Incidentally, the topper of the Civil Service Exam, 22-year-old Tina Dabi from Delhi, has also chosen the IAS. He joined the IRTS after securing the 560th rank in the Civil Service Exam, last year. The whole thing is yet to sink in," said the 23-year-old, who hails from the southern district of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley. Over nine lakh candidates applied for the 2015 Civil Service Exam, and over four lakhs sat for the preliminary test. Khan's inspiration was Shah Faesal, who became the first Kashmiri to top the 2009 Civil Service Exam.

Source: Huffington Post May 10, 2016 22:26 UTC