upsconline.nic.in UPSC results 2018 topper: In civil service examinations, Kerala excels

UPSC results 2018 topper: Over 30 people from Kerala, including a number of women, have performed well in the civil services examinations 2017, with an engineer from Ernakulam district securing the all-India 16th rank. The UPSC results were declared on Friday at  upsconline.nic.in and  upsc.gov.in. Of the total 33 Malayalis in the list of 900 candidates selected, Sikha Surendran, hailing from Ernakulam district, emerged as the state topper by securing the 16th rank in the examinations, results for which were declared yesterday.

An engineering graduate, Sikha said being an IAS officer has been her childhood dream. Though she started preparing in 2015 after completing B. Tech in civil engineering, Sikha said she could not clear the preliminary examination in the first attempt. "My father was my inspiration, he taught me to dream big," she said crediting the success to him." Sameera S, an IIT graduate, who was ranked 28th, said though she was excited she never expected such a high rank.

Anjali S (26th rank) and Hari Kallikkatt (58th rank) were the others, who ranked in the top 100. Ramit Chennithala, son of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Ramesh Chennithala, stood 210th. Congratulating them, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan praised the state-run Kerala Civil Service Academy here for training a number of successful candidates.