Aparajita Sarangi

At the age of 24, she cleared the Civil Services Examination in 1994, marking the beginning of her illustrious career in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). She served as the Sub-Collector of three Sub-Divisions and as Additional District Magistrate. She served as Collector and District Magistrate of Nuapada, Koraput, and Bargarh from 1998 to 2006.

In 2013, she moved to the Central government as Joint Secretary for the Ministry of Rural Development1. She was instrumental in handling the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), considered the world’s largest anti-poverty program.

In 2018, she took voluntary retirement from the IAS, inspired by the ideals of public service and a desire for a larger platform to serve the people. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in November 2018. She successfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from the Bhubaneswar constituency to get her first term in the lower house of the Indian Parliament.