Jaipur, March 7 -- A 25-year-old medical graduate from AIIMS Jodhpur secured the nationwide first rank in the Union Public Service Commission's Civil Services Examination 2025, whose results were announced on Thursday. Anuj Agnihotri had earlier cleared the Union Territories Civil Services (UCTS) examination in his first attempt in 2023 and was currently posted in Delhi as a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in his probationary period. This was Agnihotri's third attempt to crack the civil services exam. His family is based in Chittorgarh. His father Krishna Bihari works as a technician at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station in Rawatbhata. "The credit goes to his own dedication and hard work... I am sure he will be one of the best IAS officers in the country," he said. "I wasn't clear about my aim in life initially, but was sure I had to make an impact on the larger section of society. I began pursuing MBBS in 2017. Around that time, I felt that power was necessary if one was to bring some kind of change. I talked it over with my parents and decided to pursue the civil services," he said. "The day I cleared UTCS, I locked myself in my room and cries tears of joy for half an hour." Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma took to X on Friday to congratulate Agnihotri. "Heartiest congratulations and best wishes for a bright future to Anuj Agnihotri, the son of Rajasthan, who has brought glory to the state by securing the first position in the UPSC Civil Services Examination-2025! This unprecedented achievement of yours will serve as an inspiration for millions of youth in the state.Heartiest best wishes to all other candidates who have succeeded in the examination! I am fully confident that all of you will fulfil the resolve of 'service to the nation' with complete dedication," wrote Sharma. Meanwhile, Agnihotri credited his mother with inspiring his resolve and ideals. "My mother has always inspired me to serve people and bring about change," he said. A total of 958 candidates -- 659 men and 299 women -- have qualified the examination and are recommended for appointment to different central civil services, the Commission said, adding that the candidature of 348 recommended candidates has been kept provisional. A total of 14,161 candidates qualified to appear in the written (main) examination which was held in August, 2025. Of these, as many as 2,736 candidates had qualified for the personality test (interview) of the examination. The civil services examination (CSE) is conducted annually in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- by the UPSC to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others. The civil services (preliminary) examination, 2025 was held on May 25, last year. 9,37,876 candidates applied for this examination, of which 5,76,793 appeared in the test....