Odia engineer ranks 100th in civil services exam

Bhubaneswar: Sattwik Satyakam Devta from Bhubaneswar secured All India Rank 100 in the Indian Civil Services Examination, the results of which were announced on Friday. Altogether 958 candidates cleared the examination this year.Sattwik, 29, is a mechanical engineering graduate from Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR), Bhubaneswar. He completed his degree in 2018 and worked as an assistant manager at Nabard since 2023. Sattwik's father Goswami Devta is a retired bureaucrat.Calling it a long and persistent effort, Sattwik said this was his sixth attempt. He cleared the preliminary examination in all 6 attempts and reached the interview stage twice. Sociology was his optional subject.Sattwik said he prepared largely from home and relied on structured practice to improve performance. He said he used test series and regularly sent answer scripts for evaluation as part of his preparation strategy.Emphasising the approach needed for the examination, Sattwik said aspirants should focus on conceptual clarity to score well. He also advised candidates to write answers to sample and previous years' questions, aim to cover the entire syllabus, and remain patient through the process.Another Odia candidate, Amrit Mahapatra, secured rank 121, while Sai Raman Patra got rank 285. Amrit's father Lalatendu Mahapatra is a retired govt official. Amrit, a resident of Puri, had secured 46th rank in Odisha Civil Services Exam last year. OUTR official sources said 3 of its alumni cleared the civil services examination this year. Besides Devta (AIR 100), the list includes Vishal Pattanayak (AIR 341) and Debabrata Pramanik (AIR 467). More than 10 candidates from Odisha cleared the civil services examination, according to sources. Anuj Agnihotri topped the civil services exam-2025. The main exam was conducted in Aug last year, while the personality test was held in Dec last year.