GAURAV AGARWAL TOPS COUNTRY’S PRESTIGIOUS EXAM” CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2013 “
New Delhi: For the first time in four years, a male has topped the Civil Services Examination 2013, results for which were declared Thursday by Union Public Service Commission naming 1,122 successful candidates who had cleared the prestigious examination to join premier civil services including the Indian Administrative Service.
This is the highest intake of civil servants through this examination, nearly double the 580 civil servants recruited in 2009. An additional 210 candidates have been placed in the reserve list.
Gaurav Agrawal, who is 30-year-old, has got the first rank in the exam with economics as his optional subject. He holds Bachelor of Technology (Computer Science) degree from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow. This was his second attempt.
Agrawal, who got 244th rank in 2012 and chose Indian Police Service last year, is currently undergoing training at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad.
As news came in that Gaurav had topped, at his home in Jaipur, Rajasthan, his bride, Preeti proudly held up his picture. They were married on June 4 this year.
Three years ago, the topper gave up a corporate career in Hong Kong and came home to give a shot at joining the civil services.
Gaurav initially reacted with disbelief when he was informed Thursday that he has topped the prestigious civil services examination this year.
“Initially I could not believe. Then I started receiving calls from my friends, father, mother and wife congratulating me,” the 29-year-old from Jaipur said.
Gaurav, who passed the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam in the second attempt, is currently undergoing training at the SardarVallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here.
“IAS is my first choice. It is a field job. You can meet people, understand their problems and then try to solve them,” said Gaurav, whose father Suresh Chandra Gupta is a manager in Jaipur Dairy and mother Suman Gupta is a housewife.
His father and wife Preeti, a physician, are reaching Hyderabad Friday to join him in the celebrations. He is the only son of his parents while his elder sister lives in the United States.
Coming from an upper middle class family, Gaurav always excelled in studies. Last year he got 244th rank and chose Indian Police Service (IPS).
He holds a Bachelor of Technology (Computer Science) degree from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Kanpur and a Post-
Graduate Diploma in Management from Indian Institute of Management (IIM) – Lucknow. He was a gold medallist in IIM.
Gaurav worked as an investment banker in Citi Group in Hong Kong for four years but returned to India to prepare for the IAS.
A strong believer in hard work, he chose history and economics as optional subjects last year though he had no background of history. This year his optional was economics.
“I had interest in studies from the beginning. I always loved reading and writing,” Gaurav said. He, however, admitted that he had slipped after making it to IIT. “I had failed and my degree had to be extended. This was a lesson for me. I then started focusing on studies,” he said.
Gaurav has a message for youngsters: “One should identify one’s weaknesses and overcome them because there is a general tendency to negate the shortcomings. We should continuously think of improving.”
He also wants students not to become arrogant on small achievements. “We should strive for our ultimate goal. Hard work is the only way. The results will come automatically,” he said.
Munish Sharma and Rachit Raj, both from Delhi, have got the second and third positions respectively.
Munish has a Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry) degree from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University. He got through the exam in second attempt.
“I am very happy. My success is the result of hard work and blessings of my teachers and my mother,” Munish said over phone.
Rachit has cracked the examination in his first attempt. Bharti Dixit is the topper among female candidates. She has secured fifth rank. She has done Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi. This was her first attempt.
Women had bagged the top slots in the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Civil Services Examinations. This year’s woman topper Bharti Dixit, is fifth overall. She is a doctor.
1,122 candidates have been recommended for appointment in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other central services on the basis of the Civil Services Examination, 2013, said a release issued by the Ministry of Personnel.
There are 15 men and 10 women in the top 25. Among them, 24 took the examination in English and one in Kannada.
Nine of them are from an Engineering background, three from Medical Sciences, four from Sciences and nine from Commerce, Humanities and other Social Sciences.
Five of them have made it to the merit list in their first attempt, 11 in the second attempt, seven in the third and two in their fourth attempt.
The Civil Services (preliminary) Examination was held on May 26, 2013. A total of 7,76,565 candidates applied for the examination, out of which 3,23,949 candidates appeared and 14,959 candidates were declared qualified for the main examination, which was held in December, 2013.
3,003 candidates were shortlisted for the personality test which was conducted between April and June.
The Civil Services Examination is conducted in three phases– preliminary, mains and the interview.
The result also showcases the pan-India distribution of successful candidates.
Among the top 25, there are candidates claiming domicile from as many as 11 states or union territories: Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, it said.
Of these, 20 appeared for the examination from Delhi; two from Jaipur and one each from Lucknow, Bangalore and Chandigarh centres.
The successful candidates are appointed in Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and Central Services, Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’.
Out of total 1122 successful candidates, 517 candidates are from General Category, 326 OBC, 187 SC and 92 are from ST category.
The number of vacancies reported by the government to be filled are 1228. There are 180 vacancies in IAS (General 90, OBC 49, SC 27, ST 14), 32 in IFS (General 17, OBC 9, SC 4, ST 2) , 150 in IPS (General 75, OBC 43, SC 24, ST 8), 710 in Central Services Group ‘A’ (General 369, OBC 188, SC 103, ST 50) and 156 in Group ‘B’ Services (General 71, OBC 37, SC 30, ST 18).
News Courtesy: greaterkashmir.com