GATE 2025 Topper Interview Arnab Paul (AIR-1 BT): Preparation Tips, Success Story

GATE 2025 Topper Interview Arnab Paul (AIR-1 BT): Preparation Tips, Success Story

Upcoming Event

GATE Exam Date:07 Feb' 26 - 08 Feb' 26

Samridhi MishraUpdated on 11 Apr 2025, 05:25 PM IST

GATE 2025 Topper Interview Arnab Paul (AIR-1 BT) - This year, Arnab Paul has emerged as the GATE 2025 topper with an All India Rank (AIR) 1 in Biotechnology. Arnab Paul who hails from Kolkata has secured 66.67 marks in the GATE 2025 exam. A student of Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, Arnab’s journey is inspiring; a three-time national grappling champion, he channelled his sports resilience to academics after an accident and that’s how he cracked the GATE exam.

GATE 2025 Topper Interview Arnab Paul (AIR-1 BT): Preparation Tips, Success Story
GATE 2025 Topper Interview Arnab Paul (AIR-1 BT): Preparation Tips, Success Story

In a conversation with Careers360, Arnab shares his strategy and experience in the national-level GATE examination. He aspires to pursue M.Tech at one of the older IITs and is working on his international debut in Grappling for 2026. Read more to find an interesting topper journey who is not just all brains but brawns too.

Q1. Congratulations on your amazing result! How does it feel to be among the top rankers in GATE?

Ans. Of course, I am very happy. Initially, when I saw my result I was surprised. I am not very studious or someone who studies for long hours a day. I am professionally an athlete so emerging as a GATE 2025 topper was something I did not expect.

Q2. As you said you are an athlete so what sport do you play?

Ans. I am into Grappling and wrestling.

Q3. Can you share a bit about your background—your college, stream, and when you decided to prepare for GATE?

Ans. I did my schooling from Navnanda High School right from nursery to +2. So I was a topper throughout my schooling. But my focus shifted to sports and then academics took a toll but I passed in all my subjects anyway. I even attempted the WBJEE and JEE Mains exams and prepared for these within a span of 1-1.5 months. During that time I was not at the peak of my sports career so I made sure to keep all options open for my future. Right now I am in my final year of B.Tech in Biotechnology at Heritage College

Q4. Tell us something about your family.

Ans. We are a family of 4, mom, dad elder brother and me. We are twins and he is 2 minutes older than me. He is currently studying at NRS College, Kolkata. So he has a major support in my preparation. NEET is much more competitive and tougher than JEE Mains, so having him around made it easier for me to prepare for the entrances in a short while.

Q5. What was your overall preparation strategy? Did you follow a daily or weekly schedule?

Ans. So coming to the preparations, In February 2024, I met with a bike accident which changed the course for both my training and academics. I couldn’t compete in my sports so I got plenty of time to focus on my studies. Like every other aspirant, I too had a goal of at least 10 hours of daily study. However, realistically speaking I did study study for 5 hours a day.

Q6. How did you balance college studies and GATE preparation?

Ans. So I think I am good at prioritising I would say. As the championships would come i would start focusing more on the sport and for college the same case with exams and assignments. I would say balancing between studies and sports wasn’t that difficult.

Q7. Which subjects or topics did you focus on the most, and why?

Ans. My strongest suit remained core engineering. It was that part that did not bother me. For core biotechnology or theory I would have to put in more efforts.

Q8. Did you rely more on self-study or coaching? What resources (books, online platforms, test series) did you use?

Ans. I did not take any coaching it was just self-study and peer discussions. Yes, i referred to multiple online resources available. For any conceptual clarity I would just go on YouTube and for practice take up mock tests online and download GATE sample papers and previous year questions.

Q9. How did you approach solving mock tests and previous year papers? Any tips on time management during practice?

Ans. I would suggest being prepared for any situation. While solving mocks and previous year papers I was able to find a pattern. However, this year the GATE Biotechnology question paper was unpredictable. Many other examinees were unable to cope with such a huge difference in the GATE exam pattern. Given my training and the nurture of the sports, I was used to pressure-handling which worked in my favour. So I would suggest it is very important to have the mental strength to deal with whatever comes in your set.

Q10. What role did peer discussion or online study groups play in your preparation?

Ans. I always preferred group study. It was three of us, each helping the other one out based on our strongest pursuits. Like I was good at the core engineering part of it like bio-processing and bio-engineering but for the theoretical or core biotech portion, my friends became my guide. The issue is like any other student trying to study alone i too would get distracted and find myself watching reels again but then with a study group, you develop this disciplineby looking at others.

Articles
|
Certifications By Top Providers
Basic Programming using Python
Via Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Introduction to Aerospace Engineering
Via Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Fundamental Concepts of Electricity
Via Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Artificial Intelligence
Via Columbia University, New York
Computer Fundamentals
Via Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore
B.Sc in Programming and Data Science
Via Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Udemy
 1525 courses
Swayam
 817 courses
NPTEL
 773 courses
Coursera
 697 courses
Edx
 608 courses
Explore Top Universities Across Globe

Questions related to GATE

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to GATE ?

Hello,

Yes, you as a Bachelor of Science graduate in home science can appear for the GATE 2026 exam, as the eligibility criteria include graduates from "Science" and other fields, as well as those in the 3rd year or higher of an undergraduate program.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hey! The GATE exam (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) is very important for long-term career growth. It opens opportunities for postgraduate studies (M.Tech, MS, PhD) in top institutes like IITs and NITs and is also used by many public sector companies (PSUs) for recruitment, often with higher salary packages. In the long run, qualifying GATE can enhance your technical knowledge, career prospects, and credibility in the engineering field.

If your GATE application shows failed status even after a successful payment, don’t worry, this usually happens due to server or transaction update delays. First, wait for 24–48 hours as sometimes the status gets updated automatically. If it still shows failed, you should raise a query through the GATE application portal by providing your enrollment ID and payment receipt or transaction details. You can also contact the GATE zonal office via email or helpline with proof of payment. Keeping a screenshot of the payment success message will also help in resolving the issue quickly.

Hi dear candidate,

You can refer to the online E Books for GATE examination available on our official website that you can download anytime.

Kindly refer to the link attached below to access them for practice.

Link: GATE E-books and Sample Papers

BEST REGARDS

Hey! The qualifying cutoff for GATE CSE in 2025 was around 29.2 marks for General, 26.2 for OBC/EWS, and 19.4 for SC/ST/PwD. For GATE 2026, the official cutoff is not declared yet, but if we look at the past trends, it usually stays around 30–32 marks for General category. So, if you are preparing, it’s better to target a score well above this range to be on the safer side.