Had ₹1 cr job but wanted ‘sustainable happiness’: How Kanishak Kataria topped UPSC CSE, secured AIR 1 in first attempt | Today’s news
Securing a lucrative package after graduating from one of India’s top institutes, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), is the dream of many. Kanishak Kataria, however, had other ambitions.
After completing BTech in Computer Science from IIT Bombay and securing a job in South Korea with a year package ₹1 crore, returned to India to crack the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. His efforts paid off when he got All India Rank 1 in UPSC Exam 2018.
His story is gaining attention again not only because of his inspirational journey, but also because of his speech in which he mentioned his girlfriend, parents and sister.
Kanishak Kataria in UPSC success speech mentioning girlfriend, parents and sister
His recognition became the talk of the town as it was unusual for a UPSC senior official to publicly grace a romantic partner in an achievement speech.
Union Public Service Commission announced Kataria as the best player on April 5, 2019. In an interview with ANI, he said, “It’s a very surprising moment. I never expected to get the 1st rank.
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I thank my parents, sister and girlfriend for their help and moral support. People will expect me to be a good administrator and that is exactly my intention.”
Why did Kanishak Kataria leave him ₹1 million jobs in South Korea?
After returning to India, Kataria said he always wanted to explore life outside the country. However, working in South Korea made him realize that making money was not his only motive and that he wanted “sustainable happiness” through work that could change people’s lives.
“I was making good money for myself, but I wanted to connect with people and get an opportunity to help them,” he explained in an interview.
Kataria revealed that she earns almost a year’s salary ₹1 million while working in South Korea. However, after moving back to India, his earnings dropped to almost a third of his previous package.
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His career also took him to Bengaluru. As reported by The Indian Express, he spent about 18 months as a software engineer at Samsung Electronics in South Korea before moving to Bengaluru. There, he accepted a role as a data scientist at a technology solutions company.
In 2017, Kataria decided to quit her job and devote her time to preparing for the state exam.
What is Kanishak Kataria doing now?
After securing the first position in the 2018 UPSC examination, Kataria joined the Rajasthan cadre as an IAS officer in the 2019 batch. According to NDTV, she is currently serving as the Commissioner of Bharatpur Development Authority.
His journey from graduating from IIT Bombay and working in South Korea to becoming the UPSC 2018 topper is remarkable. Apart from leaving a high-paying job to pursue his civil service ambitions, Kataria also grabbed attention by publicly appreciating the people who supported him on his journey.
