Spotlight on Vishakha Yadav: The IAS Officer Who Welcomed PM Modi to Arunachal Pradesh

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh, a photograph of IAS officer Vishakha Yadav greeting him gained significant attention. The image of Yadav, dressed in a saree, welcoming the Prime Minister in the Papum Pare district went viral, prompting online interest in her background. Yadav, who proudly shared the photos on social media, is the District Collector of Papum Pare. She belongs to the AGMUT cadre of the IAS. Before joining the civil service, Yadav, a Delhi native, was an engineer who worked at Cisco after graduating from Delhi Technological University. Driven by her dream of becoming an IAS officer, she left her high-paying job to prepare for the UPSC exam. Yadav achieved the sixth rank in the all-India civil services exam, after dedicating herself to the exam without coaching. She had previously been honored with the PM’s Award 2024 for her ‘DigiKaksha’ project, which seeks to improve digital learning and government functions in the region.