Meet the young guns who cracked the civil services test

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) The civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) being one of the most challenging competitive tests in the country, cracking it is not an easy task. Many candidates spend years preparing to clear it.

However, there are also those who crack the test at a young age and go on to become Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers. IANS takes a look at five such officers who have solved the civil services riddle at a young age
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Ansar Ahmad Shaikh
Son of a rickshaw driver from the drought-hit Shelgaon village in Maharashtra's Jalna district, Ansar Ahmad Shaikh cleared the civil services exam in 2016 with an all-India rank of 361. At the time of clearing the test, Shaikh was 21 years old, thus becoming the youngest IAS officer till date. He is currently serving as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at the Department of MSME and Textiles, Government of West Bengal.

Roman Saini
Occupying second spot,
Roman Saini cracked the civil services exam in 2013 at the age of 22 with an all-India rank of 18. He was the youngest IAS officer before Shaikh and was appointed a Collector in Madhya Pradesh. However, he resigned from his services in 2015 and co-founded Unacademy, an educational technology company.

Swati Meena Naik
Hailing from Rajasthan's Sikar, Swati Meena Naik was 22 when she became an IAS officer in 2007 by securing an all-India rank of 260. She is currently serving in the Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation.

Amrutesh Aurangabadkar
Placed fourth in the list of young IAS officers, Pune's Amrutesh Aurangabadkar cleared the civil services exam in 2011 at a young age of 22 with an all-India rank of 10. He is currently serving as the Regional Commissioner of Municipalities, Vadodara.

Ankur Garg

Ankur Garg topped the civil services exam in 2002 at a young age of 22, becoming the youngest candidate to achieve the feat. Garg, who graduated from IIT-Delhi, is currently pursuing a two-year Masters programme at the prestigious Harvard University.