New Delhi: Shubham Kumar, an alumnus of IIT—Bombay and resident of Katihar in Bihar, has topped the prestigious Civil Services Examination 2020, results of which were declared by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Friday. Kumar had scored 290th rank last year.
Jagrati Awasthi and Ankita Jain have got second and third rank respectively. The other toppers in order are Yash Jaluka, Mamata Yadav, Meera K, Praveen Kumar, Jivani Kartik Nagjibhhai, Apala Mishra and Satyam Gandhi. A total of 761 candidates -- 545 men and 216 women -- have cleared the examination.
Kumar, 24, told a news agency that development of villages, employment generation and poverty alleviation in rural areas of the country would be his focus areas. He got selected in the Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS) after qualifying the civil services examination 2019. Kumar could not make it in his first attempt in the 2018 examination.
Kumar is currently undergoing training at the National Academy of Defence Financial Management (NADFM), Pune. “My dream was to get into the IAS as it gives a wider platform to work for the betterment of the people. It has been realised and I would like to work for the underprivileged people, especially in rural areas,” he said.
Second rank holder Jagrati Awasthi, who hails from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, said she would also like to join the IAS and work for rural development, besides women and child development. Awasthi, aged 24 years, believes skilling women, especially from rural areas, in handicrafts can make India a world leader in the sector.
A total of 761 candidates -- 545 men and 216 women -- have cleared the civil services examination 2020, results of which were declared on Friday by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.
The UPSC said that the top 25 candidates comprise 13 men and 12 women. Ria Dabi, who is the sister of 2015 civil services exam topper Tina Dabi, has secured 15th rank in the examination. Tina Dabi, an IAS officer, is currently posted in her cadre state Rajasthan.
