Mutyala Raju Revu, IAS-2006 Topper

Mutyala Raju Revu, an Indian Police Service probationer hailing from Andhra
Pradesh, has topped the Union Public Service Commission Civil Services Examination 2006
in the country. He will be joining the Andhra Pradesh cadre of the Indian Administrative
Service.

Born in Chinnagollapalem, a remote island village in Krishna district on Andhra coast,

Mutyala Raju comes from a marginal farmer's family. He belongs to Agnikula Kshatriya
caste of fishermen community among the Other Backward Classes. His two elder brothers
are also into farming.
Incidentally, it was Raju's third attempt in the UPSC examination. In his previous attempt in
2005, he secured 223rd rank and was allotted to Rajasthan cadre of the Indian Police
Service. He is currently undergoing training at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai National Police
Academy in Hyderabad.

"I come from a family of farmers. Getting proper education and medical facilities was
difficult in Chinnagollapalem as it is cut off by Godavari and Krishna rivers," Raju recalls but
he has excelled all through his academic career, overcoming all hurdles.He studied at Zilla
Parishad High School near his
village. Being the state topper in
Common Entrance Eexamination for
Polytechnic, Raju pursued his
studies at Mullapudi
Memorial Polytechnic
College in Tanuku (West Godavari
district) and specialized in
electrical and electronics
engineering.

He secured first rank in

Engineering Common Entrance
Test in 1998 to come into
mainline engineering, He
appeared for GATE in 2002 and secured all-India third rank. He completed B-Tech from the
National Institute of Technology, Warangal, and pursued ME from Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore, in Signal Engineering. He also secured first rank in Indian Engineering
Services 2003 and was posted as a railway engineer.
For this third attempt in the Civil Services exam, Raju took coaching at R C Reddy Coaching
Centre in the city. He took electrical engineering and mathematics as optionals to try for the
IAS and came on top.

"I joined the NPA after I appeared for the Civil Services exam again. I expected a
rank within the top 10. I am so elated. I did not expect the top rank," he said after coming
to know of UPSC results on Monday evening. He said that he would attend the training at
NPA as usual.

27-year-old Raju is a bachelor. While his IPS batch-mates and friends in the city
greeted Raju, his family was elated over the distinction he achieved in the Civil Services
exam. His father Revu Narasimha Murthy recollected Raju's always reading General
Knowledge books.
 Murthy said he had expected his son to be among the top 100 but Raju exceeded
everyone's expectations by securing the top rank. "We are proud of him," Chintamani,
Raju's mother, said.

It was festive time at Raju’s home in the island village Chinnagollapalem from 4 pm
when the news broke that he topped the list. Taking a break from the celebrations spree,
Raju’s father R Narasimha Murthy told that the entire village was singing paeans to Raju’s
hard work. ‘‘He always read GK books,’’ his father recollected adding that he expected a
rank in the top 100. Raju’s mother Chintamani and uncles Vysaiah and Venkanna were
leading celebrations.

‘‘We have been calling all our relatives to share the news,’’ said Murthy, who looks
after his four-acre land in his village. This is not the first time that Raju earned accolades
from his relatives and others in the village. Raju could not be contacted. Being the state
topper in polytechnic entrance, Raju pursued his polytechnic at Mullapudi Memorial
Polytechnic and specialized in electrical and electronics.

A remote village celebrates its son’s tryst with glory

So what if Chinagollapalem looks like a village caught in a time warp, it produced an IAS
topper. And this island village sans roads and hospital is celebrating. Revu Mutyala Raju,
who topped this year’s IAS examination, is from this predominantly fishermen’s village. On
hearing about the news of Raju’s rare achievement, the villagers came out of their houses,
distributed sweets and burst crackers. Mutyala Raju’s father Narasimha Murthy is overjoyed.
Reaching Chinagollapalem is an arduous task even on normal days. From Vijayawada, one
has to travel for three hours and then take a boat ride up to Lakshmipuram Pallepalem in
Krittivennu mandal. The village is hemmed by Upputeru, a brackish water channel leading
from Kolleru into the sea on three sides and the Bay of Bengal on the fourth side. A bridge
across Upputeru to connect the mainland has been the long-felt need of the villagers.
‘‘This is a moment of great happiness. The whole village is celebrating,’’ said an excited
Myla Veerraju, a neighbour of Mutyala Raju. There is greater joy as Chief Minister YS
Rajasekhara Reddy has invited the parents of Mutyala Raju to Hyderabad. They are leaving
Chinagollapalem on Tuesday night to reach Hyderabad.

‘‘Mutyala Raju is God’s gift to our village. I hope there will be development in our
village now,’’ said village motor mechanic Pallamanda Satyanarayana. Mutyala Raju’s uncle
Revu Krishnarjuna Rao is so overjoyed that he has no words to express himself. Revu
Vissaiah, another uncle of Mutyala Raju, too is overjoyed. ‘‘It is a matter of pride for us that
our lad is the IAS topper. A boy from the fisher folk community in a backward island has
done the whole State proud,’’ he said.