“The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty.”

Drafted into the Civil Services in AGMUT (Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) joint cadre, this dashing young officer is a promising and reassuring example of a good plan implemented today is better than a perfect plan implemented tomorrow. A strong believer in the precept that if your ship doesn’t come in, one must swim out to meet it, he is one officer who does today what he thinks about doing tomorrow.

Acclimatized to the relatively alien but picturesque climes of Arunachal Pradesh, the secret to Mr Devansh’s success in forging ahead is getting started, breaking complexes and taking on tasks with the clinical precision that he draws from being a doctor. Having graduated in Medicine (MBBS) from the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, he also chose to walk the blind alley by doing Master’s in Public Management Skills. He explains what made him take to Civil Services when he could have crafted a lucrative career in Medicine.

“Opting for Civil Services was not a premeditated decision. In fact, there was hardly any intent. But early on in my life I realized I had distinctive traits in public dealing and general management. It seemed I had a proclivity for it. Besides, pursuing a career in Medicine would mean I would be required to spend more time in post graduation for a specialization. The internship and subsequent development would have taken time to crystallize. It is in me to diversify. So into my fourth year as a Medicine student, I gave myself the option of getting into the IAS. My parents were not initially enthused about it since they felt was Medicine was more remunerative, but they respected my decision on the premise that I was sensible and wise to take my own decisions. And when I cleared the exams, they were in complete consonance about the path I took,” he recalls.

Four years is not time enough to assess and evaluate the administrative skills of any officer given the serpentine road ahead but Mr Devansh already has his foot on the accelerator by evincing that he has his fingers on people’s pulse. Perception and Rationale are the stethoscopes that help him diagnose and cure the health problems of the constituency he handles. “During my posting as Assistant Commissioner in Pondicherry (earlier Puducherry), I adopted a poverty- stricken village. I could decide a future roadmap and draw up a socio-economic profile. I found the Self Help Groups (SHGs) were strong helping hands as against the government machinery in ameliorating the problems. I mobilized these groups to provide them with toilets under the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan. The project (report) was well appreciated and it won a Silver Award on its submission. As Assistant Secretary with the Department of Land Resources, I felt a sense of fulfillment after digitizing land records. We were able to take a leaf out of Karnataka and Maharashtra and apply this initiative,” he points out with justified pride.

Currently the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Changlang (Arunachal Pradesh), he is involved in beehive developmental activity pertaining to livelihood. Here took he used the SHGs and NGOs in providing sanitary pads to over 5 lakh girls in the state and elsewhere in the country. A tricky work he presided over was road construction which was tough given the difficult terrain of the area. He deployed plastic to ensure there was no water seepage that weakened the roads. In the thick of Covid, he exerted to avoid its spread and harnessed the help of NGOs in setting up online classes for educational institutions and training teachers. “It enabled students from 8^th standard and above to complete their syllabus. The area is known for its Queen Pineapples but large quantities of this exotic fruit threatened to rot because there were no buyers during the pandemic. I facilitated their sale and over 90,000 pieces were sold.” Law & Order, Health, Education, elections and other matters were the other issues he tackled in coordination with public representatives & various stakeholders for implementation of government schemes, scrutiny of project works and governance reforms.

His finest initiative was started crowd funding to help bright students from the North-East of India. The appeal received an overwhelming response from all corners of the country. Within hours, help poured in as people started responding to the call to support education costs for these students. “We managed to collect Rs 3 lakh in the first week itself as help started pouring. The funds helped to arrange for a hostel stay in Delhi where all the students would study in a safe environment covering tuition fees, transportation and other living expenses of the students for the next three years. The transactions are being ledgered and would be made public to maintain transparency on social media.” During the Dengue outbreak crisis when conventional ideas failed, he reached out to communities through a Walkathon. The uniqueness of this walkathon was that all administrative departments involved in the fight against Dengue were brought on one common platform with local schools, colleges, NSS & NYK volunteers, NGOs and local community people.

Mr Yadav believes that social media handles can be effective in public campaigns as he experienced it during the crowd funding initiative and Dengue crisis.”The media covered these extensively. The social media can be utilized to showcase ideas and practices fruitful in public governance.” The Digital India Award in 2020, being short-listed for the PM Awards in Innovation and LBSNAA for Best Dissertation are feathers in his cap but he is grounded enough to be aware that he still has a long way to go.

Being young and free from needles attachments, he derives pleasure in work 24×7. “I live alone but my work schedules have taught me the importance of time management. I love field visits and enjoy writing research papers on Health and Education. I am open-minded and gel with the local people, their habits, culture and cuisines. Going to remote areas gives me first-hand understanding of the problems people face. There is so much diversity of work to relish. If you have the zeal, initiatives follow. I am an extrovert who enjoys movies, sports and gorge on non-fiction,” he avers.

Being a doctor is an abiding advantage. “I do prescribe medicines to my staff when they are indisposed. As Additional Deputy Collector, I even attended OPDs (Out Patient Department). Community health initiatives can bring outstanding results as I found out when I was involved with Anganwadi children,” he says with a learner’s attitude.

For a young man, Mr Yadav displays a refreshingly rare trait of being very grounded. “It is very essential not to have an ego, especially when one is in power. When you are hemmed in by your ego, you lose the ability to say sorry or apologize.” That selflessness is what makes him a free man, thinking less of himself rather than thinking of himself less.