Richard Yanthan ends Nagaland’s UPSC drought

Our Reporter

Dimapur, Aug.4 (EMN): After a 13-year drought, Richard Yanthan, a Naga from Lakhuti village in Wokha district, has cracked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil services examination by securing the 133rd rank.

The last Naga to crack the UPSC exam was Kesonyu Yhome, in 2007.

Speaking to Eastern Mirror, Yanthan shared that at first he could not believe the news of his success. At the time the results were declared, he wasn’t aware as he was in his office; and it was only after a message from his brother and confirmation from his colleagues who had appeared the exam that he came to know.

“The first thing I did was thank the Almighty,” he said and added that he started to get lots of calls.

Yanthan shared that he had cleared the NPSC exam in his first attempt in 2018. He was recently posted as EAC probationer to the DRC at Nagaland House Delhi on June 18, 2020.

He shared that joining the civil service was always his childhood ambition.

Yanthan also talked about whether or not the change in his position would affect the core values of his administrative goals. 

He said the core values of administration remains the same. ‘There are certain fundamental values which any civil servant must possess,’ he said. 

Yanthan asserted that an IAS officer provides a wider canvas—to serve the state or country and bring about positive changes in the society.

When asked which field he would be interested to serve in, he said that he would be interested in the formation of policy and implementation schemes, especially in rural areas.

‘Any cadre would be fine since lot of development works can be done in any of the cadres,’ Yanthan said and added that he has given Nagaland as his preference, but since posting is decided via the zonal system, he could end up anywhere.

“Naga youths are very ambitious nowadays; they want to bring changes, they want to reform the society and do good for the society,” he said and encouraged them to join the civil services.

“It is a very good way of bringing those changes, legally,” he said.

Personal background

Richard Yanthan, son of late James Chenithung Yanthan, hails from Lakhuti village in Wokha district. His father passed away when he in the fourth standard. His mother is from Changki village in Mokokchung district; he has a younger brother and a sister.

Yanthan did his schooling from Chandmari Higher Secondary School in Kohima, HSSLC from Kohima Science College, Jotsoma and completed his B.Tech in Civil engineering from Downtown University Guwahati, Assam in 2017.

He informed that in his first attempt to clear the UPSC in 2018, he was able to reach the interview stage but could not make it to the final list.