Hyderabad:The Civil Services Examination 2024 results, declared on Tuesday, saw 35 candidates from the Telugu states, albeit with a slightly reduced presence compared to previous years.
Osmania University alum Ettaboyina Sai Shivani (AIR 11) led the list of Telugu achievers this year, followed by Banna Venkatesh (AIR 15), Ravula Jayasimha Reddy (AIR 46), and Chintakindi Shravan Kumar Reddy (AIR 62), among others.
Nationally, there were three women in the top five rankers: Banaras Hindu University’s Shakti Dubey, Haryana’s Harshita Goyal, Shah Margi Chirag, Maharashtra’s Dongre Archit Parag and Delhi’s Aakash Garg finishing fifth.
Coaching centre heads and educators attributed the drop in successful candidates from the region to a scheduling clash with Group I examinations held in both states. “Many aspirants either deferred their attempts or were caught juggling multiple exams,” said Gopalakrishna V., director of a Hyderabad-based coaching institute.
A total of 1,009 candidates were selected for appointment to various central services of the 5 lakh who appeared for the preliminary examination in June 2024. Of these, 14,627 cleared the mains, and 2,845 made it to the interview stage held from January to April 2025.
In the Telugu states, 42,560 candidates from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh took the prelims. About 500 from the region qualified for the mains and over 75 reached the final interview stage.
Among those who cleared the exam was Kshitij Sharma (AIR 58), a former corporate lawyer who prepared in Hyderabad. Drawn to public service during the pandemic, Sharma said, “This isn’t a sprint but a marathon. I found strength in yoga, consistency and the support of my close circle.” Though originally from Bhopal, he has a strong personal connection to Telangana.
Preethi A.C. (AIR 263), prepared largely through self-study and credited her success to a desire to work for society. “A few incidents in my life made me choose this path,” she said.
Nelaturu Sreekanth Reddy (AIR 151), who prepared from Bengaluru, said the services offer a meaningful way to understand people’s problems directly and contribute to solutions.
Adding to the list of remarkable journeys was Ramtenki Sudhakar (AIR 949), a native of Bodampalli in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district. The son of daily-wage labourer Somayya, Sudhakar grew up studying in government schools and was guided by parents who, despite limited formal education, firmly believed that learning was the only way out of hardship.
With an MSc in Chemistry from IIT Kharagpur, he cracked the civil services in his very first attempt. His parents and villagers celebrated the success with pride, calling it a dream come true. “He never gave up, no matter how tough things were,” said his parents. “He always believed education would change our lives.”
“Civil services provide a platform to create greater impact and bring positive change in society. I believe direct public interaction helps understand people’s problems firsthand. It also offers learning that can shape better policies in future. My inclination is largely self-motivated, though I deeply admire the work of several serving officers. I look forward to doing my best while upholding constitutional and civil service values,” Sreekanth Reddy told Deccan Chronicle.
The final list includes aspirants from diverse academic and socio-economic backgrounds, reflecting the growing reach of the civil services dream. As attention now shifts to service allocation and training, the results have also prompted discussion about aligning regional and national competitive exam calendars to ensure wider participation.