Pooja Jha (IFS) Age, Family, Biography » StarsUnfolded

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pooja Jha

• Pooja Jha was born and raised in Puranhiya village in Bihar’s Sitamarhi district. Her family later moved to Delhi.

• Her father worked as an office helper at a private company in Gurugram for nearly 40 years, while her mother is a homemaker. In an interview, she said,

I am the fifth daughter and I have a younger brother as well. My family’s quest for a boy child ended when he was born. My father has been serving as an office help in a private firm in Gurgaon for about 40 years and my mother has been a homemaker.”

• Pooja Jha first studied at a private school but later shifted to a government school because of her family’s financial condition.

• In an interview, Pooja revealed that while growing up, she faced gender discrimination, where sons were often valued more than daughters, which motivated her to work hard and build her own identity. She said,

For instance, in my community, the birth of a male child is always celebrated with so much grandeur. However, the same is not the case when a girl child is born. These are small biases but they leave such a deep impact.”

• When she was class 7, she read about renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty that motivated her to pursue career as a doctor. In an interview she shared,

I aimed to be ‘the next Dr Devi Shetty’. In Class 10, I appeared for a scholarship test, which was organised by an NGO called Avanti Fellows. I was one amongst the two students selected and that offered me a complete scholarship to attending coaching classes to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor.”

• However, after school, she missed getting a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) seat through National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) by two marks, so joined Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme at Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi.

• During her BDS course, she topped in all four years of her college examinations.

• After completing her BDS, rather than pursuing career as dentist, she decided to prepare for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Examination.

• In an interview, Pooja Jha revealed that her parents were initially unsure about her decision to leave her dentist career and prepare for the UPSC examination; however, they later supported her decision after seeing her dedication for UPSC.

• In 2021, Jha cleared the UPSC Civil Service Examination in her very first attempt and secured All India Rank (AIR) 82.

• After completing her civil services training, Pooja Jha joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) as a part of the 2022 batch and was posted as the Second Secretary (Political and Information) at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

• In July 2026, Pooja Jha came into the national spotlight after she objected to an incorrect map of India displayed by the former Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India Ahmed Tariq Karim during a seminar at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka.

• As soon as the map appeared on the screen, Jha interrupted the presentation and said that the map was incorrect, adding that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

• Karim acknowledged her objection, saying that the map had been used only for representation purposes. The seminar was attended by several diplomats and dignitaries including Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed.

• Pooja Jha quick intervention at the international event was widely appreciated on social media in India.