NEW DELHI: A Delhi University graduate and daughter of an Air Force officer, Ishita Kishore said achieving the first rank in the civil services examination was like a dream come true for her and that she would work towards women empowerment after becoming an IAS officer.
Twenty-six-year-old Kishore cleared the prestigious examination in her third attempt.
"I am very happy for getting the first rank. It's a dream come true for me," Kishore told PTI.
Kishore, the younger of two siblings, said she used to study for at least eight to nine hours a day to prepare for the examination.
"The success is the result of my hard work. One needs to be very sincere, consistent and dedicated towards this (clearing civil services) goal to achieve results," she said.
Kishore, who worked with the multinational firm Ernst and Young, is the daughter of a late Air Force officer.
Her mother used to teach at a private school and her elder brother is a lawyer.
"I have opted for the Indian Administrative Service. I have given my preference for Uttar Pradesh (her home state) as my cadre," she said.
Kishore, who had been a national-level football player and played in Subroto Cup in 2012, said she would work for women's empowerment and the upliftment of neglected people after becoming part of the prestigious administrative service.
"It is an honour to work for my country. Civil service is a better way to serve the country," she said.
Kishore, who lives in neighbouring Greater Noida, qualified for the examination with Political Science and International Relations as her optional subject.
She graduated in Economics (Hons.) from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi.
She expressed gratitude towards her family for continuously encouraging her.
"I have a lot of gratitude for my family who stood with me when I could not clear the civil services examination in the first two attempts. They encouraged me a lot," she said.
As many as 933 candidates -- 613 men and 320 women -- have qualified for the civil services examination 2022, the results of which were announced on Tuesday by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
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 the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.
The first four rank holders are all women as Garima Lohia, Uma Harathi N and Smriti Mishra secured the second, third and fourth ranks in the examination.
"It is really heartening to see women getting the top four ranks," Kishore said.
Lohia and Mishra are graduates of the University of Delhi, while Harathi N is a Bachelor of Technology degree holder from Indian Institute of technology (IIT)-Hyderabad.
Lohia, who hails from Buxar in Bihar, cleared the examination in her second attempt.
Harathi N, a resident of Hyderabad, qualified for the exam in her fifth attempt.
Mishra, who lives in Noida, cleared the examination in her third attempt with Zoology as her optional subject.
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 had secured the first, second and third positions in the civil services examination 2021.