New Delhi: Nandini K R, an officer of the Indian Revenue Service, topped the prestigious civil services examination, the result of which was declared on Wednesday by the UPSC. She is at present undergoing training at the National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics in Faridabad.This is third year in succession that a woman has topped in country's most important examination.Nandini, who bagged the top position in her fourth attempt, belongs to the other backward classes (OBC). Last year's topper, Tina Dabi, was from the Scheduled Castes category.

AnmolSher Singh Bedi is the topper among male candidates securing overall second rank. He is an engineering graduate in computer science from BITS, Pilani. The top 25 candidates comprise 18 men and 7 women. Nandini, who hails from Karnataka, said being an IAS officer was always her dream. "It is like a dream come true. I always wanted to be an IAS officer," she said. This was her fourth attempt. She had cracked the 2014 civil services exam and was allotted the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise).

Educational qualification-wise, the top 25 candidates comprise candidates belonging to engineering; sciences; economics and forestry background graduating from premier institutions of the country such as IITs, NIT, BITS Pilani, Delhi University, Anna University etc. Optional subjects of the top 25 candidates in the examination ranged from Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Anthropology, Economics, Electronic Engineering, Geography, History, Mathematics, Political Science and International Relations, Public Administration, Psychology and Kannada and Telugu Literature.

Holding a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree from the M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, her optional subject was Kannada literature. A total of 1,099 candidates (846 men and 253 women), including 500 in General category, 347 belonging to Other Backward Class, 163 from Scheduled Caste and 89 from Scheduled Tribe, have been recommended for appointment to various central government services, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) said. They include 44 physically handicapped candidates (22 orthopedically handicapped; seven visually challenged and 15 hearing impaired). There are 220 other candidates on the waiting list. A total of 1,209 vacancies were notified by the government, which were to be filled through the civil services examination 2016.