BENGALURU: The results of Union Public Service Commission Civil Services examination 2017 has been announced and several candidates from the state made it to the list, some with top ranks. But it was not an easy job to crack the exams as it was not their first attempt for many of them. Speaking to TNIE, Swetha M, who appeared for the exam for the 4th time in 2017 and scored 119 all- India rank, said that it was a challenging year. “It was tough to repeat the whole cycle again as I have been preparing for the exams from 2014.
However, this year, I decided to give it my all,” she said. The 27-year-old said that she wanted to be an IAS officer. On what kept her motivated, Swetha said that internal motivation was a major factor and it was also important to have a supportive family. “It is important to keep changing your strategy as you attempt the paper every year. Changes are important,” she said. However, for some of these successful candidates, Bengaluru has become a home for preparations for the exams. Prathibha Rani, an engineer who bagged the 78th rank, is basically from Jharkhand and she came to the city in 2016 to prepare for the examinations.
“I had earlier started a skill centre to provide quality education to everyone and later, I saw some of the officers from my state working to make a difference in the education sector. So, I decided to take up civil services,” she said. At least 134 candidates from the city, who had taken the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2017, cleared the exams as per the results announced on Friday. Those selected for joining the All India Services from the city include Pratibha Rani, who secured 78th rank, Keerthi Kiran Poojar, who secured 115th rank and Swetha M, who secured 119th rank. Other rankers include Vinod Patil (294), Vindhya C (160), Shiv Neharika (484), Gopal Krishna B (265) and Sagar Chachar (437), all students of Shankar IAS academy in the city.
Kannada literature students cry foul
Candidates who opted Kannada literature as optional subject felt it was an injustice for the candidates from Karnataka who opted Kannada literature. A candidate who lost out by 3 marks, said, “Kannada literature and other regional literatures have been butchered by UPSC this time. Last time, there were 30 successful candidates, with Kannada literature as optional. This time, only 2 were successful, and that too, the highest rank has been 346, while it was rank 1 last time. This year, candidates feel they have been discriminated against. Probably, the antiregional language bias/pro- Hindi bias is being reflected in UPSC examinations too.”