In a rare move, Shivansh Joshi a 17-year-old youngster from Uttarakhand chose to serve the country by choosing to join NDA over IIT, which would’ve allowed him to spend a lucrative life.

Joshi from Uttarakhand topped the NDA entrance exam and told Hindustan Times: “Serving the country has been my objective since childhood. The love for the country runs in the blood of youngsters of Uttarakhand and I feel fortunate to be living my dream now.” From Ramnagar, the bright youngster scored 96.8% in his Class XII and ha also cracked the JEE advanced which all but guaranteed a place in a prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

However, Shivansh's dream was to join the armed forces and on November 25 he realised that he had topped the UPSC.. Son of Sanjeev Joshi who works at LIC and Tanuja Joshi, a government primary school teacher, the prodigious youngster didn’t undergo any coaching. The schedule included studying, playing football, reading books and an overall well-balanced life.

Showing pride in Uttarakhand he added: “I am extremely proud and fortunate to come from a state, which has given the nation people such as national security advisor Ajit Kumar Doval and General Bipin Rawat, the chief of Army staff. I too want to dedicate my life for the security and pride of the country.” His father now wants his younger son to join the defence services as well.