Mr. Rajan Vishal worked in the Reserve Bank of India after receiving his Master of Business Economics degree from the University of Delhi in 2005. Driven by his commitment to improve public service delivery at the cutting-edge level, he joined the Indian Administrative Service in 2008. He received the gold medal for the best study in rural development from the National Academy of Administration.
He has worked as District Collector in four districts for more than six years. As an administrator, he has worked in insurgency affected and the least developed areas of the country, implementing welfare programs, steering government campaigns for the marginalized and managing relief programs during natural calamities. He was awarded the Best Electoral Practices Award by the Election Commission of India in 2015, for increasing female voter turnout in Parliamentary Elections 2014 by 25 percent in Jalore District, with women from some villages having voted for the first time.
He also has experience in policy formulation in the health, cooperative, urban development, and finance sectors. He has played an important role in the formulation of impactful policies that have improved nutrition and health, strengthened the legal rights of women, empowering them as decision makers in Rajasthan.
A graduate program in public administration from a U.S. university will provide Mr. Vishal with the skills, knowledge, networking, and approaches needed to design potent policies to address the complex developmental challenges facing India. After completing the Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowship, he would work on a range of issues: health, public finance management and women empowerment.