Six Malayali youngsters have earned places in the top fifty ranks in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Service exam results announced on Monday. Dilip K Kanikkara from Changanassery, who bagged the 21st rank, is the topper from Kerala, while 25th rank holder Shruthi Rajlakshmi is the Malayali woman who scored the best.

31st rank holder V Avinash, Jasmin(36), T Swathi Sree (42) and Ramya CS (46) are the others who are named in the top 50.

Dileep, an IIT Chennai alumnus, apparently decided to pursue the services after working for three years in Samsung, in South Korea. He told MMTV, “While working abroad, I felt the need to work at the grassroots-level. That's when I decided to resign and prepare for the UPSC exam. This was my third attempt and I have been working at the Forest Department as a probationer, for the past one year.” He was also a mentor at the civil service academies in Thiruvananthapuram.

Interestingly, two roommates from Thiruvananthapuram – Akhil V Menon and Sreekumar – won top ranks in the exam after they prepared together for it. While Akhil won 66th rank, Sreekumar got 192. Akhil, a lawyer, is also the sixth rank holder in the Kerala Administration Service exam, and Sreekumar is an academician.

About 40 Malayalis are named in the overall rank list, while nine figure in the top 100. Kerala government's Civil Service Academy in Thiruvananthapuram has also reaped good results again, this year.