Chief minister Arjun Munda gives appointment letter to Shalini Vijay. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi June 22: It was a proud moment for the successful candidates of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) today as they received appointment letters from chief minister Arjun Munda in the Administrative Training Institute.

The first batch of 64 candidates got the appointment letters for the post of deputy collectors after being successful in the JPSC examinations, which concluded in April.

All of them, including 15 women, took the oath of shouldering responsibilities with utmost honesty and dedication.

Shalini Vijay topped the JPSC examination. Another women cadet to have score high was Neelam Aggrawal, who came fifth among the 64 candidates.

Vijay said: ?I am happy. I will definitely try to perform well, as there lies an immense responsibility in the job and the government is expecting honesty and dedication from me.? The topper has set her mind to work against corrupt officials. ?Corruption is rampant in Bihar and Jharkhand. I feel proud to work here and will try to curb this malady,? she said.

The topper has never opted for any tuition or coaching classes to prepare for the JPSC examinations. Her mother, too, was extremely happy when Vijay went up the stage to get the appointment letter from the chief minister. ?I knew that Shalini will make me proud one day,? said Shakuntala Aggrawal, Vijay?s mother and a lecturer from Bokaro Steel City.

Neelam Aggrawal, another successful candidate, said: ?I will try to take Jharkhand in the path of development. I am extremely happy to be part of the administrative service. There is no short cut to success and that?s what I want to say to all the JPSC aspirants.?

After receiving the letter, Lalan Kumar, who scored 40th rank, said: ?This is a post of great responsibility and I will work for the all round development of the society.?

After giving the appointment letters, Munda congratulated all the recipients and asked them to abide by the law of the land.