From IAS officer to Sabziwala: Read the unique story of Pravesh Sharma

Cracking the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam and becoming an IAS officer is a dream for millions of youth in the country. However, there are a rare few who voluntarily retire from the Indian Administrative Services to find their calling. One such name is that of Pravesh Sharma, a 1982-batch Madhya Pradesh Cadre IAS officer who voluntarily retired in 2016 after a service span of 34 years. 

He set up start-up named Sabziwala, a fruits and vegetable chain that delivers fresh stuff directly from the farmers to consumers, at Delhi's Dwarka in 2016. 

Sabziwala uses vegetable vendors and grocery shops to sell its vegetables and fruits. 

According to a Yourstory report, about two-thirds of the produce is procured directly from farmers’ organisations or aggregators based in Panipat, Bhaktawarpur near Delhi, Agra, Indore, Nashik and Ramda.

Sharma studied history at Delhi University and had been the agriculture secretary of Madhya Pradesh and India representative of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. He also served as the managing director of Small Farmers’ Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) for five years.