Chennai gets first Civils topper

Women secured the top two positions in the results for Civil Services Examination 2010, which were announced on Wed-nesday.

Chennai-based law graduate S Divyadharshini topped the prestigious examination while the second position was secured by Sweta Mohanty, a computer engineer.

A dentist from Chennai, Dr R.V. Varun Kumar, secured the third rank and in the examination held by the Union Public Service Commission.

Divyadharshini, a BA, BL (Hons) from Dr Ambedkar Law University in Chennai, cleared the exam in her second attempt, while Mohanty cleared the exam in her third attempt.

Kumar, the topper among men, has done his BDS from Ragas Dental College in Chennai. This was his third attempt. A total of 920 candidates, including 203 women, have been selected for the civil services.
An elated Divyadharshini said she was surprised to find herself topping the exam as she was not expecting it. “I was expecting good result but not as a topper,” she said. The exam topper said the achievement was the result of “tedious” exercise and hard work of one year coupled with luck.
Corruption, according to her, is a major issue that must engage her attention as an IAS officer. She would also focus on development, particularly in the villages, Divyadharshini told DC.
Sweta Mohanty is presently working in the northeast as an Indian Revenue Service officer. Her father belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre of the IAS. Third-ranker Dr Varun Kumar is yet another product of the high-producing Manithaneyam IAS academy of Chennai run by Saidai Duraisamy, the AIADMK candidate again-st deputy chief minister M K Stalin in Kolathur in this Assembly election.
Candidates from Tamil Nadu have fared well this time, bagging 98 positions out of 920 selected for the various central services.
Among them, the case of Dr Arun Thamburaj stands out. A medical doctor with several academic achievements to his credit, right from his school days, this son of a police official—ADSP Ashok works as vice-principal of the Police Training College—is pretty depressed that he got only the 395th place.
“I did my best. I don’t know what went wrong,” said the doctor who is all set to join the IPS.