New Delhi: Shruti Sharma, who has topped the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2021, on Monday said her "extremely supportive" parents and friends helped her in her journey which required a lot of hard work and patience.
Delhi-based Sharma, an alumnus of Delhi University's St Stephen's College, said she was not expecting such a result and it was a pleasant surprise. "Credit goes to everyone who was involved in my journey, especially my parents. They were extremely supportive and friends who guided me," she said.
On a question regarding her motivation after not getting selected in her earlier attempt, Shruti said, "In the last attempt, I missed the interview just with 1 mark, that too because of a language issue. So I thought that I will try a little harder this time and change in the medium to English will also help and I can get a good rank, and this remained my biggest motivation."
She further added that she likes to read books and poetry and sometimes goes for a walk to feel refreshed. Also, she does not detach herself completely from social media but uses it in a balanced way, she adds.
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Sharma did her post-graduation from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and was preparing for the civils for the last four years and was a student of Jamia Millia Islamia's Residential Coaching Academy. The RCA is funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to provide free coaching and residential facilities to students belonging to categories such as the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, and minorities.
A Jamia official said that 23 students of the coaching academy have cleared the exams. Ankita Agarwal and Gamini Singla have also secured the second and the third rank in the result of the civil services examination 2021 announced by the UPSC on Monday. As many as 685 candidates have qualified for the prestigious test, the UPSC said.
Meanwhile, several of her ex-professors and academic acquaintances reached Sharma's house to congratulate her on her achievement. Among them were Prof. Najma Akhtar - the Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Abid Hakeem - Director of the University Residential Coaching Academy and Ahmed Azeem, the Liaison Officer at Jamia Millia Islamia.
