During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, September 22, photographs emerged showing a woman in a saree greeting him. This woman, identified as Vishakha Yadav, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, welcomed the Prime Minister in the Papum Pare district. The images quickly circulated online, prompting many to search for more information about her.
Yadav expressed her honor at the opportunity to welcome the Prime Minister, sharing pictures on social media with the caption: “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 currently serving as the District Collector of Papum Pare in Arunachal Pradesh. She is an IAS officer in the AGMUT cadre, which includes Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories. Born in Delhi in 1994, her father is Rajkumar Yadav, an assistant sub-inspector, and her mother is a homemaker.
Before becoming an IAS officer, Yadav was an engineer. She holds an engineering degree from Delhi Technological University (DTU) and previously worked at Cisco in Bengaluru. To pursue her dream of joining the civil services, she resigned from her job and began preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam without formal coaching. After failing the exam twice, she successfully cleared it on her third attempt. She achieved a score of 1,046 out of 2,025 in the UPSC exam.
In her previous role as DC of Kurung Kumey, Yadav received the PM’s Award 2024 for excellence in Public Administration 2024 for her innovative “DigiKaksha” initiative. Her work has been instrumental in driving a digital transformation in education and governance in the northeastern state.