INDIA
As journalists trawled through the list of successful candidates in the annual Indian Public Service examinations, they came across the youngest qualifier, 22-year-old Sushree Kumar (pictured with her father) from Kollam, Kerala.
Journalists joined in the throng of relatives and friends who had arrived to congratulate her.
“The phone calls have not stopped,” Ms Kumar said.
The daughter of a former Central Reserve Police Force Officer, she secured 151st place in the examination rankings at her first attempt.
Her father, Sunil Kumar was an officer in the Special Protection Group between 2004 and 2010, when he helped to protect former Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.
Recalling her childhood, Ms Kumar said in 2008, when she was 14, she presented a bouquet to Mr Singh and his wife, Gurcharan Kaur.
She said she told the Prime Minister she wanted to become a PS employee.
“He blessed me and I was very happy and motivated,” Ms Kumar said.
Asked about her source of motivation for cracking the examination, she said her father had always motivated her to excel.
Mr Kumar said he had spent his retirement helping his daughter to prepare for the examination so she could achieve her dream of becoming a PS employee.
Kollam, 1 May 2018
