On the other hand, Akash Verma, 29, presently a trainee with the Indian Defence Estates Services (IDES), and undergoing training in Ladakh, took his fourth shot at the UPSC and emerged as All India Rank 20.

“I had already cleared the test in my second attempt through which I got into the IDES but I wanted to better my rank. Now I am satisfied. I want to give back to the society and that is technically, the only reason I wanted to appear for the UPSC examinations. I studied by myself, and just kept taking a lot of mock tests. But now, it is time that I do my duty as an IAS officer and mind how local governance works,” he said.

Wardah Khan, 24, is another outlier in the top 20 list, as she quit her lucrative corporate job to prepare for the UPSC examinations. Securing an impressive AIR 18, the 24-year-old opted to go for the Indian Foreign Services (IFS) as her first preference.

“I have opted for Indian Foreign Service (IFS) as my first preference, so I would like to further the image of India across global platforms and multilateral institutions and help the Indian diaspora abroad,” she told PTI.

She further added, “Like every other aspirant, when we start our journey, we dream of finding our name on the result list. But getting into the top 20 was unimaginable, I had not imagined that I will able to be in the top 20. It’s a dreamy feeling right now. Everybody in my family is very happy and beaming with pride.”

On the other hand, Rupal Rana, AIR 26, emphasised on the amount she had to study to bring her effort to fruition.

“One cannot study consistently, but on average I studied for 8-10 hours every day. However, this went up to 13 hours when the examination approached,” she told ANI.

As an addendum, the Jamia Milia Islamia’s Residential Coaching Academy (RCA) also played a major role in helping students crack the UPSC exam. Increasing their tally of UPSC success from last year by eight, 31 candidates from the JMI academy qualified with 11 of them being women.

Prerna Singh, a member of the RCA, cleared the test on her fourth attempt as she left her job to prepare for the test. “Initially, I was preparing from my home but then I joined the RCA since it’s a more conducive environment where you are also studying alongside others,” she told media.

“This was my fourth attempt. I am happy and grateful. There are stages which are disheartening, but in the end, it’s all about why you decided to go for it in the first place. My friends and mother have motivated me a lot for each attempt I have given,” she added.

The academy was also able to produce AIR 9, Nausheen, who is a resident of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.(With inputs from PTI)