NEW DELHI: As many as 197 women are among the 829 candidates who have qualified in the prestigious civil services examination 2019, officials said on Wednesday.
The number of successful women candidates is slightly more than in the 2018 civil services exam.
Of the total of 829 candidates selected for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among other services through the civil services exam 2019, 632 are men and 197 women, the officials said.
In percentage terms, 23.7 per cent women have qualified the test this time.
The results of the 2019 exam were announced on Tuesday.
IRS officer Pradeep Singh ranked first while third rank holder Pratibha Verma topped among the women candidates.
Jatin Kishore got the second position in the list of successful candidates.
IN 2018 civil services exam, 759 candidates had qualified -- including 577 men and 182 women.
The women candidates accounted for 23.
9 per cent of the successful candidates.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which conducts the examination, has been encouraging women to apply in large number to be part of the county's civil services.
Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply, the UPSC has been saying in its notifications for the civil services examinations for the last few years.
The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three phases -- preliminary, main and interview.
Of the total candidates who qualified the 2019 civil services exam results, 304 are from General category, 78 from Economically Weaker Section (EWS), 251 from Other Backward Classes (OBC), 129 from Scheduled Castes (SC) and 67 from Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, according to the UPSC.
A total of 182 other candidates have been put in the reserve list, it said.
There were 927 vacancies reported by the government for selection through the civil services examination 2019.