Mahendergarh girl bags 11th rank, Mansa lad 34th

ROHTAK/BATHINDA: Devayani, a resident of Mahendergarh and the daughter of Haryana IAS officer Vinay Singh, has bagged AIR-11 in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination 2020.

Devayani is undergoing training at Shimla after she had bagged AIR-222 in the UPSC civil services exam in 2019. A year before, she was selected in the Rajasthan civil services. She had graduated from BITS Pilani’s Goa campus in 2014.

Simrandeep Singh, 28, of Punjab’s Mansa town and a mechanical engineer, secured the 34th rank in the 2020 exam. This was his third attempt.

He had also cracked the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) exams this year, and was waiting to join as a deputy superintendent of police (Dsp).simrandeep had opted for Punjabi literature as an optional subject for the UPSC. He has also worked with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for five years in Bhopal.

He credits his father, Ajaib

Singh, an ayurvedic medicine practitioner, for encouraging him to prepare for and crack the UPSC exam. His mother Paramjit Kaur is a teacher at a government school.

Also, 23-year-old Nisha Grewal from Bhiwani’s Bamla secured 51st rank in the exam.

Nisha has completed her bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Delhi University’s Miranda House in 2019.

Talking over phone, Devayani said her father inspired her to become an IAS officer and that she wants to work for the welfare of the society.

“This was my fifth attempt and I had never even dreamt of securing 11th rank. As I had cracked the UPSC exam last year, there was no pressure on me and I was busy in my training in Shimla,” she said.

“Online education helped me a lot. I improved my rank by doing self study. Self-motivation and my parents’ support helped me achieve the goal,” she added.

‘Dedicate this feat to my grandfather’

Bhiwani’s Nisha said her grandfather Ramphal, who is a retired mathematics teacher, is her role model.

“My grandfather taught me mathematics and I had been preparing for the exam at my home for the last two years. After completing graduation, I took coaching in Delhi for 10 months. After the pandemic started, I have stepped out of my house on very few occasions. I solved many mock tests and focused on my goal,” she said.

“My success mantra was constant effort with zeal. My grandfather inspired me at every step and I want to dedicate my success to him,” she added.

Her father Surender Grewal, who is an assistant sub-station attendant, said his daughter has made the state and residents of Bamla proud.

“My father has been continuously working on her and guiding her to achieve her fate. This success goes to Nisha and her grandfather,” he added. Haryana deputy chief minister congratulated Nisha over the phone.

Also, Anmol Mittal, son of Haryana IPS officer Alok Mittal, ranked AIR-91 and Rohan Jha, son of Haryana IAS officer, Amit Jha, got the 164th rank.