123456 Kolkata/Siliguri: At least seven Bengal candidates have made it on the UPSC merit list, which was declared on Tuesday.
CM Mamata Banerjee, in a post on X congratulating the state toppers, mentioned that Meghna Chakrabarty (AIR 79), Sahars Kumar (AIR 153), Paramita Malakar (AIR 477), Rajdeep Ghosh (AIR 789) and Praveen Kumar (AIR 837) were coached by the state-run Satyendranath Tagore Civil Services Study Centre (SNTCSSC). The CM said: "They are likely to enter now IAS/ IPS/ other top services. There are others also from West Bengal who have succeeded in cracking the all-India examinations and should similarly get into apex services now. Kudos boys and girls for these feats. Government of West Bengal is with you!"
Meghna, a resident of AC Block in Salt Lake, wants to work in Bengal. "After spending my formative years in Mumbai, I did my schooling in Modern High School from class VI," she said. Meghna graduated from St Stephen's College, Delhi, and then completed her master's in politics and international relations from JNU in 2022. This was her second attempt at the exam. The Bengal topper put in 8-12 hours of study every day, spending a year in Delhi after her master's to take coaching before returning to Kolkata in 2023 for her advanced preparations.
Sahars (31) said this was his fourth and last attempt, and he quit his job to concentrate on studies. The Bondel Road resident studied in Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur, before completing his BTech from IIT-Kanpur. He also took coaching from a private institute on Park Street besides SNTCSSC.
Rajdeep (25), from Ranaghat, said he completed his schooling from Ranaghat Pal Chowdhury High School and graduated from Ramakrishna Mission Residential College in chemistry honours.
The Hills are also celebrating. Prativa Lama has secured an all-India rank of 461 while Zojila Dolkar Bhutia, a 29-year-old Group-A officer working with the directorate of registration and stamp revenue under the govt of Bengal, has secured a rank of 765.
Bhutia, a Darjeeling resident, completed her class X from Loreto Convent, Darjeeling, and her class XII from St Joseph's, Matigara. She graduated from Miranda House, University of Delhi, in political science in 2017, and cleared the West Bengal Civil Services examination on her first attempt in 2018. She began her preparation for the UPSC exam in 2020 and cracked it on her third attempt. "I was studying while working full-time," said Bhutia, who is posted in Kurseong.
SNTCSSC chairperson Surajit Kar Purkayastha said, "In the times ahead, I foresee a growing number of bright minds from Bengal not only appearing in the UPSC examinations but also securing success at the highest levels. The momentum is building, and Bengal is poised to make its mark."