Kerala engineering entrance: It's electrical for topper

KOCHI: He may have finished first in the engineering admission process in the state this year, but Ram Ganesh V. of Tripunithura here has his eyes set on the IITs, either Madras or Mumbai. This dream is well within his reach having scored the 271st rank all India in the JEE (Advanced) test for the IIT admission. Ram finished third state-wide in the test. He is keen to pursue electrical engineering. "Never did I think of medicine or any other career," he said.

Ram had undergone special coaching for engineering entrance and secured the positions in his first attempt itself. A student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya Tripunithura, he had secured 98.4 per cent marks in the Class XII CBSE board exam with centum for maths and physics. Ram says being thorough with concepts and focusing on problem solving and taking maximum mock tests are key to getting to the top league. He used to study his portions on the day itself and dedicated his success to all dear and near ones and school teachers.

Ram is of the opinion that the state engineering admission is slightly disadvantageous to CBSE students especially the normalisation process. "Thank God I was able to overcome that. By sheer hard work everybody can overcome that," he said.

He had also secured third rank in CUSAT CAT. He won the first prize in national-level quiz competition in maths and science challenge of VIT IGNITE conducted by Vellore Institute of Technology. National Swadeshi Science Movement declared him national-level junior sasthra prathibha also.

He was also topper in National Talent Search Examination in 2012 and had cleared KVPY. Ram's father R Venkiteswaran is a senior deputy manager with FACT FEDO and mother R. Roja is a sub-divisional engineer with BSNL Ernakulam. His brother Hari Ganesh is a Class X student of Chinamaya Vidyalaya Tripunithura.