Women secure top four ranks in UPSC civil services exam

Hyderabad: Women bagged the first four ranks of the civils exam, with Telangana's Uma Harathi N., daughter of a police officer, standing third behind Delhi University graduates Ishita Kishor and Garima Lohia. The results were released on Tuesday.

This is the second year in a row when women candidates got the top three ranks in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Exam (CSE). Several candidates from the state and the city, scored well, though many were attempting the exam for the first time.

The commission said 933 candidates — 613 men and 320 women — had qualified the exam. The top 25 candidates comprise 14 women and 11 men.

Harati topped her B.Tech in 2017 from a college in the city and cracked the Civils in her fourth attempt. Daughter of N. Venkateshwarlu, superintendent of police of Narayanpet district, Harati was overjoyed with her rank.

"She has been a hard worker since her childhood and had always topped. She had been trying to crack the UPSC for four years now and has nailed it. We are so proud of her," said Venkateshwarlu. The family chose to celebrate the feat quietly. Her brother is an Indian Engineering Services officer in Mumbai.

“I was only hoping to get qualified with a decent rank, I never expected to come third," said Harathi, who studied for about seven-eight hours a day. She took one per cent of the credit to herself and said 99 per cent of it went to her parents.

"I wouldn't call it success, I would call it a direct consequence of the support and encouragement that my father, mother, brother and friends and mentors gave me. Content and information to qualify is available everywhere, I believe it's this emotional strength that one needs to get to heights in life," Harati said. He said her interests lay in the fields of education and women's welfare.

Hyderabad police commissioner C.V. Anand, in a tweet, congratulated the family. “I am proud that a daring officer who fought the naxalites bravely and got accelerated promotion for that , has fathered an even daring daughter,” Anand said in a tweet. He recalled that Venkateshwarlu was a sub-inspector at Kamareddy when he (Anand) was superintendent of police from 1996 to 99.

Dr G.V.S. Pavandatta scored an all-India 22nd rank in his second . "My son took coaching online and was meticulous. We were inspired by his dedication and supported him," said Lalitha Kumari, his mother, a native of Tirupati.

The doctor, who took anthropology as his subject, had got the 60th rank in Eamcet. "I took up medicine not to earn for himself but with the idea of social service. When lockdown came, I thought, why not try this, " he said. His mother, a teacher, said Dr Pavandatta had got free seats for his merit everywhere. “As middle class parents, to not have any financial burden for the child's education is a true blessing," Lalitha Kumar told Deccan Chronicle.

Sri Sai Ashrith Shakamuri, who secured the 40th rank, is a native of Warangal's Chityala. "It's both, a moment of pride and joy that I became an IAS at such a young age. It's truly a dream come true to achieve this at my very first attempt," said the 21-year-old.

Meticulous work, mentors morals, and family are what helped M. Sri Pranav, who scored the 60th rank. After acing the exam in his fifth attempt, he's relieved he no longer has to write his prelims the coming week. Calling mock tests his best friend, he said that he took up the UPSC exam only as a challenge some years ago and was happy to see himself here today. "I took sociology as my subject and enjoyed the process of preparing for the exam. It's humbling to see my efforts bear fruit," he told Deccan Chronicle.

Bhuvana Pranith Pappula, who secured an all-India rank of 510 said that Civils was always on his mind growing up. "At home, conversations about serving the public, giving back to the nation were common, so choosing this stream came naturally to me. When in college, leadership and people management was something I grew more interested in and decided to take it up," said he who rejected a well-paying job offer he got in his final year of college.