Ganesh Kumar Baskar, 27, is the State topper in Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2019. He secured the seventh rank in the country. Hailing from Nagamalai Pudukottai in Madurai, Mr. Ganesh, now in Nagercoil, had his schooling in Kendriya Vidyalaya in Gurgaon and then in KV, Madurai. He did his B.Tech from IIT-Kanpur in 2015 and MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad in 2017.

“My preparations for the CSE started in 2017 and in the second attempt, I have cracked the exam as I could not clear the preliminary exam in the first attempt. I thought that I would be one among the top 100, but never dreamt of getting All India Ranking 7,” said Mr. Ganesh. His optional subject was Mathematics.

His father Baskar is working with a Central agency and now posted in Nagercoil.

The young achiever, who wants to join Indian Foreign Service, thanked The Hindu for playing a crucial role in his success. “The editorials and articles on a range of domestic and international issues, its news and analysis on foreign and current affairs were immensely helpful for me in the preparations,” Mr. Ganesh said.

Ishwarya Ramanathan, 23, has secured all India rank 47. “I started preparations after my mother emerged successful in the Group II A examination while I was studying Civil Engineering in College of Engineering Guindy. My mother got married in her teenage. She started preparing for competitive examinations only after I joined college. My father, R. Ramanathan, is a cashew farmer in Cuddalore district. My mother, who is now 43, prepared for competitive exam and secured a government job six years ago. During my college days, I got the opportunity to receive free coaching from Manidhaneyam IAS Academy and Aram IAS Academy,” said Ms. Ramanathan.

She said IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi was her role model. Her optional subject was Sociology. She dedicated her success to former Chennai Mayor Saidai Duraisamy and author M.Karthikeyan who mentored her.

Priyanka, 23, has secured all India rank 68. She did her Bio Medical Engineering in College of Engineering Guindy in 2017. Her optional subject was Political Science. “I missed by 20 marks during my last attempt. But I was determined. My role model is Gagandeep Singh Bedi,” said Ms.Priyanka.

Twenty two candidates who underwent coaching at the Tamil Nadu government-run All India Civil Services Coaching Centre and 29 candidates who studied in Manidhanaeyam Free IAS Academy have cleared the exams, the respective institutes said. The number of successful candidates from Tamil Nadu has reduced from more than 100 a few years ago to around 50 this year.