Record number of women officers, major career shifts shape Telangana’s latest IPS cohort

From the daughter of a bus conductor in Kanyakumari to a former Machine Learning engineer from Bengaluru, the 77th RR batch of Indian Police Service (IPS) probationers embodies both diversity and determination. With 35.63% women officers, the highest in the past five years, this year’s cohort graduating from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) marks a significant stride towards inclusivity in the country’s police leadership.

Over the past four years, the percentage of women officers had hovered between 20% and 29%, making this year’s figure a standout. The batch also reflects a mix of educational and professional backgrounds: 50% are engineers, 20% hail from science streams and 17% from arts, with over half having prior work experience.

For Ashwini S., the journey to the IPS began in the lanes of Kanyakumari. The daughter of a bus conductor, an engineer from Anna University, she earlier worked in the Tamil Nadu GST Department.

“It was a childhood dream (to join the force),” said the Tamil Nadu cadre officer, who also received the National Forensic Sciences University award. “Growing up, I saw my father’s relentless hard work and dignity in service. That inspired me to pursue something that directly impacts people’s lives.”

Awarded as the ‘Best officer trainee’, Anjit A. Nair will be leading the parade on October 17. A native of Kerala and a graduate in Mathematics, he said his father was in the Indian Army and he grew up seeing him serve the country and he now wants to serve the people better.

“Not just my father, you admire different traits in different people, I take inspiration from some traits of my father, some of my mother, some from my teachers as well,” said Mr. Nair, who will be joining the Tamil Nadu cadre.

The Telangana cadre this year includes four officers from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, each bringing their own story of transition and purpose.

Rahul Kant, a Computer Science graduate from IIT Guwahati and former Machine Learning engineer at Ola in Bengaluru, swapped corporate comfort for public service. “In tech, I realised that real decision-making lies with top management,” he said. “The precipitation point for me was watching the movie Article 15. It made me rethink what impact truly means and that is when I chose to join the civil services.”

Mr.Kant, a native of Patna, now hopes to tackle cybercrime through better detection and citizen awareness.

For Ayasha Fatima, an Electrical Engineer from Indore and a native of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, joining this record-setting batch feels symbolic. “With more women in policing, inclusivity improves on both sides, for the officers as well as the citizens,” she said.

Her inspiration came early, when she met a woman Assistant Sub-Inspector visiting her father’s school. “The people-to-people connection that this job offers is what truly drew me to this path.”

Mandhare Soham Sunil, an IPS probationer from Maharashtra allotted the Telangana cadre, said he is positive and excited about joining the Telangana Police. “The use of technology, capability of human resources... I have heard a lot of positive things about them. This is my first job actually, but I was part of the Indian Revenue Service earlier,” said Mr. Sunil.

A mechanical engineer from Pune University, he attributes his jump from engineering to policing to public service. “In engineering, it’s a private sector, we don’t get to deal with the public directly. While in policing, you are sitting at a place where people come with grievancesi; you solve them, that gives different satisfaction. This is something I was looking for,” he added.

Meanwhile, Manisha Nehra, from Jhunjhuna, Rajasthan, is the first woman from her family to become an officer. A Mathematics Honours graduate from Hansraj College, Delhi, she completed her post graduation in Geography and cracked the civils to join Telangana police as an IPS officer.

“I have been in Telangana for the past 10 months and we went for field visits to some police stations in the city to learn a few things, hands-on. There is a lot of focus on practical training here and the policing is highly professional,” Ms. Nehra said.