BENGALURU: Four from Karnataka have made it to the top 50 in the civil services exam. The toppers are Nitish K (rank 8), B Fouzia Taranum (rank 31), Balaji D K (36) and Prashanth G N (47).
Over 50 aspirants from the state have cleared the exam, compared to 45 last year.
The journey was not easy for Nitish from Udupi. “I am happy. What is required is consistency and discipline. One should not get disappointed by initial failures,” said Nitish who saw a dramatic swing in his fortunes from 547th rank in 2014 to break into the top 10 this time. He was unsuccessful in his first attempt in 2012.
He has completed engineering in Electronics and Communications and has been undergoing training for Indian Audit and Accounts Services in Shimla since December.
For Bengaluru's B Fouzia Taranum, who got rank 31, “it was a childhood dream come true.”
She said, “It has been a long journey so far, and every minute has been worth it. I started preparing in 2011, and this for me, has been a life-changing experience. I will choose IAS now, and hopefully, will get the Karnataka cadre.”
Fouzia cracked the exams in 2011 too. Currently, she is working with the IRS here. A resident of Wilson Garden, she did her schooling at Bishop Cotton, BCom from Jyothi Nivas College and PGDM from Christ University.
Fouzia is the first person in her family to get into government service. What really stands out, however, is the fact that she is the first in her family to do her post-graduation.
“My mother is a home-maker and my father a businessman. They are over the moon. I liked what I was doing at the IRS. I am looking forward to this new journey now,” she added.
For Mallikarjun V Mamani, who has secured 434th rank, it was a breakthrough in his very first attempt. He hails from Saundatti in Belagavi district.
“I did my BE at B V Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering (Hubballi) in 2012, and it has been my dream since then to join the civil services. It takes a lot of passion and patience to clear the exams. Smart work is imperative too. Though I was selected in the campus placements, I didn’t take up the job as I wanted to study for the civil services,” he said.
“I wanted to join the IAS, but with my current rank I will not be able to. Hence, I will write the exams again on August 23 to see if I can better my ranking. I am confident that I will,” said Mamani, who is currently in New Delhi preparing for his second attempt.
“I am still not able to digest the news,” said Lokesh Bharamappa Jagalasar, who has secured rank 749. He hails from Raibag taluk in Belagavi district.
“This is my second attempt. In my first attempt I got Railways. However, joining the IAS was my childhood dream. Consistent hard work is very important. I did my B.Tech from NIT, Suratkal, and PUC from the Sri Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain College in Bengaluru,” he said.
Like Mamani, Lokesh plans to make another go at the exam to improve his ranking.
“With my current ranking I will not be able to get into the IAS. So I will take the exam on August 23 to see if I can improve my rank and make the cut for IAS,” he said. Lokesh’s father works in the PWD department while his mother is a home-maker.
Currently, Lokesh is undergoing training for the Railways in Lucknow. “I will discontinue this training in the next 15 days and return so that I can prepare for the exam. The training will end in October, but I will not wait till then,” he added.