It was a proud moment for Gautam Budh Nagar when civil services examination 2022 results were announced by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Tuesday, with four aspirants from the district securing ranks, including all India first rank, in the prestigious qualifying exam, which is considered the toughest in the country.
Gautam Budh Nagar commissioner of police Laxmi Singh on Wednesday felicitated all India top ranker Ishita Kishore, a Greater Noida resident, rank 4 holder Smriti Mishra, a Noida resident, and rank 182 holder Kush Mishra, a Greater Noida resident, at the police commissionerate in Sector 108. Noida resident Gauri Prabhat, who secured the 47th rank, was not in town and hence could not attend the felicitation, said organisers of the event.
“It is a moment of pride for Gautam Budh Nagar that four exemplary students have cleared the country’s toughest examination this year. Moreover, of the four, three are women, which goes on to show that acceptance of women is increasing in the country’s bureaucracy and women are getting equal opportunities in every sphere of society,” said Singh.
According to Deepanshu Singh, a resident of Sector 51, who has been mentoring UPSC students since the past nine years, four rankers, of a total of 933 selected candidates, from a single district is unprecedented.
“It is not common at all to have four UPSC rankers from one district. It is a big thing for Gautam Budh Nagar to have four students clear the civil services exams this time. Some of the major factors behind this could be the presence of several new ed-tech firms in the district. After Covid, we had seen a shift in classrooms with students preferring to study online and at home. Another factor could be the proximity of the district to Delhi — students are able to easily gather study material from UPSC preparation hubs such as Rajendra Nagar and also commute to and fro from coaching centres in the national capital,” said Singh, who is also the district coordinator for Uttar Pradesh’s Abhyuday Yogana, a government funded UPSC coaching for underprivileged students.
A resident Jalvayu Vihar, Greater Noida, Ishita Kishore (26) made headlines by securing the top rank in the UPSC exams this year. She did her schooling from Air Force Bal Bharati School in Delhi and pursued Economics (Hons) from Shri Ram College of Commerce under Delhi University.
The all India fourth ranker Smriti Mishra resides in Sector 41 with her older brother. The 25-year-old is the daughter of a deputy superintendent rank police officer posted in Bareilly.
“I came to Noida in 2016 after gaining admission to Delhi University’s Miranda House. My brother and I rented a flat in Noida and have been living here since then,” said Mishra.
Another resident of the district, Gauri Prabhat (26), secured the 47th rank. A resident of Sector 39, Noida, Gauri completed her schooling from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Delhi and is a BA Economics (Hons) from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, in 2018.
Her father, Dr Prabhat Kumar, is a retired IAS officer who has served as the former Meerut commissioner. Her mother Himalani Kashyap is a retired Indian revenue service officer.
Delta-2, Greater Noida resident Kush Mishra, who secured the 182nd rank, said this was his fourth attempt at cracking the UPSC exams. He did his schooling from Somerville School in Greater Noida and completed his BTech in civil engineering Sarvottam Institute Of Technology And Management in Greater Noida.
“I have lived in Greater Noida all my life and studied here as well. I aspired to become an IPS officer and, finally, my dream has come true. My first preference is my home cadre and hope I can serve my country well,” said the 29-year-old, whose twin brother, Love Mishra, also appeared for the exams but could not clear the prelims.
In neighbouring Ghaziabad, Mahima Kasana from Loni, Ghaziabad, secured the 141st rank. Kasana’s father Kishan Pal Kasana is a teacher at a government college in Sector 12, Noida, and her mother is a teacher at a government school in Faridabad. Kasana stayed with her mother at their Faridabad residence and did her schooling there.
“My home district is Ghaziabad and I am happy that I have been the only one from the district to get selected in the UPSC. I did my graduation in 2018 from Hindu College, Delhi University, and went on to complete my MA in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University,” said Mahima.
In 2020, Kasana returned to her residence in Ghaziabad after the Covid pandemic broke out. “While in school itself, I had decided that I want to become a civil servant, I started preparing for the same in 2020 during the lockdown. I did not opt for coaching and did self study and evaluation. After becoming an IAS officer, my foremost aim is to ensure proper implementation of government schemes in the grassroots level,” she said.
