Women have secured the top three places in India’s annual examination for the Federal Public Service.
Leading the line-up in the just announced 2021 results is former history student, Shruti Sharma (26) who said she wanted to work towards improving education and the empowerment of women during her Public Service career, which she plans to be in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
This is Ms Sharma’s (pictured) second attempt at the examination; her family comes from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh where her father is a retired professor and her mother a school teacher.
“My advice to those attempting the examination is to not count the number of hours they put in, but to look at the quality of the hours,” Ms Sharma said.
Ankita Agarwal (25), who finished second, said she was inspired to appear for the coveted examination by her professors at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi; this was her third attempt.
Ms Agarwal comes from a business family in Kolkata, she is the first in her family to clear the examination
Third-rank holder, Gamini Singla (23) from Sunam in Punjab, said this was her second attempt at the examination.
“In my first attempt in 2019, I did not even clear the preliminary stage,” Ms Singla said.
“My father used to get newspapers for me and highlighted the important topics,” she said.
“He used to discuss current affairs to help me prepare for the exam.”
Around half a million candidates appeared for the preliminary examination held in October 2021, out of whom 9,214 qualified for the written (main) examination and 1,824 candidates appeared for the final personality test.
A total of 685 candidates, including 177 women, have been recommended by the Union Public Service Commission for appointment to the various Federal Departments, known in India as Services.
New Delhi, 1 June 2022
