(From left) Food and civil supplies minister Shyam Rajak, art, culture and youth affairs minister Sukhda Pandey, SIS group chairperson RK Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha felicitate Gaurav Kunal Jaiswal at Rabindra Bhavan in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Gaurav Kunal Jaiswal, who secured 98.5 per cent in the ISC Class XII examination (science), had a special gift for his dad this Father’s Day — happiness wrapped in a prize worth Rs 1 lakh.

The boy from Taregana near Masaurhi, about 30km from Patna, was awarded the money on Sunday as a part of the Meritorious Students Felicitation Ceremony organised by Security and Intelligence Services (India) Limited. The award acknowledges 100 high scorers in ICSE, CBSE and Bihar board examinations.

Gaurav, son of a grocer, Kishor Jaiswal, was also given 100 per cent scholarship by the SIS Group in Class XI and XII at the Indian Public School in Dehradun — a part of the SIS Group — after he secured 90 per cent in Class X.

Gaurav attributes his success to consistency. “When I secured the 100 per cent scholarship in Indian Public School, Dehradun, my priority was to be consistent. I aimed for 90 per cent again.”

The boy said his next goal is to become an IAS officer. “My focus is on the IAS now. This way, I can directly associate myself with the people.”

Apart from Gaurav, the SIS Group felicitated 100 meritorious students at a function organised at Rabindra Bhavan here on Sunday. The students had secured 92 per cent and above in the recent Class X examinations from Bihar and Jharkhand. The students are chosen on the basis of marks, financial background and counselling.

Avinash Kumar, who cleared the Class X from Al-Momin International School, Gaya, with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 10, said: “I am from Rafiganj area in Gaya, which is not only a Maoist-hit zone but also a backward region. In my locality there is no coaching facilities. The only alternative was self study.”

Avinash has taken admission in DAV BSEB in Patna.

“I would now like to crack the IIT and I am preparing for it,” he said.

Mohammed Zeeshan Quadri, who, too, secured Cumulative Grade Point Average 10 in Class X was also felicitated. Qaudri, the son of a private school teacher in Patna, said: “My hard work and dedication paid off.”

Out of the 100 students it felicitated, the SIS Group, along with the Indian Public School, Dehradun, will select five who will get scholarships in the institution for two years. Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha said: “Such functions provide the push to students to perform well.”