UPSC 2019: Kanishak Kataria tops civil services examination in first attempt

Jaipur : Jaipur boy Kanishak Kataria has topped the civil services examination in his first examination. He jumped with joy and almost dropped his mobile phone when he found out that he had topped the examination.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) on Friday announced the results in which 759 candidates (577 men and 182 women) have been recommended for appointment to various services such as IAS, IPS and IFS.

Kanishak’s father, Sanwar Mal Verma, is an also an IAS officer and is posted as director in the social justice and empowerment department in Rajasthan. The UPSC topper’s uncle, KC Verma, is also an IAS and is divisional commissioner of Jaipur. His maternal grandfather, SL Bunkar, was in the state administrative service.

Kanishak completed his schooling from Kota as his father was posted there. An alumnus of Kota’s St Paul’s School, Kanishak joined a coaching for engineering entrance examination and made it to the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, with 44 all-India rank. He did B.Tech. in computer science and engineering and went to South Korea to work in an electronic giant for one year and a half.

He started preparing for the civil services examination in 2017 in New Delhi.

“I worked outside India for some time and realised India also needs good quality development. If I can help in inclusive growth and infrastructure development, it will be much more satisfying than earning big amount of money outside India,” he told Hindustan Times.

Did his father inspire him to get into administrative service? “My father has always been my role model. He has always inspired me but he never pushed me into civil services. It was a decision which I made on my own. I consulted him and my family. They were fully supportive of this decision,” he added in a Hindustan Times report.

Kanishak says he will enjoy this for some time and let this feeling sink it before he goes for training in August.