UPSC Civil Services topper reveals how she cracked the exam after 3rd attempt

Ishita Kishore said she did not clear the preliminary exam of the UPSC exam on two occasions but received constant support from her family

NEW DELHI:Ishita Kishore, the 26-year-old Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) alumnus who topped the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) ,said that she was confident about clearing the examination but “topping the merit list came as a surprise”.

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Ishita Kishore said the realization that she wanted to be a civil servant was an early one since she was born into an air force family and that service and duty were a part of her upbringing.

“I’m still soaking in the result… I have been constantly supported by my family,” she said after securing the first rank in the UPSC exam. This was her third attempt.

Ishita Kishore said her first choice was the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

Women bagged the top four ranks in the Civil Services Examination (CSE) conducted by UPSC. Garima Lohia, Uma Harathi N and Smriti Mishra secured the second, third and fourth ranks respectively in the examination. Lohia and Mishra are graduates of the University of Delhi, while Harathi N is a B.Tech degree holder from IIT-Hyderabad, according to news agency PTI.

UPSC has recommended 933 candidates, including 320 women for appointment to various services including the IAS, Indian Police Service and the Indian Foreign Service. A total of 11,35,697 candidates applied for the examination, out of which 5,73,735 candidates appeared for the examination.

Ishita Kishore’s parents originally hail from Patna and she did her schooling and college in Delhi, “You can say I’m from all over India,” she said. Her hobbies include Madhubani painting.

After completing her undergraduate degree in Economics Honours from SRCC, Kishore went on to work at Ernst and Young in the risk advisory department. She opted for political science and international relations as her optional subject.

Ishita Kishore said clearing the civil services exam requires immense hard work. “There are no easy routes or shortcuts,” she said. “You have to put in the hard work and commit to it. There are no quick fixes, you need to put in the effort.”