BENGALURU: Kanishak Kataria (26), who topped the country in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams, the results of which were announced on Friday, has a Bengaluru connect. The IIT-Bombay alumnus was employed as a data scientist with Qplum, a software lab located in the city. Kataria, has his roots in Rajasthan and trained in New Delhi for the exam. He is the second Scheduled Caste candidate to have topped the exams after Tina Dabi.
Among women, Srushti Jayant Deshmukh emerged the topper. Ranked fourth in the overall list, she hails from Bhopal. Of the 759 candidates who have been allotted ranks, 23 are from Karnataka. They include Rahul Sharanappa Sankanur, a relative of BJP MLC SV Sankanur, who bagged 17th rank, and 25-year-old Lakshmi N, an information science engineering graduate from BMS College in Bengaluru who secured 45th rank in her third attempt. Dr Akash, a Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officer working in the Pre-University Education department, has bagged 78th rank in his sixth attempt.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Rahul Sankanur, who was working as a software professional, said, “I wanted to serve society by clearing the country’s top examination. I managed to clear it after four attempts. I was sure I will clear it but did not know I would get such a good rank.” Lakshmi N, who took up the exams without any coaching, said, “I worked in the software industry for a year and quit as I wanted to chase my dream of becoming an IAS officer. I will definitely choose Karnataka to work in,” she said.
Dr Akash, a medical doctor, first cleared the KAS and now the Union Civil Service Exams. “I knew I would get a rank within the top 100. I made it to the interviews three times and succeeded this time,” he said. Krithika who bagged the 100th rank, is an engineering graduate from Mysuru. “ I would study for 7-8 hours a day on my own.” The exams were held in the month of September-October last year.