New Delhi

Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, a senior bureaucrat in the Jammu and Kashmir government, is among 24 mid-career changemakers selected as Global Fellows of the USA for the Eisenhower Fellowships 2025.

Shahid Iqbal Choudhary is the secretary, Department of Rural Development and Local Self-Government, J&K, “managing a $654 million budget and a workforce of more than 16,000.”

The Fellowship programme described him as “a distinguished member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Choudhary has received multiple Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration. He introduced initiatives such as Project Rahat, building 170 mountain bridges to improve access in remote areas.”

“As a result of his fellowship, Choudhary aims to launch what he calls the Climate-Resilient Rural Livelihoods Initiative to empower Himalayan communities through sustainable agriculture, water management and climate adaptation.”

Shahid Choudhary, who hails from the border district of Poonch in Jammu, broke the news about this honour on X:

Thrilled to share this frame of the Eisenhower Fellowships 2025 Global Fellows 🌍

Honoured to stand alongside incredible changemakers from around the world — and looking forward to building bridges of knowledge, partnerships, and action that link local resilience with global… pic.twitter.com/DtzpAnWEsS

— Shahid Choudhary (@listenshahid) August 20, 2025

Shahid Choudhary, who enjoys a reputation as an efficient officer, is from the 2009 batch of the IAS. He is the first Muslim officer from the Scheduled Tribes. He secured 51 AIR rank (General category) in the UPSC examination in 2008.

He has so far received many national awards including National Award for Best Electoral conduct from Election Commission of India, National Awards for e-Governance presented by Ministry of Personnel, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration 2015, National Award on women empowerment from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the category "Enabling Girl Child Education" on International Women Day 2018. And National Award for exceptional contribution in the Education sector - 2019

He is a distinguished World Bank Scholar and Fulbright Fellow.

His work on J&K’s nomadic communities – Gujjar and Bakerwals as secretary of the Tribal Affairs department, earned him many honours and accolades.

His style of working was demonstrated to general public during his tenure as Secretary, Tribal Affairs Department, J&K as he traveled rugged terrains on foot to document and address the concerns of these communities as is seen in his post on X:

Sometimes, the most important work happens when you simply sit down and listen. Thank you, Gurez, for the memory that stays! https://t.co/nFcjQnHaIE

— Shahid Choudhary (@listenshahid) August 8, 2025

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On this Award, the Fellowship website said: "Eisenhower Fellowships exists to inspire leaders around the world to challenge themselves, to envision how they can effect positive change, to engage others beyond their existing networks and to collaborate with other like-minded leaders across national borders to better the world around them."