Ishita passed the elite recruiting exam on his third attempt. Incidentally, she hadn’t even made it past the preliminary stage on her first two attempts. “She is definitely third time lucky for me,” she told TOI adding that her persistence and willingness to review and correct the flaws and shortcomings that led her to fail previously, are finally the reasons for the her success of her. “I have been a national level soccer player and been part of the Subroto Cup tournament. Being a sportsman has prepared me to face failures from a young age.
This is the second year in a row that the top three spots have gone to women. It is also a repeat of the performance of CSE extension 2014, the results of which were declared in 2015 and in which female candidates overtook men with the top four places, leaving only fifth place for the male topper.
In overall performance, women also showed a marked improvement in the CSE 2022, the results of which were announced on Tuesday. Of the total 933 candidates recommended for appointment to various elite services such as IAS and IPS, 320 or 34.2% are female. This is far better than the share of 25.8% women among recommended candidates based on the CSE 2021, 28.5% in 2020, 23.8% in 2019 and 23.9% in 2018 and even exams previously supported.
Of the top 25 candidates reported this year, 14 are women and 11 are men. In fact, women filled 12 of the top 20 slots.
PM Narendra Modi he congratulated the successful candidates and had a word of consolation and encouragement for those who failed to pass the prestigious exam. “I understand the disappointment of those who failed to pass the civil service exams. Not only will there be more attempts to avail but India also offers several opportunities to showcase your skills and strengths. All the best,” he said.
Ishita, who graduated with honors from Shri Ram College of Commerce here, had chosen political science and international relations as her elective. You spent two years working with Ernst & Young. “There has always been this sense of duty in me, being the daughter of an IAF officer. The corporate work has helped me evaluate my long-term plans and fulfill my passion for serving the nation by joining the civil services,” said the 26-year-old TOIexcited to live her dream.
Self-described as an advocate for women’s empowerment, Ishita said she was delighted to lead the four women who passed the civil service exam this year. When asked how she prepared for the exam, Ishita said her journey has been complicated but defined by “consistency.” “I studied for 8-9 hours but I didn’t lose my social life either. I prepared by making time for travel with friends and attending family weddings. I learned how to make Madhubani paintings. All of these hobbies have helped me with mental resilience and balance in life,” she said.
Runner-up Garima Lohia, who is a graduate of DU’s Kirorimal College, passed the exam on her second attempt. While it was the fifth attempt for Uma Harathi N, Miranda house Smriti Mishra pupils passed on his third attempt.
Mayur Hazarika, the only male candidate in the top five, is from Assam. It was the first attempt for the 26-year-old MBBS.
The top 25 successful applicants for CSE 2022 include graduates in disciplines such as engineering, humanities, science, commerce and medicine from top-rated institutions such as IIT, NIT, Gauhati Medical College and University of Delhi.
There are 41 people with a reference disability among the recommended candidates.
Over 11.3 lakh applicants applied for CSE 2022 and only 5.7 lakh appeared for consideration. While 13,090 qualified for the main exam, 2,529 made it to the personality test stage. Of these, 933 were reported for a total of 1,022 vacancies, of which 180 in IAS, 200 in IPS, 38 in IFS, 473 in Servizi Centrali Group ‘A’ and 131 in Servizi Group ‘B’. A reserve list of 178 candidates was also declared as part of Tuesday’s final results.
