There is no secret to cracking the civil services, said Swati Sharma, 25, who topped 17th rank in the prestigious exam, the results of which were announced by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Tuesday. Sharma, who cleared the exam on the third attempt, prepared for the exams for one-and-a-half years at Karol Bagh. She said she studied mostly on her own and attended remedial classes only for mock tests.

Apart from that, YouTube videos also helped her, she added. She said that her interest in civil services was ignited by political science classes in school. “The hard work and skills involved in working long hours with tight deadlines and dealing with complex issues fascinated me,” she said, adding that her interest in human rights motivated her to crack the exams so that she could serve the underprivileged sections of society. The daughter of a retired army officer and a homemaker, Ms Sharma said not many women from her state are in civil services. “I hope my success will inspire more women from Jharkhand,” she said.

Among the top 25 candidates this year, 10 were women too. Some of these aspirants have cracked the exam after several attempts and years of hard work. Ruhani, 28, a resident of Gurugram and a graduate in economics from St Stephen’s College in Delhi, secured fifth place in her sixth and final attempt. Her father Suresh said she had been preparing from Hyderabad for the past few years.

“She has worked very hard… We are very proud and happy. We hope she can serve the country and society,” he said. As many as 31 candidates from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) Residential Coaching Academy have cracked the civil services exam this year. Nausheen, 24, an alumnus of Delhi’s SGBT Khalsa College and a student of RCA, secured ninth place. Nausheen, who hails from Gorakhpur, is attempting it for the fourth time. Prerna Singh from Giridih, Jharkhand, another student of RCA, said, “My rank of 670 is a big deal because very few women from my hometown even make it to college.”