CHENNAI: As many as 118 candidates from Tamil Nadu are expected to have made the cut among the 1,236 successful candidates in the Civil Services Examination of the Union Public Service Commission.
Coimbatore-girl T Charusree, who came sixth in the All India Rank (AIR) list, was the topper from the State.
Chennai’s IS Mercy Ramya came second in the State after securing AIR 32. The 24-year-old told Express that the desire to translate her social ideals into action was her reason for pursuing IAS. She is expected to begin training in September. Ramya had attempted to clear the exams twice before but reached Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) previously.
“It is either IAS or nothing,” said Mercy, adding that she never wanted to settle for anything less. “My mother is a college principal and my father is a lawyer. So I have always been a part of numerous living room debates,” she said of her preparations.
“I want to do more for women empowerment,” she said, when asked of her intentions upon assuming charge as an IAS officer.
“There was this one occasion when travelling from Kanha, I passed by a village where there were no toilets for girls. I still remember the thoughts that raced through my mind then, the uneasiness and fear. And I realized the women in the village lived through this ordeal every single day. It cemented my decision about IAS,” she added.
S Arunraj, also of Chennai, secured third in the State and an AIR 34. Both Arunraj and Mercy Ramya were trained at the Manidhaneyam Free IAS Academy run by Chennai Mayor Saidai S Duraisamy.
A total of 1,236 candidates cleared the test and have been recommended for appointment to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and various Central services.
Besides 590 candidates from the general category, the test was cleared by 354 candidates from Other Backward Classes, 194 from Scheduled Castes and 98 from Scheduled Tribes. The result of one candidate was withheld, according to the official announcement from the UPSC.
Of the 4.51 lakh who took the prelims, 16,933 had qualified for the mains. In December, 16,286 wrote the main exam and in March 2015, 3,308 were called for the personality test. A total of 1,364 posts are to be filled through the civil services examination.