IIT BBS's Nikhil Saha Walks Through GATE 2022 with Top Rank in Mechanical Engineering, Seeks PSU Job

Nikhil Saha, a student of IIT Bhubaneswar, has got All India Rank (AIR) 1 in GATE 2022 in the mechanical engineering exam. A student of the BTech-MTech integrated course at the IIT, Saha had appeared for GATE to get a job in a public sector undertaking (PSU). While IIT too offers decent placement opportunities, he says that it was the charm of a government job that lured him towards GATE. The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is also an entry gateway to masters courses across IITs, NITs, and IISc. Saha is already in a dual degree course at IIT Bhubaneswar.

Saha hails from Raipur, Chhattisgarh. He scored the 6653rd rank in JEE advanced to land a seat in IIT Bhubaneswar. His father works in the electricity board of Chhattisgarh and his mother is a homemaker. He has a younger brother who is currently studying engineering in a private college.

Saha who is currently in the fifth and last year of his dual-degree course had also appeared for GATE in 2021. Despite cracking the test in his first attempt, he chose to take it once again. Saha appeared for GATE in 2021 and obtained a 296 rank. Last year over 8.5 lakh students had registered for the exam. “While 296 is not a bad rank, I was not happy with it, I could not get a seat in top PSUs with it,” said Saha. This year, with AIR 1 out of over 9 lakh registered students, Saha can apply for any PSU he wants. However, he is yet to shortlist his choices.

Saha used to practice mock tests for GATE along with his hostel mates. While Saha got 99.5% marks, his friends have ranks in triple digits. Saha, who was heading towards the campus eatery to treat his friends when News18 met him, has scored the best among the batch.

He says it was the urge for having a healthy work-life balance that pushed him towards GATE. “My father works for the Chhattisgarh electricity board. I have spent my childhood in government quarters which usually are green and have facilities like sports complexes. I have an affinity for sports. During my tenure at IIT too, I have represented IIT Bhubaneswar in inter-IIT sports tournaments. I want to continue with my passions and hobbies even during my work life and have a healthy balance. This could only be possible with a PSU,” said Saha.

Talking about his preparation, the IITian informed that last year he focused on theory and previous year’s questions but this year he also referred to multiple online test series from top-ranking institutes to practice for the exam.

“Mock tests gave me an in-depth understanding of the range of numerals that could be asked in the exam. It also helped me manage the speed and strategy to attempt the exam. Test series also helped me be better prepared for 6-7 line questions which can sometimes get tricky,” he said.

Saha also adopted a time management strategy while taking the exam. “I took the main exam in two different rounds. In the first round, I attempted questions that were easy and I knew the answers to and in the second round I picked up questions which needed a bit of thinking and consumed time,” he said.

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