BHUBANESWAR: At 22, Odisha’s Simi Karan is not just of one of the youngest to crack this year’s Civil Services Examinations but has proved that she is a prodigy of sorts. She just had four months to prepare for the coveted test which she cleared in the first attempt and secured the all India rank of 31. Originally from Balasore, Simi is the youngest candidate from Odisha to crack the UPSC Civil Services Examinations- 2019, results of which were declared on Tuesday.
The 22-years-old had topped the Class XII CBSE examination from Chhattisgarh in 2015 and scored 5th position at all India level. She went on to pursue BTech in electrical engineering from IIT-Mumbai. After completing the engineering degree in May 2019, she began preparations for the Civil Services Examinations in June even as she had very little time at hand. “I had to be smart as I had very less time to prepare,” Simi said, adding, "If you are honest with yourself and utilise your efforts in a smart way, you will get good results in less time.” She did and notched up 31st rank.
A native of Santoshpur village under Basta block of Balasore, her father Debendranath Karan works as a manager at Bhilai Steel Plant while mother Sujata is a teacher at DPS Durg.
Expressing joy over her daughter’s achievement, Sujata said Simi has been a bright student and won many scholarships in her school days. “She prepared for the Mains in just four and half months,” Sujata added. Simi thanked her parents, teachers and friends for the success and said she will accept any responsibility she would be assigned with.