Divya Pandey said she did not enrol for any professional coaching.
One year, a smartphone and dedicated 18 hours-a-day of study -- that is what it took a retired crane operator's daughter in Jharkhand to crack the civil services examination in her maiden attempt.
Divya Pandey, 24, who is from Ramgarh district, secured the 323rd rank in this year's examination, results of which were announced by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Monday.
"An internet connection and smartphone helped me crack the civil services examination. The internet is an ocean of knowledge and information," she told PTI.
“I put in around 18 hours of study on a daily basis and read a lot of National Council of Education Research (NCERT) books,” Divya, who graduated from Ranchi University in 2017, said.
Divya also said she did not enrol for any professional coaching while preparing for the exam.
For her father Jagdish Prasad Pandey, who retired in 2016 as a crane operator of Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), joy knows no bounds.
“I cannot tell you how proud I am. My daughter deserves this success and her hard work has paid off,” Pandey said.
Divya's elder sister Priyadarshani Pandey has also cleared the preliminary test for Jharkhand Public Service Commission, she said.
"I am keen to work for the poor and the downtrodden," she added.
After six years, women secured the top three ranks in the civil services examination 2021, the UPSC said after declaring the results on Monday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)