Dr Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat, IAS

Early Life and Education

Dr Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat is from Unsoo Wahipora, a village in the Langate area of Handwara in Kupwara district, North Kashmir.

He studied at Minto Circle School, Srinagar, and at Amar Singh College, Srinagar. He graduated in July 2010 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (B.V.Sc & A.H.) from the College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SKUAST-Jammu.

Professional Background

Dr Bhat qualified the Jammu & Kashmir Combined Competitive Examination in 2010 at his first attempt, securing Rank 22 with Public Administration and Veterinary Science as optional subjects, and served in the J&K Administrative Service for about two years.

In 2012 he qualified the Indian Forest Service Examination with All-India Rank 23 and was allotted the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He underwent professional training at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Dehradun (2013–2015), and served as Deputy Conservator of Forests in Uttar Pradesh from 2015 until his selection to the Indian Administrative Service.

Veterinary and Forestry Background

Dr Bhat holds a degree in veterinary science and served in the Indian Forest Service before joining the IAS. As Deputy Commissioner he has handled the demarcation and land-record authentication of the Hokarsar Ramsar wetland in Budgam, flood relief on the Shaliganga and at Panzan, cloudburst restoration in Pahalgam, and livestock, dairy and fisheries schemes under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme. In April 2026 he presented Anantnag's Jal Jeevan Mission practices at the national Peyjal Samvad.

He is the author of Environment and Ecology for UPSC CSE (2024) and of a Main Examination guide to the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science optional published by Insights IAS (2018).

The three-examination route in detail

Civil Services Examination

Dr Bhat secured All-India Rank 10 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2016, the results of which were declared on 31 May 2017. He obtained 1,078 marks (896 in the written examination and 182 in the personality test), with Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science as his optional subject (304 out of 500). This was his fourth attempt; he had not cleared the preliminary examination in his first three attempts.

He was the highest-ranked among a record fourteen successful candidates from Jammu & Kashmir that year and was allotted his home cadre. He was received by the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir at Raj Bhavan along with other successful candidates in June 2017. He has since documented his preparation strategy in two essays published by Insights IAS and speaks regularly to students at colleges and universities in Jammu & Kashmir.

Administrative Career

After training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, Dr Bhat was posted in October 2019 as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Karnah-Tangdhar, in Kupwara district, a sub-division on the Line of Control that remains cut off by snow for several months each year. His tenure covered the early COVID-19 response, winter stocking and Sadhna Pass traffic management, medical evacuations by Army helicopter, PMGSY road works and the distribution of poly-greenhouses and individual bunkers to border families.

He served as Deputy Commissioner, Kulgam, from March 2021 to January 2024. During this period the district achieved 100% COVID-19 vaccination coverage, became one of the first three districts in J&K fully saturated under the AB-PMJAY SEHAT scheme, completed the digitisation of its land records, attained ODF Plus (Model) status, and developed a tourism calendar around Aharbal and Vasaknag. District Kulgam received the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2023.

As Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar (January 2024 to June 2025), he served as District Election Officer and Returning Officer for the 02-Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency in the 2024 General Election, and as District Election Officer for all eight Assembly constituencies of the district in the 2024 Legislative Assembly election. He also chaired the District Disaster Management Authority and the District Red Cross Society. Initiatives during this tenure included the Chinar Book Festival, the E-Arzi applications-management portal, the first SMILE shelter home in J&K, a 100-day tuberculosis elimination campaign and heritage-restoration reviews.

He served as Deputy Commissioner, Budgam, from June 2025 to February 2026, where his tenure included relief and restoration after the September 2025 floods, the conduct of the bye-election to the 27-Budgam Assembly constituency, the demarcation of the Hokarsar Ramsar wetland and the launch of the e-Nigrani works-monitoring application. He assumed charge as Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, on 26 February 2026.

Approach

Public darbars are held in every block of the district, with time-bound resolution of the grievances raised. Welfare schemes are taken to saturation door to door, as in the Har Ghar Dastak campaign in Kulgam and the SEHAT and Aadhaar-seeding drives. Records and services are moved online, from land-records digitisation to the Madadgar, E-Arzi and e-Nigrani platforms. Reading and youth programmes run alongside: libraries, the Chinar Book Festival, sports tournaments and career counselling for aspirants.

On the Prime Minister's Award for District Kulgam, Dr Bhat said the recognition belonged "to the people of Kulgam who chose to accept holistic development, officers and staff who chose to work sincerely for people", and to the successor who presented the district's case. At his Srinagar farewell he asked officers to work "with a missionary zeal, sincerity and dedication for the larger interest of the public".

Personal Interests

Dr Bhat has an active interest in sports, including cricket, badminton, volleyball and tennis, and has promoted sports tournaments as part of youth-engagement and anti-drug campaigns in his districts. He is a proponent of reading culture, having established a library and reading room for civil-services aspirants in Kulgam, the Chinar Book Festival in Srinagar and the Ignite Space libraries in Budgam.

हिन्दी और اردو में संक्षिप्त परिचय

डॉ. बिलाल मोहिउद्दीन भट भारतीय प्रशासनिक सेवा (2017 बैच, एजीएमयूटी कैडर) के अधिकारी हैं। उन्होंने संघ लोक सेवा आयोग की सिविल सेवा परीक्षा 2016 में अखिल भारतीय रैंक 10 प्राप्त की। वे 26 फ़रवरी 2026 से अनंतनाग के उपायुक्त (डिप्टी कमिश्नर) हैं। इससे पहले वे कुलगाम, श्रीनगर और बडगाम के उपायुक्त तथा करनाह के उप-मंडल मजिस्ट्रेट रहे।

ڈاکٹر بلال محی الدین بھٹ انڈین ایڈمنسٹریٹو سروس (2017 بیچ، اے جی ایم یو ٹی کیڈر) کے افسر ہیں۔ انہوں نے یو پی ایس سی سول سرویسز امتحان 2016 میں آل انڈیا رینک 10 حاصل کیا۔ وہ 26 فروری 2026 سے ڈپٹی کمشنر اننت ناگ ہیں۔ اس سے قبل وہ کولگام، سرینگر اور بڈگام کے ڈپٹی کمشنر اور کرناہ کے سب ڈویژنل مجسٹریٹ رہے۔

Name in Official Records

Government orders record his name as Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat (2021) and Dr Bilal Mohiud Din Bhat (2025, 2026). The UPSC result list used Bilal Mohi Ud Din Bhat, and national media generally write Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat. His publication is authored as Dr Bilal M Bhat, IAS. Other spellings found in print:

• Bilal Mohi Ud Din Bhat
• Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat
• Bilal Mohi-ud-Din Bhat / Bilal Mohi-ud-din Bhat
• Bilal Mohiud Din Bhat
• Bilal Mohi-u-Din Bhat / Bilal Mohi-u-din Bhat
• Bilal Mohiddin Bhat
• Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din
• Dr Bilal M Bhat, IAS
• Dr Bilal Bhat

All information on this page is drawn from published news reports, government orders and public records, available in the news archive. Details that appear in only one unverified source are not included.