Srinagar: Ten candidates from Jammu and Kashmir, including three women, have cracked the prestigious UPSC Civil Services examination, results of which were declared on Tuesday, with Athar Aamir-ul-Shafi Khan (23) from Anantnag securing the second rank in the country.
The three women who have made the cut are Sheema Nabi Qasba, Deeba Farhat and Ruveda Salam, all from Kashmir Valley. While, Deeba and Ruveda had cracked the examination before as well, Sheema tasted success this year in her second attempt and secured 209th rank.
"It was my second attempt. In 2014 too I had appeared in the IAS exams but could not crack it then," said Sheema, daughter of ex-Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation, G N Qasba.
"It is a moment of great happiness for me," she said. Sheema completed her schooling from Presentation Convent School here and her higher secondary from Mallinson School Srinagar. She then did her BA LLB (Hons) from National Law University, Jodpur and worked with a leading law firm in New Delhi.
Crediting her success to hard work and support from her parents, she said, "When we work hard, luck also favours. There is no short cut to hard work."
Deeba, from Bijbehara town of south Kashmir, who had secured 553rd rank last year, improved her performance this time and moved up to 281st rank.
Working as Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) officer in the state Rural Development Department, she is not entirely satisfied with her ranking, but said she will join the services now.
"I have been preparing for competitive exams for quite a while now. I think I will settle down with what I am being offered right now," she said.
Ruveda, a resident of north Kashmir's Kupwara district, made history when she became the first woman from the Valley to qualify the UPSC examination in 2013.
She had passed the UPSC exam twice and currently serves as an Assistant Commissioner of Police in Chennai. This year she secured 764th rank.
Athar secured the second spot in his second attempt. In his first attempt in 2014, he had got Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) and is currently undergoing training in Indian Railways Institute of Transport Management, Lucknow.
