UPSC : Karnataka’s Nandini K R tops civil services exam

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 31, 2017 : Nandini K R, a young civil engineer from Karnataka, has topped the prestigious Civil Service Exams, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said on Wednesday.

 

Anmol Sher Singh Bedi, a computer engineer who studied in BITS Pilani, came second while GopalKrishna Ronanki, son of illiterate parents, came third.

Interestingly, Nandini, a Group A officer in Central Excise and Customs who is presently undergoing training in Haryana’s Faridabad, had opted for Kannada as her optional subject while Ronanki had written his exams in his mother tongue Telugu.

26-year-old Nandini, who hails from Kembodi village in Kolar district, pipped 2,961 who appeared for the interview after main exams to emerge the topper in her fourth shot at the exams. Of the 2,961, the UPSC has selected 1,099 for the services.

"I am really happy. It is an oppurtunity to serve the poor. I did not expect this but my hard work has not gone waste," Nandini, who did her enginnering from MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bengaluru, told DH.

Nandini, who worked as a Junior Engineer in Karnataka Public Works Department for two years and posted in Delhi’s Karnataka Bhavan, said only hard work could take one to this level.

Nandini’s father Ramesh is a government primary school teacher in Mudavadi Kolar while her mother is a housewife. Her brother is doing his PhD from Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

Ronanki said his entire education was in government school and through distance mode. "It a big achievement for me as I attained this position despite the fact that my parents are not literate," he said.

Three women figure in the top 10 list of the 2016 exams in wihch 13.5 lakh submitted applications. Of this, 4.59 lakh candidates appeared for the preliminary exams and only 15,452 candidates qualified for Main Examination.

Of the 1,099 selected candidates, 846 are men and 253 women, including 44 disabled candidates. Of this, 500 belong to the General category while 347 are in OBC, SC 163 and ST 89.

There are 180 vacancies in IAS, 150 in IPS and 45 in Indian Foreign Service. The UPSC said 603 candidates will be given Group A services while 231 will get Group B services.

Courtesy:DHNS