Banna Venkatesh From Srikakulam Fields to UPSC Glory – AIR 15, UPSC Topper 2024
Banna Venkatesh, hailing from Alladapet village in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, achieved All India Rank 15 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2024. His journey from a rural background to the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is a testament to perseverance and dedication.
Key Information
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Banna Venkatesh |
| Age | Approximately 28 years (as of 2025) |
| Hometown | Alladapet, Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh |
| Education | B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering, NIT Trichy (2015–2019) |
| Optional Subject | Geography |
| UPSC Attempts | Two |
| AIR (UPSC 2024) | 15 |
| Previous Rank | AIR 467 in UPSC 2023; selected for IPS |
| Professional Background | Former VLSI Engineer at Qualcomm (2019–2021) |
| Coaching | ForumIAS Mains Guidance Program (MGP) |
| Hobbies | Cricket, Mathematics, Digital VLSI |
Early Life and Education
Born to agriculturist parents, Chandra Rao and Rohini, in Alladapet village, Venkatesh’s early life was rooted in the challenges of rural India. He completed his schooling at Keshav Reddy School in Srikakulam and pursued intermediate studies at Sri Chaitanya Junior College, securing 98.4% in 2015. His academic excellence led him to NIT Trichy, where he graduated with a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering, achieving a CGPA of 9.49. During his college years, he also represented the institute’s cricket team.
Professional Journey and Shift to Civil Services
After a summer internship at IIT Hyderabad focusing on Machine Learning in astronomy, Venkatesh joined Qualcomm in Chennai as a VLSI Engineer. Despite a promising career in the tech industry, he felt a calling towards public service, influenced by the challenges he witnessed in his community. In August 2021, he resigned from his job to prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Examination.
LIST OF ALL 20 TOPPERS
| AIR Rank | Topper Name | Roll Number |
| 1 | SHAKTI DUBEY | 0240782 |
| 2 | HARSHITA GOYAL | 0101571 |
| 3 | DONGRE ARCHIT PARAG | 0867282 |
| 4 | SHAH MARGI CHIRAG | 0108110 |
| 5 | AAKASH GARG | 0833621 |
| 6 | KOMAL PUNIA | 0818290 |
| 7 | AAYUSHI BANSAL | 6902167 |
| 8 | RAJ KRISHNA JHA | 6613295 |
| 9 | ADITYA VIKRAM AGARWAL | 0849449 |
| 10 | MAYANK TRIPATHI | 5400180 |
| 11 | ETTABOYINA SAI SHIVANI | 8200949 |
| 12 | ASHI SHARMA | 5809367 |
| 13 | HEMANT | 5912548 |
| 14 | ABHISHEK VASHISHTHA | 0818331 |
| 15 | BANNA VENKATESH | 1010403 |
| 16 | MADHAV AGARWAL | 6907627 |
| 17 | SANSKRITI TRIVEDY | 0810414 |
| 18 | SAUMYA MISHRA | 2604936 |
| 19 | VIBHOR BHARDWAJ | 0833456 |
| 20 | TRILOK SINGH | 2200688 |
Check more – Hemant Mishra: UPSC Topper AIR 13 (2024)
UPSC Final Result Statistics
Here is the tentative overview of the UPSC CSE result 2024 statistics:
| CATEGORIES | Candidates Shortlisted | Reserve List |
| General | 335 | 155 |
| EWS | 109 | 35 |
| OBC | 318 | 59 |
| SC | 160 | 14 |
| ST | 1009 | 230 |
Related FAQs of Banna Venkatesh AIR 15, UPSC Topper 2024
Banna Venkatesh is a UPSC 2024 topper from Alladapet village in Andhra Pradesh, who secured AIR 15 in his second attempt.
He completed B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering from NIT Trichy with a CGPA of 9.49.
Venkatesh worked as a VLSI Engineer at Qualcomm after interning at IIT Hyderabad before resigning in 2021 to prepare for UPSC.
He chose Geography as his optional subject.
He cleared UPSC in his second attempt, securing AIR 467 in 2023 (selected for IPS) and AIR 15 in 2024.
