Top medallists chose Vet sciences over IAS

Rakesh H B, a student of the Veterinary College in Bangalore, secured seven gold medals and Harish Kulkarni from the Veterinary College of Bidar won five. They were presented the medals at the fourth convocation of the Karnataka Veterinary Animal and Fisheries Sciences University (KVAFSU) held here on Monday.

Rakesh comes from an agriculturist family and his father owns 10 acres of land at Kulambi village in Honalli, Davangere. He has always had an excellent academic record since his school, but has never been interested in the Indian Civil Services (ICS). In an interaction with the media after the ceremony, he said: “I am not interested in UPSC and I do not want to be an IAS officer,” and added that he was more keen on doing research in Animal Gynaecology.

Rakesh is presently pursuing his post graduation in Animal Gynaecology from Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bariely, Uttar Pradesh, after securing junior research fellowship from Indian Council of Agriculture Research.

Harish Kulkarni, the second topper, also veered away from ICS to talk about his plans for a post graduation in surgery and a doctorate in the same subject.

Among the other medal winners were: B J Chaitra - five gold medals in BTech (DTech), Dairy Science College, Bangalore; Mahesh - four medals; M S  Sumanth - two medals; and Cheryl Miranda - one medal.