Patna: Abhilasha Abhinav from Patna, who clinched the 18th rank in the civil services examination, 2017, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, had faced tough times but her fighter spirit helped her make it to the top-20 in her third attempt.

In a conversation with this correspondent on Sunday, Abhilasha said she wished to work for women's empowerment, health and education in the state. "Better education and health facilities should be available in rural areas to prevent people from taking the hassle of going to Patna. My hard work will be fruitful if any perceptible change occurs in the society due to my efforts," she said.

The resident of Patna's Rajiv Nagar holds a BTech from AC Patil College in Navi Mumbai (2012) with a specialisation in electronics and communication engineering. She worked in IBM, Pune, for two-and-a-half years.

She made her first attempt in 2014 but failed to clear the prelims, but later became a probationary officer in Syndicate Bank. She took the second shot at the UPSC civil services in 2016 and clinched the 308th rank to get selected for the Indian Revenue Service.

Abhilasha's family hails from Habibpura, a small town in Sohsaray in Nalanda district, around 80km east of Patna. Presently, her family lives in Rajiv Nagar. Her father, Bhola Nath Sarkar, a retired IPS officer and mother Kalyani Sinha guided her in difficult times.

"My daughter was working with the Syndicate Bank during demonetisation in November, 2016. She had to spent whole nights studying for examination while working long hours in the bank during the day. It was difficult but she managed to overcome the challenges with a sporting spirit," Abhilasha's mother, Kalyani, said over the phone on Sunday.

"To become a top-notch Indian Administrative Service officer has never been easy, it's difficult but not impossible. The difficult times must be faced with an athletically active spirit," said Abhilasha.

Abhilasha passed matriculation from Don Bosco, Patna, in 2005 with 91 per cent marks and completed her Plus-Two education from Delhi Public School, Bokaro, in the science stream in 2007 with 84 per cent marks.

A volleyball champion in school, Abhilasha became passionate for painting thereafter. She is currently undergoing training in the income tax department in Nagpur.

Her mother told The Telegraph that the family's expectations were very high about the civil services examinations 2017. However, "to be selected for the Indian Administrative Service is like winning the World Cup," said Kalyani.

On any message she wants to give to girls, she said: "I request parents not to pressure girls to marry. At the same time, girls should give confidence to parents by giving results."

"Women aspirants should secure a place in the family and the society. Let the daughters work wonders. I expect girls to dream high," said Abhilasha.

She also admitted that working in a bank left her with no time to enrol in any coaching institute.

"Employed people too crack the examination. Just a little bit of time management and hard work are required."

Abhilasha had chosen sociology as the optional paper in the examination since her first attempt despite being from engineering background.

According to her, humanities can be scoring if the aspirant has deep interest in the subject. She was interviewed by the PK Joshi Board on February 20 this year.

She also advised aspiring bureaucrats never to lose hope and continue attempting the examination. "They should move forward with passion while shrugging off all negative thoughts," said Abhilasha.