Dozen in top 100, it's Uttar Pradesh all the way in UPSC

LUCKNOW: It was a big moment for Uttar Pradesh with nearly a dozen candidates securing a place in top 100 in the civil services examinations 2022, the results of which was announced by the Union Public Service Commission.
UPSC topper, Ishita Kishore (27) is a native of Greater Noida. Having pursued BA Hons from Delhi University, this was Ishita's third attempt. Her optional subjects were political science and international relations. Besides academics, she loves to make Madhubani paintings.
Bagging an All-India Rank 4, Smriti Mishra (25) hails from Noida.
ABSc from DU, Smriti pursued law in her postgraduation. Daughter of a police personnel, this was Smriti’s third attempt. Smriti’s hobbies range from origami to salad decoration and freestyle dancing.
For Faizabad girl Vidushi Singh (22) who secured AIR 13, the results were special. “I am ecstatic to crack the exam in my first attempt. I was having my afternoon nap when the results came in. When I scrolled through results, I thought it to be a fake one. I re-checked the list on UPSC website, and it was a Eureka moment. The result is way beyond my expectations,” said Vidushi, a BA Hons student from DU.
Working as SDM Varanasi, Shishir Kumar Singh (28), a native of Ballia district bagged AIR 16 in his fourth attempt. An engineer from Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad, Shishir’s optional subject was mathematics. His interest lies in shell photography and reading Hindi poetry of revolutionary genre. Securing AIR 34, Lucknow’s Anubhav Singh (29), an assistant professor in a city college was overwhelmed with the results. “After five attempts, I will finally work for the justice and liberty of my fellow men. I had a firm conviction that I will come out with flying colours,” said Anubhav, who is son-in-law of CP, Varanasi Mutha Ashok Jain and husband of CDO, Firozabad Deeksha Jain.
For Chaitanya Awasthi (25) from Kanpur, the results were a tribute to his journalist father who passed away during the second corona wave. “This was my first attempt and I had never really thought about the rank. My initial introduction to civil services was by my father sub-consciously. He always asked me to appear for this exam once in a lifetime,” said Chaitanya, a law graduate from NLU Kolkata.
A chemical engineer from IIT Mumbai, Manan Agarwal (25) notched AIR 46 in his third attempt. “This rank means a lot. I think it’s a culmination of hard work, not just mine but my family. There’s also an element of luck that resulted in this rank,” said Manan.
Gonda-resident Vaishanvi Paul (25), who bagged AIR 62, said, “I was shocked, then happy and now I am very excited about the training. I am still processing everything,” said Vaishnavi, who has done her Eco (Hons) from Delhi University. Bagging AIR 66, Krittika Mishra, a native of Kanpur, said, “I wasn’t very nervous about the results as I wasn’t expecting to score this well. When the results came, I was travelling to Lucknow to purchase study material to prepare for my third attempt,” she said gleefully.
Shubham Kumar from Lucknow secured AIR 41, and Pratiksha Mishra from Shamli secured AIR 52.