A veterinarian by training, an IAS officer by choice, and an AI practitioner by obsession. 23 years inside India's most complex institutions — now trying to understand, and build, what comes next.
I began as a veterinary doctor, trained to heal and serve at the most fundamental level. But somewhere along the way, a larger calling took shape. I stepped into the arena of civil services—and cleared all three: IAS (2004), IPS (2003), and IPoS (2002). It wasn't just about success; it was about choosing the path that would let me create the widest impact. I chose the IAS.
That choice brought me to Uttarakhand—a young, fragile, and breathtaking Himalayan state, still finding its administrative and developmental rhythm. For over a decade, I worked on the ground in districts, close to people and their realities, building institutions, solving problems, and learning governance not from files, but from lived experience.
In time, my journey moved to the Government of India, where I spent five defining years as Private Secretary to three Union Ministers. Among these, my tenure in the Education Ministry stood out—as I became part of the process that shaped the National Education Policy 2020, a once-in-a-generation reform that reimagined India's education system after 34 years.
Looking back, the journey has been less about positions held, and more about the expanding horizon of responsibility—one decision at a time.
Around 2017–2018, a quiet but decisive shift began. I went to University of California, Berkeley—and that experience changed the way I saw the world.
There, I encountered data science and behavioural economics not as academic subjects, but as tools—sharp, precise, and deeply revealing. They offered a way to understand why well-intentioned policies so often falter in the real world. For the first time, I could clearly see the gap between what governments design and what people actually experience.
When I returned, I could no longer look at governance the same way. Administering systems was no longer enough. I felt compelled to question them, to rethink their design, and where necessary, to rebuild them with greater intelligence and sensitivity to reality.
That realisation marked the beginning of a new journey. I started teaching myself machine learning, Python, and applied AI—patiently, from first principles. At the same time, I began writing about the foundations of AI, not merely as a technological shift, but as a transformative force—one that could fundamentally reshape how we think about governance, decision-making, and society itself.
Technical solutions disconnected from ethical grounding cause harm at scale. Every algorithm I study must pass a dharma test: who does this serve, and who might it harm?
Years in districts taught me that policy designed purely in offices fails. I return to the field, to the farmer, to the village school — not as metaphor, but as method.
AI tools are genuinely powerful. They are also genuinely limited. Anyone who claims certainty about AI's social impact hasn't spent enough time in the field.
I put my ideas out under my own name, open to being examined and questioned. I use AI extensively in my writing—not to replace thought, but to sharpen it, to give clearer shape and language to what I am trying to say, even while I remain in service. Because ideas, if they are to matter, must withstand scrutiny—and scrutiny is only possible when they are exposed.
I read widely, and I read slowly—spending time with probability theory and Beyond Good and Evil, alongside essays and writing that challenge how I think about uncertainty, risk, and human behaviour. Mornings are reserved for a walk or a jog—though I've been honest about how difficult it often is to get out of bed.
I live and work in Dehradun, in the foothills of the Himalayas. The mountains are a good reminder that governance is not the largest thing in the world.
If something I've written has been useful to you, I'd genuinely like to know. The best conversations I've had started with a stranger's email.
I'm reachable by email and occasionally on LinkedIn. If you're working on AI in governance, policy reform, or the philosophy of technology — I want to hear about it.
Essays on AI, governance, decision-making, neuroscience, and reflective thought—by a serving IAS officer. Unsubscribe anytime.
Views expressed are personal and do not represent the Government of India and Government of Uttarakhand.