Kolkata: It was time to talk about failure, financial crisis and ‘12th Fail’. The occasion: state felicitation of UPSC 2023’s successful candidates. Fifteen made the cut from the state this year — Bengal’s highest ever.
Chief secretary B P Gopalika said: “When I joined in 1989, there was only Atri Bhattacharya (additional chief secretary, Sundarban affairs) – the sole representative from Bengal at the Academy.Look at the jump in numbers, thanks to the state-run Satyendranath Tagore Civil Services Study Centre (SNTCSSC).”
Jayasree Pradahn (AIR 52), Saima Khan (AIR 165) and the other bureaucrats-to-be listened with rapt attention. Seven of the 15 successful candidates are from SNTCSSC.
Former DGP Surajit Kar Purkayastha, who is SNTCSSC chairman, said: “We collaborate with Delhi’s Khan Study Group and Shankar IAS Academy.”
Salt Lake police commissioner Gaurav Sharma said Manoj Sharma of ‘12th Fail’ fame was his batchmate. “I asked Manoj ‘how come you never told us your story?’. His reply was ‘what do I say about my struggle? Isn’t it normal to struggle?’,” the top cop, who hails from Ludhiana, recalled.
Ankit Agarwal (AIR 297) said, “I am lucky to have come to SNTCSSC from Odisha.” Bratati Dutta (AIR 346) was among those who were felicitated.