Malavika's inspiring UPSC feat after appearing for exam 17 days after childbirth

Kozhikode: Thiruvalla native Malavika G Nair's stellar performance in UPSC civil services exam by securing 45th rank and topping the state is all the more sweeter and inspiring because she wrote the mains exam just 17 days after delivering her baby.

Malavika, a 2020 batch IRS officer and the current deputy commissioner of income tax in Kochi, achieved this success in her sixth and final attempt. She was with her husband, Dr M Nandagopan, who is undergoing IPS training at Manjeri Police station, when she received the news of clearing the civil services exam on Tuesday. They then went home to Thiruvalla in the afternoon.

"It was a special moment as my baby was there with me. I was pregnant when I wrote the prelims. Writing the mains was strenuous as I gave birth to my child on Sept 3 and wrote the mains on Sept 20. I could write the exam only because my family supported me," she said. Malavika is the daughter of Kerala Financial Corporation's retired AGM KG Ajith Kumar and gynaecologist Dr PL Geethalakshmi.

Nandagopan said he was undergoing IPS training at National Police Academy in Hyderabad when his wife was writing her mains and Malavika's parents and sister used to take their son Adisesh to the exam centre in Thiruvananthapuram for feeding during the exam break. "As the baby boy was just four months old during her interview, he was also taken to Delhi," he said.

Malavika had secured 118th rank in 2019 UPSC exam and 172nd rank in 2022 exam. Nandagopan had cleared the exam with 233rd rank in 2022.