Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar

At the age of 39, Dr. Syed Sehrish Asgar is a recipient of some of the highest civil and administrative honours for her outstanding work as a public administrator. An IAS officer of the 2013 Punjab cadre, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, she is regarded as an epitome of excellence and has emerged as a role model for aspiring civil servants, particularly young women across the country.

A graduate in MBBS from Batra Medical College, Jammu, Dr. Sehrish was inspired to serve society by her father, Syed Asghar, a senior KAS officer in the Jammu and Kashmir government.

In her first attempt at entering the civil services, Dr. Sehrish cleared the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services (KAS) Examination in 2010, securing the top rank and becoming the first woman to achieve this distinction.

However, her determination to reach greater heights motivated her to continue preparing for the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Examination. In her first UPSC attempt, she qualified for the Indian Police Service (IPS) and served as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Budgam, in Kashmir. In her second attempt, she secured All India Rank (AIR) 118 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination and joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 2013.

Dr Sehrish Asgar receiving the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi

She took over as Administrative Secretary and Head of Department, Water Supply and Sanitation, Punjab in January this year, after serving at various important positions in the J&K Government.

Among other postings in J&K she served as the Deputy Commissioner of Baramulla and Budgam districts, with the distinction of being the first woman Deputy Commissioner of Budgam, since its creation as a district in 1979. She joined as Deputy Commissioner, Budgam in June 2018, and later held the position as Mission Director, J&K Rural Livelihood Mission (JKRLM), where she launched the SAATH (Together for Better Tomorrow) programme empowering rural women through Self Help Groups (SHGs).

Under this programme, over five lakh women were linked to 60,000 SHGs while Rs 1161 Cr were mobilised for rural women entrepreneurs.

She served as Deputy Commissioner Baramulla from 2022 to January 2024. She joined as Administrative Secretary, Public Grievances and also in charge of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA), in January, 2024 holding the position upto January 2026.

She has also functioned as Director of Information, J&K Government during her services.

Congratulations Team J&K for this remarkable feat. Best wishes to @listenshahid, @DrSyedSehrish. Grateful to Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji for taking UT to new heights of glory & prosperity. pic.twitter.com/k6dWvQk5Ht

— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) April 21, 2023

Earlier Dr Sehrish Asgar held several important positions in Punjab, which included SDM Gurdaspur and ADC Punjab, while in her Central deputation she held postings in the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change.

 She attended the Presentation Convent school, Jammu. During her school, she remained a topped always.

She also topped the final examination in the Medical College and the J&K Civil Services KAS 2010.

Dr Sehrish Asgar is the recipient of Prime Minister’s award for excellence in civil services, 2023, in recognition for her remarkable role in Aspirational District Programme in Baramulla.          

READ MORE: Chabina Hassan's work helped in securing World Heritage status for the Charaideo Maidam

Dr Sehrish is married to fellow IAS officer, (AGMUT-2010) Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah from Kashmir, who has also held various important positions including Deputy Commissioner of Srinagar and Anantnag districts and Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department.

He was recently transferred to Chandigarh in February this year. Currently, she serves as Special Secretary in the Water Supply and Sanitation department of Punjab