Social media is being by flooded a picture of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and his daughter Anjali Birla along with a post stating that she got past the civil
service exam without even taking the exam. The claim first surfaced on January 7, 2021 in a Facebook
post.

Also read: All Indian citizens will get COVID-19 vaccine for free? The fact and fiction of it

Translated to English, its Hindi caption read: “Om Birla’s
daughter cleared IAS in the first attempt. She didn’t undertake any exam. 90
seats kept for back door entry (reserve list) for the country’s most
prestigious examination are being used for officials with power instead of
poor, hard-working, people from a rural background and deserving candidates.”

The claim has proven to be largely unsubstantiated, as Birla’s
name can be clearly seen on the list of reserve candidates in the Union Public Service
Commission’s website.

Her roll number, too, features on both the 2019 preliminary exam
takers’ list as well as main exam takers’ list.

Also read: All MPs to undergo COVID-19 test before Budget session: Lok Sabha Speaker

She reportedly termed the claim as an instance of ‘baseless
criticism’ in an Instagram post dated January 8, 2021.

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam is organised
by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), consists of several rounds of
assessment, including written exam as well as an interview round. IAS is the
administrative branch of the Government of India.