UPSC rank No. 3 Gamini Singla and her family dance in celebration
The civil service candidate who secured No. 3 position in the highly competitive all-India exam and her family were greeted with congratulatory wishes from across the country, when the results came out.
Soon, Gamini Singla and her family were seen in a video dancing happily in a video tweeted by news agency ANI.
Ms Singla stood third in the all-India ranking of the Union Public Service Commission, or UPSC, exam for the country's top civil services. She thanked her family for supporting her throughout her journey.
History student Shruti Sharma topped the exam, while Ankita Agarwal came second. All the three top ranks have been secured by women candidates this time after a gap of six years. In 2015, the top four positions were achieved by women.
A total of 685 candidates - 508 men and 177 women - have qualified for different branches of the central civil services.
"I am really happy. It is like a dream come true. I have opted for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and would like to work for the development of the country and welfare of people, especially women empowerment," Ms Singla told news agency PTI on phone from Anandpur Sahib in Punjab.
Ms Singla cleared the exam in her second attempt. She said she mainly did "self-study" and credited her father for her success.
She holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science. She took sociology as her optional subject.
The centre had notified 749 vacancies - 180 of IAS, 37 of Indian Foreign Service (IFS), 200 of IPS (Indian Police Service) and remaining central Group A and B services - to be filled through the 2021 examination.
With inputs from ANI and PTI
