UPSC toppers 'surprised' with results

Kanishak Kataria, Akshat Jain, and Junaid Ahmad, the top rankers of this year's Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, expressed gratitude to their respective families while confessing that they were taken aback by their achievements.

Speaking to ANI, Kanishak, who hails from Rajasthan, said, "It is a very surprising moment. I never expected to get the first rank. I thank my parents, sister and my girlfriend for the help and moral support. People will expect me to be a good administrator and that's exactly my intention."

Akshat, who also hails from Rajasthan, said, "I want to give credit for this achievement to God, my family, and my friends, for always supporting me. I had to study a lot, but it doesn't mean that I was working like a machine. I used to take breaks and go out with my friends."

Junaid, a native of Madhya Pradesh, said, "I had a few books suggested by seniors that helped in creating a base. But internet helps you a lot, everything is available online. Productive use of internet helped me. I expected to be in the list but never expected the third rank."

Among the women candidates who appeared for the examination, Srushti Jayant Deshmukh topped the charts while securing the fifth rank overall.

The final ranks were announced based on the results of the written part of Civil Services Examination, 2018 held by the UPSC in September-October, 2018 and the interviews for Personality Test held in February-March, 2019.

A total number of 759 candidates were recommended for appointment in Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service, and Central Services.