UPSC 2023: Women Win Big, Land the Top Four Positions

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 24 May 2023

THE UNION Public Service Commission (UPSC) made history by selecting the most women ever for the Indian civil services on 23^rd May. There are 320 women out of the 933 applicants that have been nominated for appointments. This is notable in light of the fact that just 20% of the candidates chosen twenty years ago were women.

In her third try, Ishita Kishore, a graduate of Delhi University (DU) from Gautam Buddha Nagar, who chose political science and international relations as her elective courses, came in first. She obtained her degree from the DU Shri Ram College of Commerce in Economics (Honours).

Garima Lohia, who finished in second place overall for India and is from Buxar in Bihar, graduated from DU with a degree in commerce from Kirorimal College. Uma Harathi N, a Telangana native with a BTech from IIT Hyderabad, finished third. Fourth place went to Smriti Mishra, a Miranda House College BSc alumna from the University of Denver.

The civil services, which have historically been dominated by men, have gradually seen more women represented during the past 20 years. Up until 2006, they made up about 20% of all the applicants the UPSC chose. Prior to reaching an all-time high of 34% this year, it reached 29% in 2020. It was lower than 20% in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

But this year has seen the biggest growth in both their absolute numbers and their percentage of the overall pie.

In the previous year, 508 males and 177 women were among the 685 applicants who were recommended for appointment. About 320 of the 933 chosen candidates this year are women. Women's representation increased by about 9 percentage points from the previous year.

2019 saw a total of 922 individuals nominated for appointment, which is identical to this year's outcomes. Women made up 24% of the overall pool back then, as opposed to 34% this year.

Ishita Kishore, this year's best student, noted that growing up in an Indian Air Force (IAF) family fostered a feeling of responsibility and devotion from a young age. She has stated her intention to join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and her choice for the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Ishita’s father is an IAF officer, her brother is a lawyer, and her mother is a retired teacher. According to Ishita, who passed the preliminary exams on her third attempt, her primary reason for pursuing the civil service was the platform it would provide her with to make a difference and assist others.

"After my failed attempts, I went back to the reason I had initially started. My family helped me a lot when I was down because I wanted to serve my nation. My immediate and extended family never ceased to show their faith in me or provide me motivation to pursue my goals," she stated.

After graduating from DU's Kirori Mal College, Garima Lohia, the second-rank holder, returned to her hometown of Buxar in Bihar during the first Covid-19 wave, which proved to be a pivotal moment. Her "first love" was chartered accounting, and she had set her sights on pursuing it. However, she started studying for the civil services test instead because the majority of coaching schools had shut down and "online courses were the only option available."

When Garima showed up for the interview in March, she had a "gut feeling" she would get the job. "But I never thought I'd be the second-best performer in the nation... and the fact that four girls took the top four spots makes it even more remarkable," she remarked.

Third-place finisher Uma Harathi N said that her father, a member of the Telangana Police, inspired her to pursue a career in the public service.

"My father inspired me to train for administrative services when I was a little child. After Class 12, students are often encouraged to pursue either engineering or medicine in our city and the adjacent areas. I made the decision to study for the engineering entrance examinations after being influenced by my friends and peers, and I was successful in passing the JEE. I did, however, discover that my desire to enter the administrative service had remained constant during the years after my graduation. I decided to devote my whole fourth year on civil services preparation, opting out of the IIT's final placements in the process”, she added.

But she had to work hard for it because she had failed on her first four efforts. "I am a real example of how unexpected the UPSC test is. While I failed to pass the prelims test on my first two tries, I was able to go to the interview stage on my third attempt before failing as a result of a lower score in the optional subjects for the mains. I was unable to go past the preliminary level on my fourth try. My preparation changed after this failure since I wasn't confident in my optional subject, geography. It provided me ample time for reflection, and on my fifth try, I changed my optional subject to Anthropology, which I later realised was the perfect choice," Uma added.