Nilufa Yasmin tops UGC NET JRF with 100 percentile, hopes to continue in academics
Kolkata: Nilufa Yasmin, a research scholar from Burdwan University in West Bengal, has topped the UGC NET JRF June 2025 exam with a perfect 100 percentile, reports The Indian Express.
A resident of Palita Road in Katwa, Purba Bardhaman district, Yasmin has been pursuing her research about the intersection of music and literature in the Middle Ages.
This was Yasmin’s third attempt at the exam. She told The Indian Express that she didn’t expect to be the national topper. “I am very happy. I had hoped I would do well but never thought I would top,” she said.
Quoting Yasmin, Indian Express reported that her guide, Professor Ramenkumar of the Bengali department, had been a main source of support and encouragement.
Reflecting on her journey, Yasmin mentioned that she found the first paper, especially the mathematics and English sections, challenging. “In the last two years, I faced problems with math and English because we lost touch, so I would advise everyone to practice English for the first paper. And for the second paper, text study is very important,” she told The Indian Express.
Yasmin has consistently ranked first in her academic career and comes from a family with a background in education. Her father, a retired high school teacher, and her mother, also a former schoolteacher, have been key influences in her life. She added that her entire family is celebrating the news. “My parents and sisters are calling me and telling me about all those who are calling them or visiting our home,” she said.
Yasmin also has a deep love for music and often uploads videos of her singing on social media. With this success, she now hopes to continue her path in academics and research.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also congratulated her on social media. “Congratulations to Nilufa Yasmin of Katwa in Purba Bardhaman for scoring 100 percentile and securing first position in India in UGC–NET June, 2025 (with) Bengali,” Banerjee posted, along with a note of appreciation for second rank holder Rikta Chakraborty from Kolkata.
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s message, Yasmin said, “I could not believe that the Chief Minister had congratulated me. I am so happy that she is so busy but she remembers us… that means a lot.”
The UGC NET is a national-level examination that qualifies candidates for Assistant Professorships, Junior Research Fellowships, and PhD admissions in Indian universities. In the June 2025 session, over 10 lakh candidates registered, with more than 7.5 lakh appearing for the test. Of these, 5,269 cleared both JRF and Assistant Professorship, while over 54,000 qualified for Assistant Professorship and PhD, and 1.28 lakh qualified for PhD admission only.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
