They bagged the top two spots and recorded a better pass percentage compared with boys.
Raksha Gopal from Delhi’s neighbourhood Noida in Uttar Pradesh topped the list, followed by Bhoomi Sawant De from Chandigarh.
Gopal from Amity International School in Noida secured 99.6% marks, and Bhoomi from DAV School in Chandigarh scored 99.4% marks, the CBSE said.
Aditya Jain and Mannat Luthra, both from Bhavan Vidyalaya in Chandigarh, were the joint third with 99.2% marks.
All four toppers were unanimous in saying that their mantra for success was hard work and not getting bogged down by pressure.
Gopal wants to study Political Science at Lady Shri Ram College or Miranda House.
An Arts stream student, she gives all credit for her success to her parents and school teachers who guided her.
“I was confident of getting good marks in the examination, but was not expecting to top.”
She got 100 marks in three subjects, bagging a score of 498 out of 500 in five subjects.
Asked about her study methods, she said: “I never took pressure due to exams, but I did my studies regularly.”
Gopal also said she never went for tuitions.
De wants to do B Tech in Computer Science and become an engineer.
“When I came to Class 11, I was a bit confused about how to start my studies. But my parents and teachers helped me come out of the confusion,” De said.
Recalling her hard work, she said: “I was consistent in studying and never put pressure on myself. After coming from school and tuitions I used to revise my subjects.”
Jain said: “When I came to Class 11 I had planned my studies in a way so that I don’t put pressure on myself.”
Luthra, who wants to become an IAS officer, said she wants to study Economics in Delhi University.
Jain said it has been his dream to get into St Stephen’s College in Delhi University, and he had remained focused on studies, and his marks were a result of that effort.
According to the CBSE, a total of 87.5% girls passed the exams compared with 78% boys.
A total of 10,76,761 students registered for the Class 12 examinations but only 10,20,762 appeared at 3,504 centres across the country between March 9 and April 29.
The pass percentage this year recorded a marginal drop to 82% from 83.05% last year. Only 837,229 students managed to pass this year, the board said.
The CBSE announced the results of all its 10 regions simultaneously – including the highest 258,321 students from Delhi region, followed by Panchkula in Haryana with 184,557 and Ajmer in Rajasthan with 131,449 candidates.
The board said 10,091 students scored more than 95% marks, and 63,247 more than 90% this year.
A total of 2,497 candidates with various disabilities also sat for the exams this year, of which 2,123 students passed.
Ajay K Raj from St Thomas Central School in Thiruvananthapuram topped in the differently abled category with 490 marks out of a maximum of 500 marks.
The board said 125 differently able candidates scored above 90%, with 21 scoring above 95% marks.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar congratulated the successful students after the results were declared.
“Congratulations to all my young friends who have successfully passed the CBSE Class XII exams and best wishes for future endeavours,” Modi said in a tweet.
Besides congratulating the students, Javadekar also spoke to the toppers by phone.
“I want to congratulate all the students who scored well... success gives you strength and confidence. Also congrats to students of all boards,” Javadekar said in a video message to students.
He advised students who could not perform well that “the defeat is not final unless we keep trying”.
“Therefore, you should try more and you will get definite success,” he said.
