AP drops out of top 10 ranks in IAS race

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Hyderabad: Continuing a trend that began two years ago, Andhra Pradesh bagged a few top ranks in the civil services examination conducted by the UPSC. In the results declared on Friday, the state bagged 25 ranks; K. Shashanka bagged the state’s highest rank at No. 16. Last year, 33 candidates from AP were selected to the civil services, down from 55 in the previous year.
The top ranker this year was Kerala’s Haritha V. Kumar, a probationer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) 2011 batch, This was her fourth attempt.
The top positions in the general, ST and SC streams were secured by women candidates. V Sriram, a doctor from Kerala and Stuti Charan of Jharkhand came second and third.
In the state, G. Srijana, daughter of senior IAS officer G. Balaramaiah secured the 44th rank and was selected for the IAS.
Among the rankers this year in the civil services examination conducted by the UPSC is J. Meghanatha Reddy, who secured 55th rank, the son of a farmer in Kadapa district. T.L. Narasimhugari Reddy, who bagged the 101st rank is the son of a police constable in Kadapa district. 
First 2 ranks go to Kerala
27-year-old Haritha, who hails from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, is at presently working as a probationer of Indian Revenue Services (IRS) undergoing training in National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics (NACEN) in Faridabad.
"I am very happy and you know nobody expects that I will get first rank. I thank God and parents. Special thanks to my teachers and friends," said Haritha, for whom getting a rank in academics is nothing new as she had earlier ranked seventh in Class X in Kerala. This was the fourth time she appeared for the Civil Services exam and had previously ranked 179 and 294.
"I did not clear the exams first time. I got 179th rank in the second attempt and got IRS. But last year my rank dropped to 294. I did not lose heart and my efforts have borne fruit," she said.
Haritha, who has studied engineering, chose economics and Malayalam as her main subjects for the top most exam in the country.
"One's life revolves around economics. For any problem, you can find that the root cause in economics. Malayalam is my mother tongue and from my childhood I have a special liking for Malayalam". It is after two decades that a candidate from Kerala has emerged topper in the All-India Civil Services Examination.
I'm on cloud nine: 2nd rank holder Sriram
Sriram Venkittaraman and Stuti Charan have bagged second and third positions respectively in the examination. Sriram, who has earned Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from Kerala University, has achieved the distinction in his second attempt. Charan has done Bachelor of Science from Jodhpur University and Post Graduate Diploma in Personnel and Marketing Management from the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), Delhi. It was her third attempt.
An ecstatic Dr V. Sriram, who got the second rank, said he was 'overwhelmed'.
"I am on cloud nine," Sriram, who is doing his first year Post Graduation in General Medicine at the SCB Medical college at Cuttack told PTI when contacted. He said he had appeared for the UPSC examination last year, but did not clear it. This time, he had done well both in the written examination and interview.
Sriram, who hails from Kochi, did his schooling at the Bhavan's Girinagar, passing out in 2004 and graduation in the Trivandrum medical college in 2010. Asked about the reaction of his parents, he said they were 'shocked'. "Nobody expected a second rank," he said.
The training was expected to begin in September. Fourth ranked Dr Alby John Varghese, hailing from Muvattupuzha, said he was very happy with the result. Alby, who did his MBBS rom Jubilee Mission Medical college, said IAS was his first option. "I was interested in civil service as I wanted to work for the people in lower strata of society," he said.
Shena Aggarwal, an MBBS from the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), had bagged the top slot in the civil services examination 2011. While Chennai-based law graduate S. Divyadharshini topped the list in the 2010 exams.
Next: 998 candidates selected in total

998 candidates selected in total
As many as 998 candidates - 753 males and 245 females - have been selected for appointments to various central services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others, according to a release by the Department of Personnel and Training. Of these 998 successful candidates, 457 are in General (including 23 physically challenged) category, 295 Other Backward Classes (including nine Physically challenged), 169 Scheduled Castes (including two physically challenged) and 77 Scheduled Tribes.
There were 1,091 advertised vacancies - 550 General, 295 Other Backward Classes, 169 Scheduled Castes and 77 Scheduled Tribes - for Civil Service Examination 2012.
The result also showcases the pan-India distribution of successful candidates of this examination.
"Among the top 25 candidates, there are candidates claiming domicile from as many as 12 states or Union territories i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh," it said.
The family background of top 25 candidates shows diverse representation from all walks of life with their parents being farmer, teacher, businessman, government servant, doctor, advocate, professor and civil servant.
Among the top 25 candidates, six have made it to the merit list in their first attempt; nine in second attempt; eight in third; and one each in their 4th & 6th attempts. As many as four have already been recommended to services other than IAS on the basis of Civil Services Examinations of previous years, it said.
Of the top 25 candidates, 12 appeared from Delhi; four from Thiruvanathapuram, two each from Chennai and Hyderabad; and one each from Jammu, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Allahabad centres.
The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2012 was conducted on May 20, 2012. A record number of 5,36,506 candidates applied for this examination, out of which 2,71,422 candidates have actually appeared. A total of 13,092 of these candidates were declared qualified for the main written examination held in October, 2012 out of which 2,674 candidates were selected for the personality test conducted in March-April, 2013.
UPSC, which conducts the examination, has opened a 'Facilitation Counter' near the Examination Hall Building in its campus. Candidates can obtain any information or clarification regarding their examinations on the working days between 10 am -5 pm in person or over telephone nos 011- 23385271, 23381125, 23098543.
Results will also be available on the UPSC's Website (http//www.upsc.gov.in.). "However, marks are likely to be available on the website within 15 days from the date of declaration of results", the release said.