Richard Yanthan becomes first Naga in over 13 years to crack civil services; Here's his story

Guwahati: Richard Yanthan, a resident of the Lakhuti village in the Wokha district of Nagaland, has brought laurels to the state by cracking the prestigious UPSC Civil Service exams 2019.

The 25-year-old youth who secured the 133rd rank has become the first Naga in over a decade to crack the exam, touted as one of the toughest in the world. Kesonyu Yhome, IAS (2007 Nagaland Cadre), was the last Naga from Nagaland to become an IAS officer. 

Yanthan had cleared the locally-held NPSC exams in his first attempt and was recently posted as an EAC probationer to the DRC at Nagaland House Delhi on June 18, 2020. Although he was able to reach the interview stage during his first attempt in 2018, he was unable to make the cut.

The Naga youth shared that now that he has cleared the exams, he would be interested in the formation of policy and the implementation of schemes, especially in the hinterland.

Yanthan's father passed away when he was merely 10 years old. However, his mother, who hails from Changki in Mokokchung, stood as a strong pillar of support for the precocious Yanthan.

Richard Yanthan did his schooling from the Chandmari Higher Secondary School in Kohima, HSSLC from the Kohima Science College, Jotsoma, and completed his B.Tech in Civil Engineering from the Assam down town University in Guwahati.

After passing the exams, Richard Yanthan said that the UPSC now wants 'thinking candidates' to fill the administrative posts in the country. "Now, they want thinking candidates, candidates who can think and not those who can just mug up textbook answers. So we have to take those into account and also, along with working hard, working smart is really important", he told media persons after his moment of triumph.

It needs mention here that amid mounting anticipation, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) finally revealed the names of the candidates who successfully cleared the UPSC Civil Services 2019 on Tuesday, August 4. Pradeep Singh has emerged as the topper in the Civil Services Exams 2019. Jatin Kishore and Pratibha Verma have been ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Himanshu Jain has secured the fourth rank, while Jaydev C S stood fifth. Visakha Yadav stood 6th, Ganesh Kumar Baskar stood 7th, Abhishek Saraf stood 8th, Ravi Jain stood 9th, while Sanjita Mohapatra stood 10th in the UPSC Civil Service exams 2019.

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