Kanishak Kataria, a renowned civil servant and UPSC topper in 2022 | Edukemy Blog

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In this article, you will learn about IAS Kanishak Kataria, his journey, and most importantly his suggested books which are regarded as the best books for UPSC preparation. 

Kanishak Kataria is a remarkable individual who seamlessly blends a passion for machines with a stellar career in civil service. Born in Jaipur, India, Kataria not only excelled in academics but also displayed a keen interest in technology and machinery from a young age. His journey took a significant turn when he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a civil servant. In 2018, Kataria achieved a remarkable feat by securing the top rank in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, one of the most competitive and prestigious exams in India. This accomplishment showcased not only his intellectual prowess but also his unwavering dedication and hard work. Kataria’s unique combination of a love for machines and a commitment to public service sets him apart as an inspiring figure, embodying the idea that diverse passions can coexist and contribute to one’s success in unexpected ways.

Early life and biography of UPSC topper Kanishak Kataria 

The IAS Officer Kanishak Kataria was born on 26 September 1992 in the pink city of Rajasthan. 

Kanishak had completed his graduation in 2014 from none other than IIT, Bombay which is the best college for engineering in India. 

Before becoming a civil servant, Kanishak Kataria worked in one of the greatest MNCs, Samsung in South Korea. Kanishak Kataria returned to Bengaluru which is also called the IT hub of India or the Silicon Valley of India and worked as a data scientist.  

Then he sat for the UPSC exam for the first time which was not a successful one and in 2019, at his second attempt, he cleared the exam with a rank of 1. 

Kanishak has crossed every milestone regardless of the difficulties. He saw a dream and dared to fulfill it. The journey from a data scientist to a UPSC aspirant to an IAS Officer had taken a lot of toilsome and patience. 

Hobbies and other interests of topper Kanishak Kataria. 

Apart from being a bright student, Kanishak is also very enthusiastic about cricket, football, and tennis. He is very much interested in the sports field. His favorite cricket player is Sachin Tendulkar like every other Indian. He is also a great fond of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. They are his current favorites. 

Educational background of Kanishak Kataria 

Kanishak has been a very diligent and bright student since his school days. He completed his schooling at St. Paul Senior Secondary School which is in Kota, Rajasthan. In his class 10th board exam, Kanishak got 94% and in his 12th board exam, he received 96%.  Thereafter, he went to IIT Bombay to complete his bachelor’s degree.  Kanishak made his first attempt at the UPSC examination without any preparation, so he did not succeed. 

Finally, in 2019, Kanishak Kataria qualified for the UPSC exam with the first rank on his first attempt. Qualifying for the UPSC exam is itself a big deal and with AIR 1 in just his second attempt is worth remembering. Thus, he is a true inspiration for the aspirants out there. 

“The support of my life”- quoted by Kanishak Kataria 

Family background of Kanishak Kataria

Kanishak Kataria came from a highly educated background. His father, Sanwar Mal Verma is the Director of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department of Rajasthan, an honorable civil servant who has been fulfilling all his duties for many years. His uncle is also a servant of civil service. 

Kanishak’s mother is a homemaker. His elder sister, Tanmaya Kataria is a medical student at Man Singh Hospital. Kanishak is married to Sonal Chauhan who is a software developer. and not only this but Kanishak’s uncle K.C Verma is also an IAS by profession which also inspired him. 

During his struggling days, Kanishak’s biggest inspiration was his family. His parents have always been very supportive of his dream. Kanishak and his wife, Sonal both are very proud of each other’s achievements.

What was Kanishak Kataria’s reaction to getting the 1st rank in the exam? 

“I was utterly in shock to get the results, I thought I did well but this much I never expected, and for all of this I would like to be grateful to my parents and also the love of my life, my girlfriend who has been patient and supportive towards my choices. 

Breaking stereotypes together 

In India, especially there is thinking that if someone is in a relationship or has a love interest they are more likely to do bad academically or generally assumed to be dumb. 

But Kanishak Kataria proved all those beliefs wrong, He is a very simple and sorted man who knows how to prioritize his work and manage his time well, In his interview after he bagged the 1st rank in the UPSC CSE exam in 2018, besides his family he proudly thanked his girlfriend for his success and he believes that his love also had a huge role in his success and without her being patient and supportive this journey of being the IAS would be a heck more difficult thing. 

Is Kanishak Kataria married? 

Of course, that’s a yes, after achieving his goal he tied the knot with his one love, Sonal who is also a software developer at a reputed IT firm. 

Many social media platforms and Twitter handles also praised how Kanishak Kataria praised his girlfriend despite all the so-called beliefs that say that “having a girlfriend is bad ” 

Early achievements and evergreen success of brilliant Kanishak Kataria 

1. Kanishak Kataria has always been an aspiring student and has never failed anyone’s expectations, in the year 2010 Kanishak bagged 44th All India rank in the IIT JEE exam which is a highly competitive ug level exam.  
2. In the same year, he also achieved the 3rd rank in his state and All India rank 24 in another hard exam AIEEE 
3. Kanishak Kataria got the 1st rank in the 11th National Science Olympiad and not only this he also managed to get the 2nd rank in the Mathematics Olympiad in the year 2009. 
4. It might not be that surprising if we inform you that Kanishak Kataria was also the recipient of the KVPY scholarship in 2009. 
5. Another scholarship bagged by our very own Kanishak is the NTSE scholarship which is the National Talent Search Examination. 

Brief view at the marks of UPSC topper Kanishak Kataria 

A student does a lot of preparation and puts in a lot of hard work to crack the UPSC exam. They give their one hundred percent to score their own best.  

The achiever AIR 1 of 2019 UPSC exam, Kanishak Kataria’s mark sheet is a thing that must be looked at. 

His marks are as follows 

Mains exam	942/1750
Interview test	179/275
Total marks	1121/2025

Essay Paper	133/250
General Studies Paper 1	98/250
General Studies Paper 2	117/250
General Studies Paper 3	117/250
General Studies Paper 4	116/250
Optional 1 (mathematics)	170/250
Optional 2 (mathematics)	191/250

To get these marks, one has to give their best. Keep scrolling to get to know how Kanishak received these mind-blowing marks and book suggestions which should be positively read by all aspirants.

Optional Subject 

A key to scoring good marks is to select carefully a subject as your optional subject. 

As the selection of your optional subject is totally on the students so the responsibility of choosing the perfect subject also increases. But there are some basic points which should be kept in mind while choosing the subject. 

1. Firstly, you must have an interest in that subject. If you do not like that subject, it will be like misusing the power of selecting the optional subject by candidates.  
2. Secondly, thoroughly research the subject which you will be choosing. See the questions that come from your selected subject from the previous year’s question papers. See the weightage of the subject and then decide. 
3. IAS Kanishak Kataria has chosen Mathematics as his optional subject which was an excellent strategy for him. He was from a science background and was fond of maths ever since, so it worked for him pretty well. He got 170 and 191 in optional subject 1 and optional subject 2 respectively. He said that maths is a subject that is based on understanding and practicing. Kanishak knew what he was choosing and why he was choosing it. So candidates, choose wisely the subject you are choosing. Know your strengths and weaknesses and select your optional subject. 

Unique strategies for unique students! 

Before starting any kind of competitive exam making or following a strategy is one of the foremost things to do, let’s get a look at the mind-blowing strategies made by topper Kanishak Kataria. 

• The first and foremost thing to do is to have a reason for taking up this extremely difficult path because the journey till the end is not going to be an easy one and to stay till the last and aspirants need a correct mindset to hold themselves till the end. 
• Every aspirant must have their unique styles and strategies, not every person is similar, and likewise, not every student has the same strengths and weaknesses, for example, few students are comfortable studying at night and few are comfortable studying early in the morning and changing their habits and going beyond it would only cause problems rather than solving them. 
• Kanishak also used to hang out with some of his friends who were also preparing for the exams and realized how different people have different preferences and copying someone’s plan will not fetch anything even if the person you are copying from is a topper it will be of no use. 
• Self-motivation- works like a charm nothing can motivate you unless you get up and take things into your own hands. 

Kanishak Kataria not only gave many valuable tips but as well as he suggested many books for the aspirants that might be of great use because students at the early stage are generally very confused about their books and materials and mostly try to take up different books suggested by various people but none of them are mostly accurate and most students have to go through a very tiring process of hit and trial method to find their suitable books. 

So to ease that process here are some genuine suggestions for the books. 

What are the best books for History in UPSC preparation? 

• Ancient History by R.S Sharma 
• History of Medieval India by Satish Chandra. 
• World and post-independence by vision material. 
• A brief history of modern India by spectrum. 

What are the best books for the UPSC exam for the subject of Geography? 

• NCERT textbooks from grades 11^th and 12^th are important as hell. 
• Certificate Physical and Human Geography by GC Leong 

What are the best books on society optional subjects in UPSC? 

• NCERT textbooks from class 12^th  
• Vision material 

What are the best books on Indian polity for UPSC? 

• Laxmikanth 
• Lukamaan IAS notes 
• Vision 365 notes 

What are the best governance books in UPSC? 

• Lukmaan IAS notes 
• International relations 
• Vision mains 365 material 
• Reverse learning from test series and questions 

What are the books suggested by Kanishak Kataria for economics in UPSC exams? 

• Economics NCERT book from class 11^th and 12^th 
• Vision IAS notes 
• Vision Mains 365 notes 

What are the recommended books on internal security for UPSC exams? 

• International Security by Ashok Kumar IPS 
• Vision mains material 

What is the best book for agriculture in UPSC? 

• NCERT books  
• Self notes 

What is the best book for an ethics paper? 

• Lexicon 
• Lukmaan 100 case studies 

What are the books suggested by Kanishak Kataria for the environment in UPSC exams? 

• 12^th NCERT biology especially the last unit named “ecology”. 
• Vision notes 
• Vision 365 material. 

Final words

It happens quite often that candidates tend to lose motivation. Even after giving their best, and preparing day and night, the result is not up to the mark. This is solely because of a lack of inspiration. 

Think about IAS Kanishak Kataria, he has achieved so many things in life but he has not been born with his achievements. Kanishak has started from zero and was an aspirant at a time just like any of you. If he can do this, then why not you? With determination and hard work, anything can be achieved in life. Remember Rome was not built in a day. So work hard every day and never lose your focus. Keep reading the real-life stories to get the motivation from time to time and believe in yourself. 

Read our Success Stories.

FAQs

1. Who is Kanishak Kataria, and what is he known for?

Kanishak Kataria is a renowned figure who gained recognition for his outstanding achievements in both academics and civil services. He is best known for securing the first rank in the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) Civil Services Examination, a highly competitive and prestigious exam in India.

2. What is Kanishak Kataria’s educational background?

Kanishak Kataria holds a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay. His educational journey reflects his passion for technology and machines, which he successfully translated into a successful career in the civil services.

3. How did Kanishak Kataria transition from a technical background to becoming a civil servant?

Kanishak Kataria’s transition from a technical background to a civil servant showcases his versatility and determination. After completing his engineering degree, he chose to pursue a career in civil services, showcasing that one can excel in diverse fields with the right mindset and dedication.

4. What motivated Kanishak Kataria to pursue a career in civil services, and how did he prepare for the UPSC examination?

Understanding the motivation behind Kanishak Kataria’s decision to become a civil servant provides insight into his values and aspirations. Additionally, learning about his preparation strategies for the UPSC examination can be beneficial for aspiring candidates looking for guidance and inspiration.

5. What impact has Kanishak Kataria made as a civil servant?

Beyond his success in the UPSC examination, it’s interesting to explore the contributions and impact Kanishak Kataria has made in his role as a civil servant. Understanding his initiatives, projects, or any positive changes he has brought about can provide a broader perspective on his journey and the influence he wields in his position.

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