Mr. Bhagwan Shankar joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1988 and served for 34 years in various administrative leadership roles across Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, and the Central Government. Before joining the IAS, he worked in Indian Railways as an engineer (IRSE officer) for 3 years.
In Sikkim, he served as District Collector/South District and headed several departments including Sports & Youth Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Food & Civil Supplies, and Cooperation as Secretary/Principal Secretary/Additional Chief Secretary. He also served as Managing Director of the State Bank of Sikkim and Sikkim Milk Union. His last assignment before retirement in 2022 was as Additional Chief Secretary to the Governor of Sikkim.
In Uttar Pradesh, he served as District Collector of Sonebhadra, District Magistrate of Maharajganj, and Special Secretary in the Home, Agriculture, and Urban Development Departments. At the Government of India, he was Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, leading divisions such as Police Modernisation, Border Management, Internal Security, Human Rights, Administration & Vigilance, and serving as the Chief Vigilance Officer of the Ministry. He also worked as Director (Census) for Sikkim in 2010.
Mr. Shankar is credited with formulating the New Arms Rules 2016 and amendments to the Arms Act. He has led several government delegations abroad — including to the USA, UAE, UK, Germany, Singapore, Thailand, and Australia — on matters related to Police Modernisation, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLAT), and Extradition Treaties. He also served as Executive Director at the Food Corporation of India under the Ministry of Food, Public Distribution System, and Consumer Affairs.
He graduated from IIT Kanpur in Civil Engineering and holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration, along with certificate courses from the University of California, Berkeley; Duke University, USA; and the University of Cambridge, UK. He was awarded the Silver Medal for Meritorious Service by the President of India in 2013, and in 2019 was recognised as one of the fifty most effective bureaucrats in India by Fame India magazine.
Since his superannuation in 2022, Mr. Shankar has been a Distinguished Fellow at the Delhi School of Public Policy and Governance, Delhi University, delivering lectures and talks at top institutions such as IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IISER Bhopal, IISER Trivandrum, Delhi School of Economics, and Vinayaka Mission Law School. He also serves as Honorary Professor of Practice at the Vinayaka School of Economics & Public Policy (VSEP), Chennai.
Currently, he is an Independent External Monitor (IEM) nominated by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Government of India, at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Additionally, he is an Advisor to the Central Association of Private Security Industry of India (CAPSI), New Delhi — a role that reflects his deep expertise in internal security and governance.
