Noida's Wardah Khan who quit corporate job makes it into UPSC top 20
Noid (PTI): Noida resident Wardah Khan who quit her corporate job to prepare for the civil services secured the 18th rank in the UPSC exam 2023, opting for the IFS as her first preference to further the image of India at global platforms.
The exam results were announced on Tuesday by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The 24-year-old UPSC exam qualifier says she opted for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) as her first preference as she wishes to make the country proud at global platforms.
"Like every other aspirant, when we start our journey, we dream of finding our name on the result list. But getting into the top 20 was unimaginable, I had not imagined to be able to be in the top 20. It's a dreamy feeling right now. Everyone in my family is very happy and beaming with pride," Khan told PTI.
"I have opted for the Indian Foreign Service as my first preference, so I would like to further the image of India across global platforms and multilateral institutions and help our Indian diaspora abroad," she added.
A resident of Vivek Vihar in Noida's Sector 82, Khan pursued her Bachelors in Commerce (Honours) from the Khalsa College of Delhi University. The only child of her parents, she lives with her mother. Her father passed away nine years ago.
On how she got inclined towards UPSC, Khan said that during her college days, she always had an interest in geopolitics, in subjects such as history and polity.
She used to participate in debates and MUNs (mock United Nations) during her college days but even then the idea of taking up civil services as a career path had not come to her.
It was during her job tenure that Khan realised she wanted to become a civil servant.
"I worked for a corporate firm for eight months. That didn't sort of satisfy me. I wanted to give back to the society and wanted to work for my country and transform the lives of the people," she said.
"I realised the kind of syllabus and opportunities that this career (civil services) offers aligns with my interest and I decided to pursue it and quit my job," she added.
Khan said she prepared at home but also took online coaching from a private institution for a year.
Sharing her tips for UPSC exam aspirants, Khan said there are a few postulates that every candidate should keep in mind.
"First and foremost, you have to be very thorough with the basics like NCERT and Polity by Laxmikant. These are the basic books that you have to be thorough with," she said.
"You also must have made proper syllabus heads of your mains and your optional should also be prepared with notes before the cycle communities. These are some of the things that must be kept in mind," Khan added.
A total of 1,016 candidates -- 664 men and 352 women -- have qualified in the examination and have been recommended by the UPSC for appointment to various services.
Aditya Srivastava, a trainee Indian Police Service officer, has topped the civil services examination.
Animesh Pradhan, Donuru Ananya Reddy, PK Sidharth Ramkumar and Ruhani have secured the second, third, fourth and the fifth ranks, respectively.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
