Saturday spelt joy for at least 51 civil services aspirants in the State as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) declared the final results of the Civil Services Examination (CSE), 2014. Karnataka made its presence felt in the results not only in the top 100, but also in top 10. The Hindu spoke to some of them:
B. Fouzia Taranum, 31st rank
A true blue Bengalurean, having been born and brought up here, 28-year-old Fouzia, who managed to earn herself the 31st rank in her third attempt, is already serving as an Assistant Commissioner in the Income Tax Department in Bengaluru.
Fouzia completed schooling from Bishop Cotton Girls’ School, B.Com from Jyoti Nivas College, PGDM from Christ University, and a PG Diploma from Indira Gandhi National Open University. Her father P. Basheer Ahmed is self-employed, while her mother M. Faheem is a homemaker.
She is the first IAS officer in her family. “My experience in IRS too has been amazing. The beauty of the job is there is so much diversity, I would like to work in as many different departments as possible and learn as I grow,” she said.
Balaji D.K.,
36th rank
Native of Koratagere, Tumakuru, 25-year-old Balaji hears enough comparison about sharing his initials with deceased IAS officer D.K. Ravi, who also happens to be from Kunigal, Tumakuru. “Many say I will carry his legacy forward,” he told The Hindu . This was his second attempt at the CSE, having failed to even get an interview call the first time around. Choosing not to work, he chose Kannada literature as his optional subject.
An avid reader of The Hindu , he was asked to become a freelance aptitude trainer for maths and teach Indian economy for IAS aspirants when he went to get trained himself. A 2012-batch MBA graduate from Bangalore University’s Canara Bank School of Management Studies, Balaji completed his schooling in Koratagere before going to study pre-university in Siddaganga Boys’ College and then BBM in SSMRV Degree College, Bengaluru.
While he scored an impressive 94 per cent in class 10, he went on to chose arts to pursue his IAS dream. “My parents supported my decision, though many people questioned it,” he recalled. Balaji’s father D.N. Krishnaiah Shetty is a bank employee, while his mother K.G. Manjula Devi is a homemaker.
Arif Hafeez,
135th rank
Another Bengalurean, the engineering graduate from University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering kept engineering as a backup. But having a father, who is an IPS officer (retired DGP K. Hafeez), and a brother who is in railway service (Indian Railway Personnel Service), civil services was a natural calling. He made it to the interview stage in his first attempt in 2011, soon after he graduated. “I have grown up in the system. It doesn’t matter if I get to choose IAS or IPS; I will get to serve the people either way,” he said.
The 25-year-old never took up a job after getting an engineering degree as he wanted to put all his focus on preparing for the CSE, he said.
