Bolangir: Pushpanjali Panda, a resident of Ajaydas Colony in Chandrasekhar Nagar here, has topped the Orissa Administrative Service (OAS) examination results of which were declared Wednesday.
Her success spread cheers in the town as congratulatory messages started pouring in. She said as an administrator she would lay priority on ensuring public participation in various welfare schemes as people are not aware of various government programmes.
Daughter of an HAL employee in Koraput, Panda’s family consists of husband Ashis Kumar Sahu, a commercial tax officer at Sonepur, a baby daughter Aratrika, father-in-law Kartik Sahu, an artiste, mother-in-law Shakuntala Bhoi, a head trainer of a women training centre and sister-in-law Utkalika Sahu. She credited her success to her parents, in-laws as well as her teachers
At present posted as an assistant veterinary surgeon in Deogaon block, Panda prepared for the examination in right earnest since 2011. During a chat with this correspondent, she spoke at length about her preparation, encouragement that she received from her husband, in-laws as well as her family members.
Although she felt elated on becoming a topper, she had never expected for this. At the most she hoped to be in the best 20 list.
She dreamt of civil service right from her school days and was preparing for this. A double gold medalist from Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), she sat for IAS in 2011 and cleared the main examination twice.
She initially studied for 12-14 hours but had to cut it down after marriage and service. However, she continued making qualitative preparations for four to five hours. She made a selection of lessons and studied for the examination.
She had not married while appearing for OAS preliminary in 2014 but was already married by the main examinations were conducted in 2014. While facing the interview in 2016, she had already joined service and become a mother. She was very selective in her preparations and divided her time judiciously between studies and family. PNN
