Kerala women outshine men in UPSC Civil Service Examination

Thiruvananthapuram, April 22 (IANS) Kerala women outpaced men in the Union Public Service Commission's (UPSC) Civil Services Examination results that came out on Tuesday.

There were five women and one man in the first 100 ranks.

While the topper from Kerala is 33rd-ranked Alfred Thomas, the remaining in the list of 100 are five women - Malavika G.Nair, who secured the 45th rank, G.P. Nandana (47th), Sonnet Jose (54th), Reenu Anna Mathew (81st), and Devika Priyadarshini (95th).

Nair said this was a gift from God, as this was her last chance.

"I always wanted to work in government Service and am presently a Deputy Commissioner in the IRS. It was the inspiration from my seniors that I finally made it," she said.

Nandana said she failed to clear the preliminaries in her first attempt, but in this attempt, made it. “I was not that confident, but my teachers were sure that I will make it. IAS is my first choice and I am hopeful, I will be making it," she said.

Mathew said this was her fourth attempt and all along was waiting for this moment, which finally came.

"My parents failed to believe me when I broke the news, but now it has settled down and we all are excited and happy," said Mathew, adding her first choice is the Indian Foreign Service and she is waiting eagerly for it.

A total of 1,009 candidates have been recommended for appointment across various services, based on their performance and in accordance with the number of vacancies and the rules governing the examination.

According to the UPSC, of the 1,009 successful candidates, 335 belong to the General category, 109 to EWS, 318 to OBC, 160 to SC, and 87 to ST.

The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination was held on June 16, 2024. Out of 9,92,599 applicants, 5,83,213 candidates appeared.

Of these, 14,627 qualified for the Main (Written) Examination held in September 2024.

Subsequently, 2,845 candidates were shortlisted for the Personality Test.

The final list is topped by Shakti Dubey, who secured the first rank with Political Science & International Relations as her optional subject.

Harshita Goyal secured the second rank. A B.Com graduate from MS University of Baroda, she too had Political Science & International Relations as her optional subject.

Dongre Archit Parag stood third. He holds a B.Tech in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from VIT, Vellore, and opted for Philosophy as his optional subject.

--IANS

sg/vd