UPSC topper KR Nandini achieves feat on her fourth attempt

“I put in a lot of effort. After getting selected for the IRS in 2014, I had taken the exam again in 2015 but could not crack it. I took the test again and topped it,” Nandini said.

Most people around the world will remember being told "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," or at least some version of it which meant the same, by their elders or others in their lives.

Though heard by many, not everyone follows such advice. But after hearing the story of this year's civil services examination topper, many are likely to from now on. Especially those who are appearing for the various competition exams in the country, including the extremely challenging UPSC exam which is held to select the future bureaucrats of the country.

K R Nandini, 27, who achieved the first rank in this year's examination, had failed to clear its prelims stage the first time she took it in 2013. But she did not let this deter her from continuing to prepare and appear for it again.

According to reports, her brother has said that she achieved to secure the 849th rank in the next year's examination. This led her to be selected for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS). But even after the securing this, she again applied to take the test in 2015, but though she cleared the prelim stage, she was unable to appear for the mains as she contracted dengue.

"So, she appeared again in 2016, aiming for IAS and she managed to do it. We are very happy as she is the topper this time," her brother is reported to have said. He is also reported to have credited his sister's hard work and the support she received from their parents for her impressive feat.

Nandini, who is currently in the middle of her training for the IRS in Faridabad, has been reported to have said that she was sure she would be selected for the much coveted Indian Administrative Service, candidates for which are usually selected from the top hundred rank holders of the examination. And according to her securing the first rank has come as a pleasant surprise.

"I put in a lot of effort. After getting selected for the IRS in 2014, I had taken the exam again in 2015 but could not crack it. I took the test again and topped it. It is a wonderful experience," the PTI quoted her as having said.

She hails from Kembodi, a village around 80 km from the Bangalore in Karnataka. The village has been reported to have been filled with joy since the results were declared on Wednesday.

Nandini is the daughter of a government high school teacher K V Ramesh, and K V Vimala, and did her schooling in Kolar. After finishing school, she pursued civil engineering in Bangalore following the completion of which she worked as an assistant engineer with the state's public works department which posted her to the Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi.

This gave her the opportunity to prepare for the UPSC examination at coaching centres in the city. She opted for Kannada literature as her optional subject for the mains and also became the second civil services topper from Karnataka since 2000, after Vijayalakshmi Bidari.

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