UPSC CSE 2022: Women took the crown for the second consecutive year as Delhi’s Ishita Kishore emerged as the top scorer of the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) Civil Service Examinations 2022.
Ishita, an economics student and a sports lover, cracked the Civil Services examination on her third attempt. “It has been a long journey as I did not even make it through the prelims in the first two attempts. I dedicated my sole attention to UPSC and I hope to become an I.A.S. officer this year,” said Ishita while talking to The Free Press Journal.
Taking to Twitter she wrote, "I did it."
A student of Air Force Bal Bharti School and Delhi's Shri Ram College of Commerce, Ishita worked as an analyst with Ernst & Young, a consulting firm, before quitting her job to study for UPSC CSE. Several friends and family members warned the student against quitting her comfortable corporate job to pursue government services. “I learned the importance of professionalism and a strong work ethic at my job. But at the end of the day, you have to decide what you want to do with your life,” said the candidate.
Ishita attributes the success to her family of three. The student resides with her mother who works as a school teacher, her brother who works as a lawyer, and her father, an Indian Air Force official, who was her main source of inspiration. “Seeing my father devote his life to the country, developed a strong sense of service within me. This is what pushed me to pursue CSE, and hopefully, to become an I.A.S. officer,” said Ishita.
UPSC CSE, arguably the toughest competitive exam in the country, will always be a long journey, says Ishita. “One needs stamina. Yes, academic skills are important but the exam truly tests your emotional strength as well. It took me three years to get here and I only wish for a shorter journey for aspirants who will appear for the exam this year,” said AIR 1 Ishita Kishore.
The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2022 was conducted on 5th June 2022. A total of 11,35,697 candidates applied for this examination, out of which 5,73,735 candidates actually appeared in the examination.
The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages: preliminary, main, and interview to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and the Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.
A total of 933 candidates qualified for the examinations and interviews. Of these, 345 students hailed from the general category, 99 from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, 263 from the OBC category, 154 from SC, and 72 from ST. A consolidated reserve list of 178 candidates has been maintained by the commission.
The candidates have been shortlisted for 1022 vacancies in civil services positions. Of these, 18- vacancies are reserved for I.A.S. aspirants, 200 for I.P.S., 473 for Central Services Group ‘A', 131 for Group ‘B’ Services, and 38 for I.F.S. aspirants. According to the statement released by the commission, marks will be available on the website within 15 days from the date of the result declaration.
