New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS): UPSC topper Shubham Kumar has said that he was not sure about cracking the examination this year, which was his third attempt.

His first attempt was in 2018. "After the second attempt in 2019, I got the 290th rank, and then I got into the Indian Defence Account Service," he said.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Friday declared the results of exams held in 2020. Kumar, a resident of Katihar district of Bihar, who has topped the Civil Services Examination 2020, said he is happy with his performance.

A total of 761 candidates have been recommended by the Union Public Service Commission for appointment in the bureaucracy of the country.

"I am very happy and feeling very good because I gave as much as I could... I was not sure that I would be able to do it this time," he told IANS.

Kumar has done civil engineering from IIT Bombay and hails from Katihar in Bihar.

"Currently, I am in National Academy of Defence Financial Management Pune and I am an official trainee in Indian Accounts Service," he said.

He said: "I was not that confident in the Mains this time as I was not able to answer all the questions well."

"Due to Covid, I was not able to prepare last year... I was all alone... friends became less and I could not talk to anyone, so it was like preparing by staying locked in a room."

Apart from Shubham, Jagriti Awasthi and Ankita Jain have secured the second and third positions respectively in the Civil Services Examination.