Pooja Singhal is an Indian civil servant who is known for being the youngest IAS officer at the age of twenty-one. Her name was noted in the Limca Book of Records after becoming the youngest IAS officer.
Wiki/Biography
Pooja Singhal was born on Friday, 7 July 1978 (age 44 years; as of 2022) in Dehradun. Her zodiac sign is Cancer. She pursued MBA in Business Management at Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttrakhand.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Pooja has a brother, Sidharth Singhal, who is a businessman.
Husband & Children
Pooja was married to Rahul Purwar, who was an IAS officer. Later, they got divorced and she got married to Abhishek Jha, who is a businessman.
Pooja Singhal with her husband, Abhishek Jha
Career
Pooja is the managing director of Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Limited. In 2021, she was the secretary of the tourism, art, culture, sports, and youth affairs department of Jharkhand. Later, she was transferred and served as the secretary of the industries, mines, and geology departments.
Controversies
- Pooja attracted controversy when she was alleged to Rs. 16 crore in a scam of MNREGA during her tenure as the Deputy Commissioner in Khunti district.
- She attracted controversy on 6 May, when ED raided her house and found Rs. 19.31 crore cash at her property in Ranchi. In the case that was filed against Pooja, she was alleged of allowing the illegal operation of Pachadumar sand ghat carried out by the contractors selected by her without taking permission from the National Board of Wildlife.
Facts/Trivia
- She is a 2000 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Jharkhand.
- When she was in school and college, she always topped in class. She took admission to Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie to receive training for civil service. In the academy, her friends used to call her the future cabinet secretary.
- When she was the Deputy Commissioner in the Khunti district, she granted Rs.6 crore under the MNREGA scheme to two NGOs. After donating the money, the assembly questioned her, but she was not found guilty.
- When she was the Deputy Commissioner of Palamu, she was accused of irregularities in the allotment of the Kathautia coal block to the Usha Martin Group.
- According to a report, she was attacked by Naxalites with a poisonous needle when she was the Deputy Commissioner of Chatra. She was given treatment as soon as possible, and later, it was reported that she tried to kill herself with the poison.
- When she became the IAS officer of Jharkhand, she busted many godowns and the illegal sale of books given to children under the education project. Under her administration, a handicap survey was also conducted for the first time to collect data on physically handicapped people.
- In 2020, she served as the Secretary of Sports when the Jharkhand government lent support to eight girls from Jharkhand who were selected for the India U17 Women’s team.
- On 6 May, after ED seized Rs. 19.31 crore from Pooja’s residence, director Avinash Das shared an old picture of Amit Shah and Pooja on Twitter. Many Twitter users said that Amit Shah was involved in the illegal mining case against Pooja.
Picture of Amit Shah and Pooja shared by Avinash
