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

Ongoing Event

GATE Application Date:28 Aug' 25 - 28 Sep' 25

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.

LiveGATE 2026 Application Form (OUT) LIVE: Registration begins at gate2026.iitg.ac.in; fee, syllabus updatesAug 29, 2025 | 12:38 PM IST

The list of documents required for the GATE 2026 form filling in scanned format is as follows.

  • Scanned image of your photograph
  • Scanned image of your signature
  • Scanned copy of Eligibility Document/Certificate in PDF format.
  • Scanned copy of Degree Certificate or Provisional Certificate
  • Scanned copy of Category Certificate (if applicable) in PDF format
  • Scanned copy of PwD Certificate (if applicable) in PDF format
  • Scanned copy of Dyslexic Certificate (if applicable) in PDF format
Read More

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
|
Next
Certifications By Top Providers
Basic Programming using Python
Via Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Certificate Program in Machine Learning and AI with Python
Via Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
B.Sc in Programming and Data Science
Via Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Understanding Ethnography
Via Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Artificial Intelligence
Via Columbia University, New York
An Introduction to Programming through C++
Via Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
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 ?

For GATE Life Sciences question banks, you can go for GATE past year's papers to understand the exam style, and you can buy online test series from a coaching site for lots of new practice questions.

you can get question book one from publishers like IFAS or GKP. Also use free online resources like NPTEL and EasyBiologyClass for extra practice and study materials. Good luck!

Here are GATE exam aptitude topics from high to low weightage:

1. English Comprehension & Vocabulary

2.Numerical Ability and Arithmetic

3.Logical Reasoning & Analytical Ability

4.Data Interpretation

5.Geometry & Mensuration basic

6.Algebra basic

7.Probability and Statistics

8.General Knowledge and Miscellaneous Verbal like  odd one out, analogy, word usage.


If you are needed to prepare for gate exam from ece batch there 65 questions in exam pattern total marks is 100 here 15% is aptitude general questions then 15% mathematics engineering questions , 70% core subjects you need to concentrate on more core related subject like controls system , signals and system , digital circut these topics covers most of the basics but you need to prepare more topics in core subjects and create a structure plan for yourself dialy attend mock test with time duration these steps will help to prepare very easily.

Hello,

So, according to your first question, you want to  know specialization in chemical engineering for M.Tech after completing the B.Tech program. Here are some good specializations for the M.Tech program

  • Process Engineering
  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Biochemical Engineering
  • Pharmaceutical Engineering
  • Process Control and Instrumentation Engineering

Also, for the second one, you want to know some good colleges that allow management quota for admission in private options. Here are some

  • VIT (Vellore Institute of Technology)
  • SRM Institute of Science and Technology
  • Lovely Professional University

I hope it will clear your query!!