Ansar Shaikh is India’s youngest IAS officer, and he cleared the UPSC exam at 21 in 2016, while his father was still driving an auto-rickshaw in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. He got rank 361. Not the top rank, but good enough to make history.
Today, he works as an Additional District Magistrate in Malda, West Bengal, handling issues affecting thousands of people every day. His achievement raises a question many aspirants ask themselves: if he could do it at 21, what’s stopping me?
In this article, I’ll walk through Ansar’s career postings, break down how he prepared for UPSC while still in college, and look at other young officers who cracked the exam in their early twenties.
Who is the Youngest IAS Officer in India?
Shaikh Ansar Ahamad was just 21 when he became an IAS officer. That’s younger than most people are when they finish their master’s degree.
He passed his 10th grade with 91% and later graduated with a Political Science degree (73%) from Fergusson College, Pune. His father earned whatever he could from driving an auto. There was no family wealth, no backup plan, no safety net.
Just books, discipline, and a target. IAS is the service that is selected through the UPSC Civil Services Examination, and he cleared it in 2016 with a rank of 361. He was allotted to West Bengal. Since then, no one has broken his record. He remains the youngest person ever to clear this exam.
Youngest IAS Officer of India Career Timeline (Official Postings)
After his training ended, He was sent straight to the field. IAS officers in their first few years move around a lot, one year in a small town, the next in a district office, then maybe a state department.
It seems tough, but it’s also how they learn what government work actually looks like beyond the files and reports.
| Date | Designation | Department / District | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) | Dinhata, Cooch Behar | West Bengal |
| 2020 | Executive Magistrate | Cooch Behar | West Bengal |
| 2020 | Additional Collector | Cooch Behar | West Bengal |
| 2020 | Additional District Magistrate (ADM) | Cooch Behar | West Bengal |
| 2022 | Joint Secretary | Agriculture Department | West Bengal |
| 2023 | Additional District Magistrate (ADM) | Jhargram | West Bengal |
| 2024 | Additional District Magistrate (ADM) | Malda | West Bengal |
Source: PAR.wb.gov
His postings tell the story of a young officer being tested in different situations. He started in Cooch Behar, moved to the state Agriculture Department for policy work, then returned to district administration in Jhargram and Malda.
Every posting taught him something new. That’s how the system works: you don’t stay comfortable for long.
How the Youngest IAS Officer of India Cracked UPSC at 21?
Ansar’s preparation began in his first year of college. Most students think they need to finish their degree first, get a job, save money, then start UPSC. He flipped that logic.
While his classmates were figuring out their careers, he was already reading newspapers and making notes. He chose Sociology as his optional subject because it made sense to him and had good scoring potential.
But here’s the real advantage: starting early gave him three full years to revise everything multiple times. By the time he sat for the exam at 21, the syllabus felt familiar, not frightening.
Youngest IAS Officer UPSC Attempt Strategy
He took his first attempt seriously. No trial run, no “let me just see how it feels” approach. That’s where most people fail. They treat the first attempt casually, only to regret it later.
Ansar studied on his own, no expensive coaching, no fancy notes from seniors. He stuck to NCERT books and basic reference material and practiced writing answers every single day. He read the newspaper as if it were part of his syllabus.
Because it was, he made monthly current affairs notes and revised them before the exam. His background helped him stay disciplined. He treated UPSC like a problem that needed a solution, not a dream that needed luck.
Top 5 Youngest IAS Officers of India
Ansar isn’t alone in cracking UPSC early. Several officers have done it in their early twenties, and each one had a different path.
But they all made one decision in common: they started preparing while their friends were still figuring out what to do after college.
Here is the list of the youngest IAS officers in India:
| Rank | Name | Age when Cleared | UPSC Year | AIR | Notable Fact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ansar Shaikh | 21 | 2016 | 361 | Son of an auto-driver; youngest ever to clear |
| 2 | Saksham Goel | 21 | 2021 | 27 | Cleared in first attempt with a top-30 rank |
| 3 | Divya Tanwar | 21 | 2021 | 438 (IPS) / 105 (IAS) | Cleared IPS at 21, then IAS at 22 |
| 4 | Roman Saini | 22 | 2013 | 18 | Was a doctor at AIIMS before becoming an IAS |
| 5 | Tina Dabi | 22 | 2015 | 1 | The first Dalit woman to top the UPSC CSE |
Look at the facts. Saksham got rank 27 in his first try. Roman left AIIMS to join the civil services. Tina topped the entire exam. These aren’t people who got lucky. They planned their preparation like a strategy, not a hope.
And that’s what separated them from thousands of others who also worked hard but didn’t make it.
Youngest Female IAS Officer of India?
Tina Dabi and Smita Sabharwal stand out when we talk about young female IAS officers.
Tina cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2015 with an All India Rank 1 at the age of 22. She’s now posted in Rajasthan and has become a name every female aspirant knows.
Smita Sabharwal became an IAS officer at 23 in 2001 and serves in Telangana. What makes their stories powerful isn’t just their age or rank.
It’s the fact that they entered a system dominated by men and proved that ability has nothing to do with gender. Their success opened doors, but more than that, it changed how families think about their daughters preparing for UPSC.
Lessons from the Youngest IAS Officer of India for Aspirants
Start reading the UPSC syllabus while you’re still in college. It won’t feel heavy if you begin early. Pick your optional subject based on what you can understand and score in, not what sounds impressive.
Most successful candidates study for 6 to 8 hours a day, but the quality of those hours matters more than the quantity. Four focused hours beat ten distracted ones. Study every day. Not in bursts, not when you feel motivated. Every single day.
Take your first attempt seriously. Too many people waste it thinking they’ll do better the second time. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. But why start with a wasted chance? And stop buying books. You don’t need fifty sources. You need five good ones that you’ve read five times each.
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Conclusion: Ansar Shaikh Is The Youngest IAS Officer of India
Ansar Shaikh’s record at 21 still stands, and it probably will for a long time. But that’s not the point. The point is that he came from a family with no connections, no money, and no backup plan. He just had a goal and a timetable.
For anyone preparing right now, his story isn’t about comparing yourself to him. It’s about realizing that if he could do it under those conditions, then the only real question is whether you’re willing to start today.
You have the same syllabus, the same exam, the same opportunity. What you do with it is entirely up to you. Stop waiting for the perfect time. Start now and let your own timeline take shape.
FAQs
The youngest age is 21 years. Ansar Shaikh achieved this in 2016, and Saksham Goel matched it in 2021 by clearing UPSC on his first attempt.
The Cabinet Secretary holds the highest position among all IAS officers in India. This officer coordinates between all government ministries and reports directly to the Prime Minister.
Anna Rajam Malhotra became India’s first female IAS officer in 1951. She was posted to the Madras cadre and paved the way for thousands of women after her.
Amit Kataria, an IAS officer from the Rajasthan cadre, chose to take a symbolic ₹1 salary to protest systemic issues within the administration and express his dissatisfaction with corruption.
Divya Tanwar is both. She became an IPS officer at 21 with rank 438 in 2021, and then cleared IAS at 22 with rank 105 in 2022.
