UPSC 2022 IAS toppers: Women steal the show, again; secure top four ranks

Garima Lohia, Uma Harathi N and Smriti Mishra secured the second, third and fourth ranks respectively in the examination, results of which were declared on Tuesday. Lohia and Mishra are graduates of the University of Delhi, while Harathi N is a B.Tech degree holder from IIT-Hyderabad.

New Delhi: Women bagged the top four ranks in the civil services examination 2022 with Delhi University graduate Ishita Kishore securing the first spot, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced on Tuesday.

Garima Lohia, Uma Harathi N and Smriti Mishra secured the second, third and fourth ranks respectively in the examination, results of which were declared on Tuesday. Lohia and Mishra are graduates of the University of Delhi, while Harathi N is a B.Tech degree holder from IIT-Hyderabad.

This is the second year in a row that women candidates got the top three ranks in the prestigious exam. Shruti Sharma, Ankita Agarwal and Gamini Singla secured the first, second and third positions respectively in the civil services examination 2021. As many as 933 candidates -- 613 men and 320 women -- have qualified the civil services examination 2022, the commission said.

The top 25 candidates comprise 14 women and 11 men, it said. The civil services examination is conducted annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- by the UPSC to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.

Kishore qualified the examination with political science and international relations as her optional subject. She has graduated in Economics (Hons.) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. Lohia, a graduate in Commerce from Kirorimal College, University of Delhi, secured the second rank with Commerce and Accountancy as her optional subject.

Harathi N, a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from IIT, Hyderabad stood third with Anthropology as her optional subject. Mishra, a graduate (B. Sc.) from Miranda House College, University of Delhi, stood fourth with Zoology as her optional subject. Educational qualifications of top 25 successful candidates range from graduation in Engineering; Humanities; Science; Commerce and Medical Science from premier institutions of the country such as IIT, NIT, University of Delhi, Gujarat National Law University, Jadavpur University and Jiwaji University among others, the UPSC said.

Top 25 successful candidates have opted for subjects like Anthropology, Commerce & Accountancy, Economics, Electrical Engineering, Law, History, Mathematics, Political Science & International Relations, Philosophy, Sociology and Zoology as their optional choice in the written (main) examination, it added.

The recommended candidates include 41 Persons with Benchmark Disability (14 Orthopedically Handicapped, seven Visually Challenged, 12 Hearing Impaired & 8 Multiple Disabilities). Out of the total qualified candidates this time, 345 are from General category, 99 from Economically Weaker Section (EWS), 263 Other Backward Classes (OBC), 154 Scheduled Caste (SC) and 72 from Scheduled Tribe (ST).

A total of 178 candidates have been put in the reserve list as well, it said. There were 1,022 vacancies reported by the Centre to be filled through the civil services examination. It included 180 IAS officers, 38 IFS, 200 IPS, 473 in Group A central services and 131 in Group B services, the UPSC said.

The civil services preliminary examination 2022 was conducted on June 5 last year. A total of 11,35,697 candidates applied for this examination, out of which 5,73,735 candidates actually appeared in it. A total of 13,090 candidates qualified for appearance in the written (main) examination which was held in September, 2022. A total of 2,529 candidates qualified for the personality test of the coveted examination. (Agency inputs)