IIT-JEE: Topper, 40 among first 100 from Andhra Pradesh

For the second successive year, Andhra Pradesh has bagged the top rank in the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination (IITJEE)- 2011, results of which were announced on Wednesday.

Prithvi Teja from Andhra Pradesh stood first at the all-India level

Immadi Prithvi Teja from West Godavari district in coastal Andhra Pradesh stood first at the all-India level, competing with over five lakh students who appeared for the IIT-JEE conducted on April 10.

And it was a windfall for the state, which garnered the lion's share of the ranks for admission into the IITs. If all categories are taken together, Andhra Pradesh accounted for nearly 40 of the top 100 ranks, including seven among the first 10 ranks in the open category at the all-India level.

Apart from Prithvi Teja who bagged the first rank, the other top rankers are: Y. Mithun (second), Saimanth Reddy (third), Sai Kiran (fourth), Kunal Saha (sixth), T. Bhargava Reddy (eighth) and Janga J. Varun (ninth). All of them had their education in the Andhra Pradesh state syllabus, both at the school as well as intermediate level.

It's a dream come true for Prithvi Teja hailing from an upper middle-class family in the temple town of Dwaraka Tirumala in West Godavari district. His father, Immadi Srinivasa Rao, runs a small jewellery shop in the town and mother Rani is a homemaker.

Prithvi Teja did his schooling from the Vishwa Bharati Residential School at Gudivada, located between his hometown and Vijayawada. A brilliant student throughout, he scored over 96 per cent in Class X. To prepare for the IIT entrance test, he attended the Sri Chaitanya IIT Academy in Vijayawada.

"Right from day one, he had a lot of confidence in himself. He, no doubt, worked hard but was never under pressure. He used to relax after studies and even played cricket. I'm extremely happy that he achieved his goal with ease," father Srinivasa Rao said.

Interestingly, for the first time the Sri Chaitanya Group of Institutions has produced the top ranker in IIT-JEE, as it is mostly famous for medical entrance coaching. "We have proved that we are the best in producing IIT rankers, too," said B. V. Rao, chairman of the Sri Chaitanya Group, which also produced the eighth and ninth rankers at the all-India level, apart from Prithvi Teja.