Chandikhole youth tops Odisha Civil Services Examination

BHUBANESWAR: Aswini Kumar Panda topped the Odisha Civil Services Examination (OCSE)-2019, results of which were declared by the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) on Friday. A total of 153 candidates, including 56 women, cleared the final round.
Panda, a 29-year-old engineer who hails from Chandikhole in Jajpur district, said he did not take help from any coaching institute to crack OCSE.“I never thought I will top the examination. I am so happy to have achieved this feat in my first attempt,” Panda said.
He said candidates should not solely rely on coaching institutes. “Over reliance on a coaching centre may hamper the aptitude of a candidate. Preparing for such a prestigious examination is like a self-discovery. Self-study and self-evaluation can help candidates get more success in these examinations,” he added.
Panda had earlier applied for an assistant section officer’s job. “But I could not get it as I was 0.5 short of the selection mark,” said Panda who did his schooling from Jana Kalyan High School and Plus II from Ravenshaw University. Women candidates grabbed three places in OCSE’s top 10. Rashmirekha Patra, Ayushi Pati and Nivedita Nayak ranked 3, 9 and 10 respectively. One of the 153 candidates belongs to the persons with disabilities category.