Engineering graduates, Shubham Kumar and Jagrati Awasthi have bagged the first and second ranks respectively in India’s Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) 2020 examination.
Mr Kumar (pictured), who hails from Bihar, is a Bachelor of Technology (civil engineering) graduate from IIT-Bombay.
Ms Awasthi, from Madhya Pradesh, is the topper among women candidates, according to a statement issued by the UPSC.
She qualified for the examination with sociology as her optional subject
Ankita Jain, from Mumbai, was third in the prestigious test.
In an interview shortly after the results were announced, Mr Kumar said he wanted to work for rural people everywhere.
“My father was the driving force. He said I can make a difference by joining the Civil Service, so he always pushed me on, even though at first it didn’t look like I would succeed,” Mr Kumar said.
It was his third attempt at the exam “so I knew what to expect and limited my study to the areas where I thought I would get questions — even so, finishing top was beyond my wildest dreams”.
“The first person I spoke to after the results were announced was my father,” he said.
“He said he knew it was going to be third time lucky for me, but being the topper? He couldn’t believe it. I had to convince him it was true,” Mr Kumar said.
A total of 761 candidates — 545 men and 216 women — have cleared the examination, with the UPSC keeping a further 150 candidates on its reserve list.
Candidates were selected on the basis of the main written exam, held in January, and interviews held throughout August and September.
Prior to the main written exam, a preliminary test was held in October 2020.
Candidates who had qualified from the preliminary test were short-listed for the main exam.
The examination is held annually to select officers for the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Police Service and other Services.
The 2020 results were delayed because of COVID-19 restrictions.
New Delhi, 27 September 2021
