Imon Ghosh, a class XII student of Rashtriya Indian Military College and Birbhum-lad has topped the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy Examination (II).
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) announced the results on its website on April 12, with 792 candidates from all across the country making the cut.
On her X handle, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced that Imon is the first NDA topper from Bengal in recent years and hailed the boy as a “role model.”
“Glad and proud to know that our Birbhum boy Imon Ghosh has topped the National Defence Academy (II) examination 2024 conducted by UPSC. The results have been just published and this young adolescent son of a retired Havildar of the Indian Army, staying at Bolpur, has brought this achievement for all of us,” Mamata wrote in her congratulatory message. “No one topped the list from West Bengal in recent past, and by this feat, he becomes a role model for all the UPSC examinees and aspirants in our State, many of whom are receiving steady support from us from the State-run centres.”
Imon’s parents Ujjal Ghosh and his wife Gargi now reside in Bolpur.
“I always wanted him to serve the country. That he has topped the examination is a moment of immense pride for me,” Ujjal told The Telegraph Online.
Born in Suri, Imon had to move from military base to military base along with his father. Before enrolling at RIMC in class VIII, he attended the Sainik School in Haryana’s Kunjpura.
“We were over the moon when the result came out. We thought he would be in the top 10, but securing the first place is not something that we expected,” shared his mother, Gargi, a homemaker.
“His motivation has been his father all along, and his stay in RIMC strengthened him to turn his dream into a reality. When he first told me that he wanted to join the defence services, I was a little worried because his father was also in the same profession. But, his grit and determination was of paramount importance, and we supported his dream,” she said.
Imon started preparing for the NDA exam from class 11, focusing on subjects like English, mathematics, general knowledge and science.
Colonel Rahul Agarwal, a Commandant at RIMC, mentored him
Imon and the other candidates were selected based on a written examination held in September 2024 following which an interview was conducted by Services Selection Board (SSB).
The five-day-long evaluation process was conducted by the officers of the Indian Armed Forces. The evaluation covers intelligence, personality, group assignments and other parameters, before qualifying a candidate to serve the Indian Army, Indian Navy or the Indian Art Force.
Imon’s other interests are sports and arts, along with debating. In his leisure, he prefers strumming the chords of his guitar.
“We have lived in various locations where the air force base was adjacent. He would tell us about his dream to become a flying officer,” his mother said.
The other cadets of RIMC who are in the top 20 list of All Indian Ranks (AIR) are Kartik Pant (AIR 5), Brahma Swarup Das (AIR 14), Shravan Agarwal (AIR 15) and Aditya Raj (AIR 17).