By Sumaila Zaman

Copyright india

Millions of individuals in India dream of becoming an IAS officer. IAS is regarded as one of the most distinguished and high-profile jobs in the country. The increasing enthusiasm for civil services is indicative of an evolution in the hopes and desires of young educated minds who are looking for purpose-driven jobs that combine aspects of leadership responsibility and power in order to create real long-lasting and sustainable change in the lives of people.
Who is India’s richest IAS officer earning only Re 1 as salary?
IAS Amit Kataria hails from Gurugram Haryana and is currently in the news for more than just his responsibilities as a civil servant. Amit Kataria has been one of the wealthiest IAS officers in India.
IAS officer Amit Kataria is from a prominent businessman family that owns large amounts of land in Delhi and its neighboring states and their businesses are said to be extremely profitable.
Given his economically privileged background Kataria had a type of national fame for being someone who expressed commitment to public service early in his career when he decided to take a salary of only Rs 1 upon joining the civil service. He did this to demonstrate that he was committed to serving the public good rather than simply for personal economic advantages. He noted that he was motivated to join the civil service to serve the nation and not for personal gain; therefore not taking a salary was a logical expression of his motivation.
Amit Kataria who possesses an incredible financial status at one time chose to accept a symbolic salary of a mere Rs 1 as an illustration of how much more important fulfilling ones duties is than benefiting from such duties. While working as the Collector of Bastar Chhattisgarh in 2015 IAS officer Amit Kataria started getting some notoriety when he appeared in the news for wearing sunglasses while greeting Prime Minister Modi when he visited Chhattisgarh. The incident was another violation of government protocol and led Kataria to receive a show-cause notice from the state government. At that time the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh was Raman Singh.
Amit Kataria an IAS officer in India is arguably one of the wealthiest IAS officers in India. According to reports by News18 Hindi Amit is presently posted in Chhattisgarh. Amit has a stellar academic background. If media reports are to be believed Amit did his schooling at Delhi Public School – RK Puram and was considered to be a very bright student there. After that he completed a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
Amit Kataria joined the Indian Administrative Service by achieving an 18th rank in the UPSC exam in 2003. Though he is recognized as one of the wealthiest IAS officers in the country there is little question that Mr. Kataria has prioritized public service above personal interests for a significant portion of his career. At one point he made headlines when he reportedly took Rs 1 as his salary as an extraordinary measure to devote himself to the nations service more readily rather than for personal financial gain.
When did he crack the UPSC exam and what was his All India Rank (AIR)?
In 2003 Amit Kataria successfully passed the UPSC Civil Services Examination achieving an All India Rank (AIR) of 18 and was allotted to the Chhattisgarh cadre. Amit is married to Asmita Handa who is a commercial pilot and earns well. The couple is quite active on social media sharing posts of their travels and life updates. Amit Kataria’s net worth is estimated at Rs 8.90 crore and this not only includes his success in the civil services but also his family’s prominent business background and financial wealth.