After making the state proud with his commendable results as the eighth rank holder in the Civil Services Examination (CSE), Nitish K (26) spoke to NewsKarnataka.com about his journey, experience and his goals. In an exclusive interview, to Sheeja Moodubelle, this young man hailing from Udupi district said that, given the choice, he would certainly choose to serve the rural population of the state. “I want to change the system for the betterment of the poor. To simplify the current systems, the availability of the Deputy Commissioner to the common man will be made easier”, he added.
He shared with News Karnataka, the elation and happiness he felt when he was felicitated by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) ministry at Delhi on Monday for his achievement saying, “This is the remuneration for my hard work and I am more than happy.”
On being asked about his inspiration in achieving this feat, Nitish spoke about the former Justice of the Supreme Court of India and Karnataka Lokayukta Santhosh Hegde, being his role model. His dedication towards his work has impressed him greatly he said. However, his mentor on this journey was his Uncle (Mother’s brother) who currently serves as the DYSP in the Karnataka Police.
Nitish then went on to dedicate his achievement to his parents who have played a major role in his life. “In the coastal district (Udupi), most youngsters prefer taking up engineering or medicine as a field of study and career so that they are able to make a good living either here or abroad. I am grateful that my parents constantly supported my choices and motivated me to become and IAS officer and serve the nation”, he said
His academic life started with Little Rock Indian School where he studied till the fourth standard and then joined Hiriyur School for a year. Later, he studied at Jawahar Navodaya at Chitradurga where he completed his tenth grade. He completed his PU from Sarvodaya College, Tumkur and then went on to complete his engineering from PES Institute of Technology, Bengaluru. After this, he pursued his dream and received training for IAS in Delhi.
He gave a considerable amount of credit to his teachers at Jawahar Navodaya, Chitradurga who planted the thought of being an IAS officer in him at the young age of 11.
What about his future strategies as a public servant, now that he has passed the important and the difficult hurdle, News Karnataka asked him. To this, he said “my future decisions will be based on providing apt facilities to the rural part of India”. His experience of having seen the common man and his suffering since his childhood as he traveled around, has motivated him to work for this cause, he added.
On being asked to give a message to the future aspirants, Nitish said that students must be more consistent and disciplined in order to achieve a goal. The more important thing that needs to be understood is that failure comes along at every juncture of life. They must not be disheartened by it and must make an attempt to analyze the reason for their failure and rectify the mistake.
“I attempted CSE for first time in 2012 and cleared the prelims, mains and missed the ranking by ten marks in the interview. I took it as a challenge to fulfill my childhood dream and in 2013 attempted for second time and was able to gain 547th rank. My goal was still far off and hence I tried for the third time and finally my hard work and efforts were rewarded”, he said while speaking of his own hurdles.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Nitish certainly agrees with this saying. He pursues a few hobbies and makes sure he remains active. His hobbies include playing cricket, listening to songs of yesteryear and watching movies. He also plays Volleyball and Table Tennis.
Nitish’s parents took great pride in speaking about their son’s achievement. They are proud parents they said and wished him all the success in his future endeavors. Speaking about what is in store for his son in his future, Ramakrishna Hebbar who works as a branch manager in Karnataka bank at Kota said, “As a Deputy Commissioner, I expect my son to be able to adjust in any situation he comes across. There will certainly be political pressure while he is on the job but I’m sure Nitish will know how to tackle it.” His mother, Bharathi, a homemaker spoke proudly about how Nitish was chasing his dream of being an IAS from when he was in the sixth grade and is immensely proud that he achieved his goal. Nitish has a younger sister named Chaithra.
Nitish is currently undergoing training at the Indian Audit and Account service in Shimla. Following this a one and a half year programme will be organized in Mussoorie in Dehradun district. With a tone of excitement in his voice, Nitish concluded the interview saying, “Within 4 to 5 years I will be a DC.”
News Karnataka wishes him all the success in his future endeavors, and looks forward to following his career.
