Top IAS Officers of India
Rounds after rounds of sleepless nights and going through a plethora of books will eventually lead to the prestigious post of an IAS officer. But that is not the end of a journey but rather the beginning of one.
And the said journey will not be a bed of roses per se. There will be innumerable challenges from a red-taped bureaucracy and likely political interference, among others. Yet, there are those that answer and succeed beyond the call of duty with exceptional determination and skill.
In this article, we will present to you some of the famous IAS personalities who have done extraordinary work in service to the country.
Who are the Famous IAS Officers of India?
Below, we present to you some of the famous IAS Officers who have made the country proud with their service:
1. Dr Rajendra Bharud: When Nadurbar district in Maharashtra was hit by COVID-19, it led to a 75% increase in positive cases. Having a population of 16 lakhs, the district was unprepared for the COVID wave as its hospitals faced an acute shortage in beds, medicines and, above all, oxygen supply.
This is where IAS Officer Dr Rajendra Bharud stepped in. He ensured that the district became self-sufficient in oxygen by setting up plants to make cylinders. This move ensured that oxygen cylinders would be readily available at the critical hour. His efforts ensured that the spike in COVID-19 cases was drastically reduced.
2. Rajendra Bhatt: The Bhilwara Model is a multi-level plan that involves setting up emergency centres at various locations near a COVID hotspot and taking appropriate measures to curb the spread of the disease to other areas. It was IAS Officer Rajendra Bhatt who was behind its execution and conceptualisation. He and his team were ready for the COVID wave when it came.
Implementing a series of measures such as imposing strict curfew rules, deploying teams to monitor patients under isolation, and supplying milk and groceries door to door, ensuring that movement was limited in the district and in due time managed to reduce the number of cases
3. Dr T. Arun: The destruction of water bodies and the preservation of some of them is an ongoing debate in India. It doesn’t help that India is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. This is where IAS Officers like Dr T. Arun did their part.
He pioneered an app called ‘Neer Padhivu’, which geotags water bodies with unique ID numbers, and provides GIS on ponds and the location of other water bodies with their latitudes and longitude coordinates. The app has managed to revive about 198 water bodies in Puducherry. In addition, Dr T. Arun has also carried out awareness programmes for communities which elaborate on the preservation of water bodies through community efforts.
4. Shalini Agarwal: In order to tackle the acute water shortage in Vadodara, Shalini Agarwal came up with an invaluable solution. She set up rainwater harvesting units in about 964 schools in the region which helped in saving 10 crore litres of water every year. Shalini Agarwal helped in launching an initiative called Varsha Kal Nidhi in 2020. In this initiative, rainwater is collected from the roofs of houses and directed through channelised pipes towards a chamber in the ground.
The chamber then filters water in the bore wells, thus ensuring direct groundwater recharge. The IAS Officer emphasises initiatives that help people realise the importance of water. As a result, she has implemented many community-based projects.
5. Smita Sabharwal: Holding the distinction of being the first female IAS Officer to be appointed to the Chief Minister’s Office, Smita Sabharwal is behind many citizen-centric initiatives such as ‘Fund Your City’. As a result, she also earned the moniker of ‘Peoples Officer’. She has initiated many infrastructure projects such as foot-over bridges, traffic signals etc., making the lives of the people much easier.
Going through these stories of famous IAS Officers, we hope you get the fire in you to get your IAS dream going. In order to get it started and well on its way, candidates can apply through the online UPSC portal in order to register for the process. Candidates must follow the steps to the letter in order to successfully register themselves.