Meet the woman IRS officer who has topped the UPSC exam

Hailing from Kembodi village in Kolar district of Karnataka, about 100 km from Bengaluru, Nandini K.R. has passed the UPSC exams with flying colors. The Union Public Service Commission results, which were announced yesterday placed the IRS officer on top. Incidentally, Nandini is the second woman from the southern state of India to top the UPSC exams, 16 years after Vijayalakshmi Bidari did in 2001.

Nandini, who is presently in the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) as a probationary officer in the Union Finance Ministry, said,

I appeared for the UPSC exams for the first time in 2014 and got selected in 2015 under the IRS category. I am at Faridabad for training in the revenue service.

As a civil engineer from the M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bengaluru, she was the gold medallist of her class. Nandini studied in Kannada medium from the government-aided Thimmaiah Vidyalaya at Kolar and Pre-University Course from Alva's College at Moodabidri in Dakshina Kannada district. Soon after graduation, she worked in the state public works department as an assistant engineer for over two years.

Speaking to reporters from IANS, she added,

I want to join IAS and not IFS (Indian Foreign Service), as I want to be in India and serve the people. Though challenging, I will get an opportunity to learn and work for the people

She is the oldest of three siblings and has always been hardworking, says her father. "I was sure of my daughter's success as I know her dedication and hard work since her childhood," Ramesh, an assistant school master in the Government High School said. Her mother resigned from her job as a teacher in the local school to mentor the children throughout their education and the sacrifice has proved to be successful for the family.

Nandini is followed by Anmol Sher Singh Bedi and Gopalakrishna Ronanki, at the second and third place in the UPSC ranking. A total of 1,099 candidates have been recommended for appointment, besides a consolidated reserve list of 172 candidates, said a TOI report.

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