New Delhi: K.R. Nandini, a 26-year-old from Kolar district, has topped the Civil Services exams, the results of which were announced yesterday. A candidate from the State has bagged the first place in the prestigious exams after a gap of several years.

Nandini is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) Probationer, who is currently undergoing training at Faridabad in Haryana.

Nandini of Kembodi village did her schooling in Chinmaya High School in Kolar before earning a degree in Civil Engineering from M.S. Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bengaluru. She secured a job as a Junior Engineer in the Public Works Department and had taken a few months off to prepare for the UPSC exam. She appeared for the exams with Kannada literature as her optional subject. She cleared the exams in her second attempt and was posted in the Revenue Service. However, her desire to work at the grass-roots level and interact with the public prompted her to appear for the exams again and topped the exam in her fourth attempt.