CHANDIGARH: IRS officer Pradeep Singh (29) from Sonepat in Haryana has topped the Civil Services exam 2019. Singh topped the list of 829 successful candidates for various services, including the IAS, IPS, IFS among others. A farmer’s son, Singh, a 2019-batch Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) officer, is a probationer at the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN) in Faridabad. “It is a dream come true.
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I always wanted to be an IAS officer and would like to work for the deprived sections of society.’’
His emphasis would be on improving education and farm sectors. “I have opted for my home state Haryana. I am happy I will now get the chance to work for my state,” said Singh, who had taken leave to prepare for the exam. This was Singh’s fourth attempt in the civil service exam — twice he could not clear, last time he got into IRS. “In the third attempt, I cleared and got the sixth rank”.
Singh had at one stage thought of leaving the IRS, but his father persuaded him to continue. “It is very difficult to study while working because UPSC demands consistency and focus. At one time I thought I was dragging it. But my father motivated me to keep studying.’’Singh’s main focus was on finishing the syllabus, not on study hours. “This was because I was working.
My family totally supported me. I’d like to give credit for my success to two of my friends who studied with me for the exams.” His father is a farmer, while mother a house-maker. His elder brother is into insurance and his younger sister is studying. Among others who cleared the exams from the region are: Dr Darpan Ahluwalia, an MBBS student from Rajindra Medical College, Patiala, (80th rank) and Muskhan Jindal of Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, (87th rank in her first attempt).