The Telugu topper of the all-India UPSC examination gave a reason to both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to feel proud. Twenty-six-year-old Saketa Raja Musinipally, who secured the 14th rank in the examination, is a law graduate, whose mother hails from Andhra Pradesh and father from Telangana.
“It feels nice to hear that I’m a topper of both States,” said Mr. Saketa on Saturday. The law graduate, now working in Delhi, cracked the Civils in the first attempt and that too, without any formal coaching.
“I expected to be in the top 1,000 but I definitely did not expect such a high rank. When the results were out, I was very scared. When I saw my name, I was pleasantly surprised. Apart from hard work, luck also plays an important role,” he said.
Mr. Saketa’s parents are well-known retired civil servants. While his father M. Ratan is a retired IPS officer and presently, State Information Commissioner, his mother Chhaya Ratan was an IAS officer who contested from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the last general elections.
“My parents were very helpful before the crucial interview stage. They gave me practical inputs on how to deal with questions and that helped me a lot,” he added.
Mr. Saketa wants to choose IFS (Indian Foreign Service) as he is interested in international law and relations.
Another topper from the city, who was ranked 21, Lakshmikanth Reddy, said that he was elated with the results. “My positive approach towards the examinations helped me. I never thought about having additional attempts rather I focused on clearing it this time,” he said.
At least 10 Telugu students are said to have featured in the top 100 ranks of the UPSC results.
Suresh Krishnamoorthy adds:
Asmita Lal, 25, has been passionate about cracking the Civils since school. And she actually did last year, but managed to get only the Indian Railway Accounts Service.
Not satisfied, she took up the Civil Services Examination again this year and got a rank (454) that now, together with the reservation policy, ensures her entry into the Indian Administrative Service.
She is the daughter of Ravinder Lal, currently working as Chief Personnel Manager in South Central Railway.
