Tejas Dilipbhai Parmar, a former student of Vidyamandir in Palanpur has been selected as the first ever IAS office from Palanpur after he secured the 310th rank at the highly competitive all-India UPSC exam in 2015-16. He is one of only 12 students from across Gujarat who cleared the prestigious Civil Service exam this year.

Tejas studied in Vidyamandir for 14 years, joining as a student of LKG and studying there till he completed Std XII in 2008. Always a star student, he secured the 2nd rank in Banakantha district with 92.6% in Std XII, after earlier securing 7th rank in the district in Std X with 93.43%.

Subsequently, he completed his BTech (Mechanical) from SVNIT, Surat, winning a silver medal for his CGPA of 9.62 (out of a possible 10). He then focused on the UPSC exams by undergoing training at SPIPA, Ahmedabad in 2014-15 and won a coveted seat for the IAS at his second attempt. Besides his prowess in academics, Tejas was also known as a good writer and poet in school, and also excelled at sports, particularly cricket. He was a member of the U-16 Gujarat state team that particpated in the National School Games in 2004. 

In 2007, when he was in his final year (Std XII) at Shri Vividhlaxi Vidyamandir, in an interview to the school magazine, Nishtha, Tejas had said that he wished to join the IAS and work towards developing India into a global superpower. He said that he was inspired by interviews with various IAS officers that he had read in the newspapers or seen on TV, and would put in all the necessary efforts to achieve his ambition. 

Tejas was recently felicitated by Vidyamandir at a function held on the institution's campus.

Click here to read 2007 interview