Do you know a police officer who has collaborated with Nobel laureates for a research work? Well, she is the first woman IPS officer of Rajasthan, Ms Nina Singh. And her collaboration with the Nobel laureates duo Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo has immensely helped policing in the state.
A decorated officer, Ms. Nina Singh is currently posted as Additional Director General (Training) in Jaipur. Ms. Singh was born and brought up in Bihar and joined IPS in 1989. From then till now, she has been posted on many important positions starting from the state police to CBI. Not only she played a key role for police reforms in Rajasthan, but also ensured the safety & security of women as the Member Secretary of State’s Women Commission.
In an exclusive interview with Indian Masterminds, Ms Singh talked about her journey, her experiences and achievements.
Joining Hands with the Nobel Winners
Ms. Nina Singh completed her masters from Harvard University in Public Administration. She also went to MIT for evaluation of social program. During 2004-05, she co-authored a research paper about the co-relation between the police performance and public perception. Noble Laureates couple Mr. Abhijit Banerjee and Ms Esther Duflo was part of this extensive research. Ms. Nina knows both of them from her Harvard days. “Policing is very intuitive. Common people know about us through our actions only. We wanted to know that do the good or bad actions affect the public perception about the police? We wanted an extensive data for this. The idea was that the study should be credible, scientific and evidence based and could be used in the future of policy making for the policing”, she explained.
Around 200 police stations became part of this study. A survey was also conducted to measure the impact of interventions using Randomized Control Trial (RCT) methodology. Also, around 28,000 households from 11 districts became part of this survey. The findings were accepted by the state government. After this, Rajasthan government also made registration of FIRs mandatory in the all the cases.
Points out Ms Singh, “ There have been many instances of police reforms in the past, but this was one of the first comprehensive research on police reform at research at such a large scale anywhere in the world. We also introduced soft skills training for the police personnel, including gender sensitization and communication. Idea of ‘community observers’ was also implemented, where people from community could come and see the working of police at the police station. This helped them understand the challenges and limitations we have, and on the other hand it also helped us to change the perception towards police through word of mouth promotion”.
Helmet for All
Everybody knows Ms. Nina for having solved many high-profile cases, but very few people know that she was the leading lady in introducing both traffic reforms and police reforms in Rajasthan. While, being posted as SP (Traffic) in Jaipur, she ordered mandatory helmets for everyone travelling on a scooter or a motorbike. She mobilized everyone from traffic police to the common public and implemented it strictly. Due to this effort, in just three months the mortality rate by head injury during road accidents in Jaipur came down to 23% !
Inspired by Father
Ms. Nina is eldest of six brothers and sisters. Her father was in Bihar Administrative service and mother a housewife. She completed her graduation from Patna Women’s College and Masters from Jawahar Lal Nehru University New Delhi. After that she joined Delhi School of Economics, DU for M.Phil. However, she didn’t complete because she joined the IPS.
“My father,’’ said Ms Singh, “was already in civil service. I have grown up watching him, and being inspired by him. He was very particular about education. So, there always have been an environment for studies in our home. Back then, we didn’t have so many options and I also have understood very early that civil services give you the leverage to do something substantial. So, yes that was the reason I chose civil services above all”.
Asked why chose policing and not any other stream of civil services, Ms Singh replied,“ Khakee has always been my love. Policing is not just about maintaining law & order. We provide relief to people who are facing many other problems too.”
A woman in uniform always inspires others, either intentionally or unintentionally. An incident happened with Ms. Singh when she was posted as the SP, Sirohi in 1996. She was the first woman to hold that position in that Rajasthan town. There was a woman employee in office and she always used to come in `ghunghat’. When she saw Ms. Singh in uniform she was so inspired that she gave up her `ghunghat’! “I got to know about this very late. I still remember it and consider it as a success. I was able to generate sense of empowernment in a woman. What else do I want? Whenever I will recall my whole career, this will always be a proud moment to remember,” says the IPS officer with a strong sense of pride in her work and achievements.
For her various contributions, Ms Nina Singh has been awarded with the Police Medal for Meritorious Service and President’s Police Medal. She is also been selected to be honoured with `Ati Utkrisht Seva Padak’ by the Ministry of Home Affairs for professional excellence.
While pointing about the challenges, she says, “My journey has been rather smooth. I chose the tough path, hence have no complaints. I just do my job and deliver to the best of my capacity.
When asked about the secret of her calmness she laughs and says, “in my early days I used to listen to lot of music. Now that place has slightly been taken by cooking and baking. I have always ensured one thing and that when at home, I am just a mother and a wife”.
Lest we forget to mention, besides being a highly accomplished polished officer, Ms Nina Singh is also a caring mother and wife.
