LUCKNOW: It was a memorable 26th birthday for Mahanagar lad, Kunal Rastogi the son of New Delhi based additional director general Border Security Force Puneet Rastogi, as he secured 15th all India rank in civil services exam. “…It’s a big co-incident that I made it through for my dream job that too on my birthday. What else could be the best gift for me,” said Kunal, who is now going to become a second generation civil servant in his family.
His father Puneet is 1995 batch Tripura cadre IPS officer, while his mother Neema Rastogi a former corporate employee is now homemaker.
This was the third attempt for Kunal, who did his civil engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani in 2021. He opted for political science and international relations as optional subjects for the mains exam.
“I didn’t opt for coaching for general studies but for political science I opted for online coaching classes and focused on test series,” said Kunal who draws inspiration from his father.
As per his profile submitted to UPSC, Kunal loves cooking Awadhi based fusion cuisine, watches science fiction movies and has keen interest in analyzing Asian geopolitics.
“Since I spent most of my teenage days out of Lucknow due to my father’s posting in the northeastern state, I had no option in cuisine, and I’m a foodie. Therefore, I started cooking my favorite Awadhi fusion food at home,” said Kunal who was celebrating his birthday with his family in Raipur on Tuesday.
Kunal did his intermediate from CMS Gomti Nagar after completing his high school from Tripura. “After completing my graduation, I didn’t turn up for placement opportunities, as I was always focused on civil services. My father’s experience helped me to crack the exam. He always believed that knowledge would not suffice, there is a need to develop wisdom. With limited knowledge one needs to learn how much we can develop wisdom. This is what most of the bureaucrats do,” said Kunal.
His younger sister Purinma Rastogi is pursuing MBBS from Tripura based government medical college.
His father Puneet is 1995 batch Tripura cadre IPS officer, while his mother Neema Rastogi a former corporate employee is now homemaker.
This was the third attempt for Kunal, who did his civil engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani in 2021. He opted for political science and international relations as optional subjects for the mains exam.
“I didn’t opt for coaching for general studies but for political science I opted for online coaching classes and focused on test series,” said Kunal who draws inspiration from his father.
As per his profile submitted to UPSC, Kunal loves cooking Awadhi based fusion cuisine, watches science fiction movies and has keen interest in analyzing Asian geopolitics.
“Since I spent most of my teenage days out of Lucknow due to my father’s posting in the northeastern state, I had no option in cuisine, and I’m a foodie. Therefore, I started cooking my favorite Awadhi fusion food at home,” said Kunal who was celebrating his birthday with his family in Raipur on Tuesday.
Kunal did his intermediate from CMS Gomti Nagar after completing his high school from Tripura. “After completing my graduation, I didn’t turn up for placement opportunities, as I was always focused on civil services. My father’s experience helped me to crack the exam. He always believed that knowledge would not suffice, there is a need to develop wisdom. With limited knowledge one needs to learn how much we can develop wisdom. This is what most of the bureaucrats do,” said Kunal.
His younger sister Purinma Rastogi is pursuing MBBS from Tripura based government medical college.