Athar Aamir-ul-Shafi Khan is a very happy boy. The 23-year-old scored second rank in his second attempt at the prestigious civil services examinations. Delhi's Tina Dabi topped the IAS exams 2015 by securing first position. An elated Athar said, "I had appeared last year but my ranking was down and, therefore, I was offered Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS). I joined but IAS was my first love and I planned to do both - join the training and appear again." Athar is currently undergoing training for IRTS in Lucknow.

The son of a school teacher, Athar lives near Srinagar in the Devipora-Mattan village in Anantnag district. The boy always dreamed of joining the Civil Services, especially after Shah Faesal topped the exams in 2009. Besides, he also wanted to do something "for the people" by being "with the people".

He said, "I met Mr Shah Faesal and took his advice on whether I should join the services. We had a long discussion and after that we arrived at a conclusion that I should join as well as appear again.

"So here I am...happy at the decision. I have already given IAS as my first choice and Jammu and Kashmir as my cadre preference. I believe that there is a lot of scope for me to do something for my people in the state."