ROURKELA: Sundargarh district erupted in joy after two local lads successfully cleared the prestigious Indian Civil Services examinations, the results of which were declared by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Monday.
Gourav Kumar Agarwal (25) of Sundargarh town and Anup Garg (28) of Rourkela secured 86th and 269th ranks respectively. Gourav, a law graduate and resident of Sundargarh town's Mission Road, has preferred the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) over the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) due to his special interest in international relations.
Gourav said he achieved the success through self-study with help of online materials. "I did not join any coaching centre except for mock test series and prepared for the examinations at home. Since 2019, I dedicated 10-12 hours to studies every day. I am happy to clear the exams in second attempt," he informed.
Gourav attributed his success to hard work and support from family, friends and teachers. Gourav studied at St Paul's school in Rourkela till Class VIII before completing his Class X and XII from Balangir. He then moved to Raipur in Chhattisgarh to complete his law graduation before returning to Sundargarh town.
Anup, a resident of DAV School Lane in the Steel City, studied at Rourkela till Class V and went on to complete the rest of his schooling from Bishop Cotton School, Bengaluru. He obtained his degree from Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering, Bengaluru. For the last four years, he was staying in Delhi and taking coaching for the Civil Services examination.