A retired IPS officer and a man of extraordinary conduct, Anand Vardhan Shukla has many achievements and accomplishments to his credit. His exemplary career is a guiding light to many people and officers as well.

Anand Vardhan Shukla is an Ex-IPS Officer. He retired as an Inspector General of Police. He worked in the Rajasthan Police Service for about 37 years in various capacities at different places and departments of the Rajasthan Police. He also worked with the UN as a Human Rights Trainer in Croatia and several other countries and also as a UN Peacekeeper in Bosnia. He also served under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India as Director of the North-Central Zone Cultural Center-Prayagraj.

Anand was born in Varanasi. He completed his initial schooling in Varanasi itself. Later his parents shifted to Rajasthan and he continued his school education in Rajgarh in Rajasthan.

Anand says that his father was a Lecturer at a government college. Growing up, he too thought that working in academia would be the best career option for him. After completing his MA in Indian History, he started teaching at a government college in Rajgarh. Later, when he realized that even after working for several years on a temporary basis there were no permanent jobs for lecturers, he thought of exploring other career options. He appeared for the RPSC- Rajasthan Administrative Services Examination and passed it in his first attempt itself. As per the merit list, he was allotted Rajasthan Police Services in 1979.

Anand says that he always had a penchant for uniformed services. At school and college, he was in NCC and even completed his ‘C’ certification in NCC. He also got selected into the Indian Air Force in the Admin branch. He says that joining NCC made him a disciplinarian.

In his college days, he was fond of doing Theatre and writing scripts for films and other acts. He has worked with Gulzar and the famous film producer Anil Sharma. He also got to work with one of the renowned actors of that time - Bhanu Bharti. He has also acted in some films like ‘Maachis’, ‘Gadar’, ‘Lekin’ and ‘Genius’. Besides, he was also good at Debating and participated in various debate competitions during his college and won many of them.

Anand shares that he scored good marks in his first year of bachelors. And due to that, his hostel warden suggested he write his forthcoming exams in English and not Hindi. Hailing from a rural background, he had done his schooling in the Hindi medium. And due to that, he was a bit skeptical of changing the medium to English. He took the plunge and was featured in the merit list of students in his bachelors.

Anand advises that one should have a clear understanding of their goals and have an unwavering focus to achieve them.

Talking about his achievements in life, Anand says that as an RPS officer, he always ensured that justice was delivered to the suffering people wherever he worked. He says that he fulfilled all his duties very well and to the best of his capacity. He worked in the war-afflicted country of Bosnia as a UN Peacekeeper. He also worked as a trainer with the UN. He also received a Police Medal for his services as an IPS officer.

Anand has no regrets in life. But he feels that he should have spent more time with his daughter during her high school years which he could not do as he was working with the UN at that time.

Anand likes to keep working and interacting with people. Even after his retirement from the IPS, he worked with the NGT in Mathura. He also helped one of his friends lay the foundation for his educational institute in Gangapur City. Currently, he is a Corporate Trainer and conducts training at many companies like  Hindustan Zinc, JK Cement, etc.

Anand thinks that traveling broadens your horizon and changes your perspective on life. He says that in his career whilst working with the UN, he got to visit many countries. He has traveled to more than sixty countries which include Finland, Hungary, Sweden, Croatia, the UK, etc.

Anand always took inspiration from his father. Besides, his school teachers, college professors, and the officers he worked with within the IPS and RPS, inspired him a lot.

In his spare time, Anand likes to read, write, listen to songs, and travel to different places.

His life mantra is, “ Be your own guiding light,”

His message to people is that they should learn to manage their time and love what they do to be successful in life.