A Kashmiri doctor tops the list of civil services exams, 2009

Dr Shah Faesal, a Kashmiri doctor who lost his father to militants eight years ago, has topped the Civil Services Examination, 2009. A school teacher’s son from the troubled valley, Dr Faesal made into the elite service in his first attempt itself. His father was killed by unidentified militants in 2002, just three days before he took the pre-medical exams. Prakash Rajpurohit, a BTech from IIT Delhi, stood second. This is his second attempt. Ms Iva Sahay, an MA in geography and the topper among female candidates, secured the overall third rank. This is her first attempt.

What It Means

Out of the first three toppers, two got into the services in their first attempt. What’s more, of the Top 25, six made into the merit list in their first attempt, four in second attempt, 11 in third attempt, three in fourth attempt and one in seventh attempt. Also, that 15 out of Top 25 appeared from Delhi indicates how cult Delhi has still remained vibrant for UPSC preparations.

Number Does Matter

As high as 875 candidates were recommended for appointment including 399 General (including 21 physically challenged candidates), 273 Other Backward Classes (including 9 physically challenged), 127 Scheduled Castes and 76 Scheduled Tribes candidates.

What It Means

The intake is almost double thanks to the special recruitment of IPS officers. Will help revamping our police system.

Sex Ratio

Out of 875 selected candidates, 680 are male and 195 female.

What It Means

It symbolizes a status quo. A mere 22% of female recruits means Indian women who perform well in Class 12 exams and beyond, have not yet taken UPSC seriously.

Educational Qualification

The Top 25 candidates comprise 13 engineers; 9 commerce, management, humanities, science and social sciences, three doctors. Of these, 21 took the examination in English medium and four in Hindi medium.

What It Means

Four Hindi medium students’ entry into in the list of Top 25 is an interesting trend.

Action and Appointments

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) which conducted a study to assess the key issues and constraints in implementation of the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005, has pointed out that there is inadequate planning by the public authorities in regard to supply of information. The study further talks about low awareness about the Act in rural areas and among women, lack of clear accountability in respect of various functions, etc. The study was commissioned by the government.