Saumya Pandey is an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer of the 2017 Uttar Pradesh cadre. In 2016, she secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 4 in her first attempt at the UPSC examinations. She made headlines in April 2023 after her photo with an old disabled man sitting on the road outside her office to listen to his complaint went viral.
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Wiki/Biography
Saumya Pandey was born on Wednesday, 12 January 1994 (age 29 years; as of 2023) in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, India. Her zodiac sign is Capricorn. She completed her schooling at St. Joseph’s College in Prayagraj, St. Mary’s Convent Inter College Allahabad, and Army Public School in Prayagraj. Saumya Pandey won several awards and medals in swimming competitions and basketball tournaments while studying in school.
In class 10, she scored 98% and was the district topper. In class 12, she secured 97.8%. Later, she enrolled at the Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, where she earned a degree in electrical engineering with a gold medal in 2015. [1]SUPREMO During her college, she joined the National Cadet Corps as a cadet and earned B and C certificates.
After completing her formal education, she appeared for the UPSC Examination and managed to clear it on her first attempt in 2016 with an All India Rank (AIR) 4. While talking about her rank, in an interview, Saumya said that she started searching for her name from the bottom of the list when the results were declared. She said,
When the name was not shown, I told my mother that I will prepare better in the next attempt and will clear it for sure. But my mother asked me to check the names to see who has topped. My mother and I could not believe when my name appeared amongst the toppers. I cross-checked the result with my roll number and realized the result was really mine.”
In 2017, she attended the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand and received the Director’s Gold Medal for Political Concepts and Constitution of India in IAS Professional Course Phase 1. She passed out from the academy as an IAS officer in 2018.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Saumya Pandey was born into a middle-class family in Uttar Pradesh.
Parents & Siblings
Her father, Ravi Pandey, owns a computer training institute in Prayagraj. Her mother, Sadhana Pandey, is a gynaecologist.
Husband & Children
Her husband, Nitin Gaur, is an IAS officer and a doctor. She got married to him in 2018. She has a daughter.
Career
After completing her training at LBSNAA, Saumya Pandey, on 12 May 2018, was appointed as the assistant collector and assistant magistrate at the Land Revenue Management & District Administration department in Sidharth Nagar, UP. She served in the department till 20 May 2019. On 31 August 2018, she was posted to the Public Administration department at Sidharth Nagar, where she served as a Deputy Collector (DC)/ Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) till 2 November 2018. In the same year, she was appointed as an assistant magistrate at Sidharth Nagar. From 2 January 2019 to 27 February 2019, Saumya Pandey served as a Block Development Officer (BDO) at Sidharth Nagar. On 1 July 2019, she was appointed as the additional secretary in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and served at the MoD till 30 August 2019.
From September 2019 to October 2020, Saumya Pandey served as a joint magistrate in Ghaziabad. In July 2020, she was appointed as the nodal officer for COVID-19 in Ghaziabad. On 14 October 2020, she was appointed as the Chief Development Officer (CDO) in Kanpur Dehat.
Award
In 2022, Saumya Pandey received the Sushma Swaraj Women’s Icon Award from the CED Foundation.
Facts/Trivia
- Saumya Pandey is a hodophile (one who likes to travel a lot) and has travelled to many countries including Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United States of America.
- Saumya Pandey is a trained Kathak dancer and has participated in numerous national and state-level events.
- Saumya Pandey returned to her duty within 14 days after her delivery.
- Saumya Pandey likes to take part in adventure sports, especially scuba diving.
- Her favourite quote is “Woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep.”