Kanishak Kataria, born on 26 September 1992, is an Indian civil servant best known for topping the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2018 with All India Rank 1.
He gave up a high-paying data science career in South Korea to join the Indian Administrative Service. Today he serves as a Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer of the 2019 batch.
Who is Kanishak Kataria IAS?
Kanishak Kataria is an IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, 2019 batch. He became a national talking point in 2019 when the UPSC declared him the topper of the Civil Services Examination 2018, securing All India Rank 1.
He did not set out to become a civil servant. He had already built an engineering career, including a well-paid job in South Korea, before he chose to compete for the IAS instead. That decision, and the exam result that followed it, is what most people know him for.
Early Life of Kanishak Kataria IAS
Kataria was born on 26 September 1992 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. His father, Sanwar Mal Verma, is himself an IAS officer, and his mother is a homemaker.
He has an elder sister, Tanmaya Kataria, who trained as a doctor at Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur. Growing up in a household with an administrator for a father gave him early, direct exposure to public service and government work.
Kataria has said his parents were his biggest source of motivation throughout his academic and civil-services journey.
Kanishak Kataria IAS Age
Kataria is 33 years old as of 2026, based on his recorded birth date of 26 September 1992. His zodiac sign is Libra.
He was 26 years old when the UPSC declared his AIR 1 result in 2019, making him one of the younger toppers of that examination cycle.
Kanishak Kataria IAS Ethnicity and Nationality
Kataria is an Indian national, born and raised in Jaipur, Rajasthan. He comes from a Rajasthani family with a strong administrative background, given that both he and his father have served as IAS officers.
His upbringing in Jaipur and later schooling in Kota shaped the regional identity that runs through most accounts of his early life. Detailed information about his ethnic or community background beyond this is not publicly confirmed through reliable sources.
Kanishak Kataria IAS Education
Kataria completed his schooling at St. Paul’s Senior Secondary School in Kota, Rajasthan, scoring 94 percent in his 10th boards and 96 percent in his 12th boards. He then secured All India Rank 44 in the IIT-JEE.
That rank earned him a seat at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, where he pursued a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from 2010 to 2014.
He later trained at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie after clearing the UPSC exam, as is mandatory for all IAS probationers.
Official government service records also list an M.A. in Public Management as part of his academic qualifications, alongside his engineering degree. Within the IAS pay structure, he currently holds Pay Level 11 in the IAS Pay Matrix.
Kanishak Kataria IAS Career
From Data Science to the UPSC
After graduating from IIT Bombay, Kataria took up a role as a data scientist with Samsung in South Korea, reportedly earning close to Rs 1 crore a year. He later moved back to India and worked as a data analyst in Bangalore.
Despite the pay, he was not satisfied with corporate life. In 2017 he quit his job and returned to Rajasthan to prepare for the Civil Services Examination full time.
He studied for roughly 8 to 10 hours a day during his preparation, a routine that reportedly stretched to 15 hours in the final two months before the exam. He did not enroll in any coaching institute and relied mainly on self-study.
Topping the UPSC Civil Services Examination
Kataria appeared for the Civil Services Examination with mathematics as his optional subject. The UPSC declared the final results in April 2019, placing him at All India Rank 1 out of the entire candidate pool.
He scored 942 marks in the written examination and 179 in the personality test, for a total of 1121 marks. It was among the strongest results the exam had produced in recent years.
He credited his family for the achievement, including his father, a fellow IAS officer, and his partner Sonal Chauhan, who supported him through the preparation period.
Postings and Recent Work
After training, Kataria was assigned to the Rajasthan cadre. His postings have included Assistant Collector in Bikaner, Sub-Divisional Officer and Sub-Divisional Magistrate at Mount Abu in Sirohi district, and later SDM at Ramganj Mandi in Kota.
He went on to serve as CEO of the Zila Parishad in Alwar and later in Barmer, before moving into a role as Joint Secretary in the Department of Personnel, Government of Rajasthan. His longest single posting to date has been his stint as Assistant Collector in Bikaner, which lasted about a year and eight months.
Since 26 June 2025, he has served as Commissioner of the Bharatpur Development Authority in Bharatpur. Across his career so far, government service records list seven distinct postings spanning six locations over roughly seven years in the IAS.
In October 2024, Kataria drew wide media attention after he signed the official resignation orders for his own father, Sanwar Mal Verma, who retired as Divisional Commissioner of Bharatpur that same month. He described the moment publicly as a proud one for the family.
Kanishak Kataria IAS Awards and Recognition
Kataria’s principal public recognition remains his All India Rank 1 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2018, one of the most competitive exams in India. No further formal awards or honours are publicly confirmed for him beyond this achievement.
Kanishak Kataria IAS Wife
Kataria is married to Sonal Chauhan, whom he met while both were students at IIT Bombay. She also trained as a computer science engineer and has worked as a software engineer.
Chauhan supported him through his UPSC preparation and was one of the people he publicly thanked after his AIR 1 result in 2019. Several reports place their marriage in 2020, though nextbiography could not independently confirm the exact date through a primary source.
Kanishak Kataria IAS Social Media
Kataria is active on Instagram under the handle @kanishak_kataria, where his bio describes him as an IAS 2019 officer from the Rajasthan cadre and an IIT Bombay computer science graduate.
He also posts on X, formerly Twitter, as @KanishakKataria, where his profile lists his current posting as Commissioner of the Bharatpur Development Authority.
The Bottom Line
Kanishak Kataria topped the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2018 with All India Rank 1, scoring 1121 out of a possible 2025 marks. He achieved this after leaving a well-paid data science career with Samsung in South Korea.
He comes from a family already rooted in public administration, with his father Sanwar Mal Verma also serving as an IAS officer. He prepared for the exam largely through self-study rather than formal coaching.
He currently serves as Commissioner of the Bharatpur Development Authority in Rajasthan, a posting he has held since June 2025. In October 2024, he signed his own father’s retirement orders, a moment that briefly made national news.
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