Greater Noida woman tops UPSC: ‘I’m still soaking in the result’

Women secure top ranks for the second year in a row in the Union Public Service Commission?s Civil Services Examination, with three out of four women graduates from the University of Delhi. Ishita Kishore, a resident of Greater Noida?s Jal Vayu Vihar, secured the all-India rank one.

For the second year in a row, the top ranks of the Union Public Service Commission’s Civil Services Examination (CSE) were secured by women, the result of which was declared on Tuesday. However, this year, there was another thing in common among the toppers — three out of four women were graduates from the University of Delhi. While CSE 2023 topper, Ishita Kishore, is a graduate of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), the second-rank holder Garima Lohia is a graduate of Kirori Mal College and the fourth-rank holder Smriti Mishra is a graduate of Miranda House.

26-year-old Ishita Kishore, who secured all India rank 1 in the UPSC civil services examination, with her family. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Garima Lohia from Bihar secured the second position in the exam. (PTI)

Swarmed by relatives, well-wishers, and the media, 26-year-old Ishita Kishore was beaming with pride and joy after she learnt that she secured the all-India rank one. “My phone has been constantly ringing since the news broke around 2pm. Even before I could check the rankings myself, my friends and relatives started congratulating me. I knew I would clear the exams this time but never imagined that I would be the topper,” said Kishore, a resident of Greater Noida’s Jal Vayu Vihar.

N Uma Harathi from Telangana, who secured the third rank, with her family. (PTI)

“Even though I lost him at a young age, he left me inspired by his work and his sense of serving the country,” said Ishita, who was born in Hyderabad and is a native of Patna, Bihar. She was a student of Air Force Bal Bharti School, Lodhi Road, and cleared her Class 12 with 97.25% marks in commerce. Kishore is also a national-level football player. Kishore then went on to study B.Com (Honours) at SRCC and cleared the exam on her third attempt. She opted for the Indian Administrative Service.

Smriti Mishra from Gautam Budh Nagar, secured the all-India rank four in the examination. (HT Photo)

Buxar girl Garima Lohia, who made Bihar proud by securing the second position in the exam, graduated B.Com (Honours) from Kirori Mal College. Lohia stands out from the crowd as she moved to her native place Buxar from Delhi to prepare for the coveted exam, unlike other aspirants who move to bigger cities for coaching. Lohia cleared the exam on the second attempt.

“I decided to prepare for civil services in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown. After returning home, I started to study on my own and took help from websites. I did expect to clear the exam but I did not imagine securing the second rank. My mother constantly motivated me during preparation as she used to stay awake with me,” she added. Her father Narayan Prasad Lohia died in 2015.

Meanwhile, another resident from Gautam Budh Nagar and a DU graduate, Smriti Mishra, secured the all-India rank four in the examination. A resident of Sector 41, Mishra is the daughter of the deputy superintendent of police (Bareilly), Rajkumar Mishra. Her mother, Anita, is a homemaker.

“I gave up social media and distanced myself from social gatherings and focused on studying. This was my third attempt and I am very happy to have secured the fourth rank,” said 25-year-old Mishra. After finishing high school at St Clair’s School in Agra with 96.6% marks, Mishra moved to Noida with her brother and rented a house in Sector 41. She graduated with B.Sc (life science) from Miranda House, DU.

The third rank was secured by N Uma Harathi, who credited her father, N Venkateshwarlu, with her success. Venkateshwarlu currently serves as the superintendent of police of Narayanpet in Telangana. Harathi, a B.Tech graduate from IIT, Hyderabad, cleared the exam on her fifth attempt, with anthropology as her optional subject.

As many as 933 candidates qualified for the CSE this year. The top 25 candidates comprise 14 women and 11 men.