Basavaraj Dhareppa Kempawad, from Athani in Belagavi, has secured the all-India first rank in the UPSC Indian Forest Service examination, whose results were declared on Saturday. This was his second attempt.

Mr. Kempawad stood first among the 148 total recommended candidates across the country. He is a forestry sciences graduate from the College of Forestry in Sirsi of Uttara Kannada. His father Dhareppa Kempawad is a farmer in Savadi village near Athani.

After primary school in Savadi From class 6 to 10, Basavaraj Kempawad studied at the Morarji Desai Residential School in Alagavadi in Raibag taluk. He completed PU at Yallatti in Jamkhandi taluk of Bagalkot district and moved to Sirsi for Bsc. He joined a group of friends in Bengaluru to study for the UPSC Civil Services examinations .

He told reporters that he was very happy to see that his family members and villagers were happy about his success. “I come from an ordinary farming family in a rural area. I cleared the examination without resorting to any special courses. I am sure my success will inspire several other youth to attempt such examinations,’’ he said.