Images of Vishakha Yadav, an IAS officer, greeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh on September 22nd have gained significant attention on social media. The photos captured Yadav, a civil service officer, welcoming PM Modi in the Papum Pare district. This sparked curiosity among netizens, leading to online searches about her background and career.
Yadav herself shared the images of her welcoming the Prime Minister on her social media accounts, describing it as a privilege. She posted, “Privileged with an opportunity to extend a warm welcome to The Hon’ble Prime Minister in PapumPare district on his visit to the State.”
Vishakha Yadav is the current District Collector of Papum Pare in Arunachal Pradesh. She is an IAS officer belonging to the AGMUT cadre, which is specific to Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories. Born in Delhi in 1994, she is the daughter of Rajkumar Yadav, an assistant sub-inspector, and a homemaker mother.
Prior to joining the civil services, Yadav worked as an engineer. She holds an engineering degree from Delhi Technological University (DTU) and worked at Cisco in Bengaluru. Driven by her aspiration to become an IAS officer, she left her high-paying job to prepare for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. Despite not succeeding in her first two attempts, she cleared the exam on her third try. Reports indicate that she scored 1,046 out of 2,025 marks in the UPSC exam.
As a former DC of Kurung Kumey, Yadav received the prestigious PM’s Award 2024 for excellence in Public Administration 2024 for her initiative “DigiKaksha”. She is known for her efforts in promoting digital learning and governance in the northeastern state.