Know more about Tamil Nadu’s new chief secretary P Rama Mohana Rao; also about 5 key bureaucrats in Jayalalithaa’s CMO

THE AIADMK government on Wednesday undertook a major bureaucratic reshuffle in Tamil Nadu, the key highlight being the appointment of 1985 batch IAS P Rama Mohana Rao after relocating incumbent K Gnanadesikan as the CMD of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). According to the order, new chief secretary Rao will also discharge his duties as the vigilance commissioner and commissioner for administrative reforms. This is the first bureaucratic reshuffle after J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK came back to power in last month’s assembly poll bunking anti-incumbency sentiments. Rao’s batch mate and Andhra Pradesh’s principal finance secretary PV Ramesh took to Twitter to say:

“Hearty congratulations to batchmate and dear friend, Ram Mohan Rao, the new Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu. I wish him the very best”. Rao, an MA in economics and MCom in cost accountancy, hails from Andhra Pradesh. He served as principal secretary to CM J Jayalalithaa. He also worked in agriculture, social welfare, housing and urban development, and industries department, just to name a few. He also served as chairman of the Teachers’ Recruitment Board in Tamil Nadu and also as CMD of Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd.

Among the subjects in which Rao undertook in-service training, include WTO and the new trade regime, public private partnership (PPP), disaster management, administrative environment etc. 

Rao, who is retiring in September 2017, has never been on a Central deputation to serve in union ministries or departments in Delhi. But he worked as vice chairman of Gujarat Maritime Board between 2001 and 2003.

He took sabbatical from IAS to pursue higher studies in United Kingdom. He did his MA in economics from the University of Manchester, UK. His mother tongue is Telugu, but he can fluently speak three other languages —English, Hindi and Tamil.

Here below are 5 new appointments in Jayalalithaa’s CMO:

1. Retired IAS Santha Sheela Nair has been appointed as the OSD at the Chief Minister’s office.

2. 1993 batch IAS and state’s animal husbandry secretary Dr S Vijayakumar has been appointed as secretary to the chief minister. He is 49-year-old. He is a Telugu-speaking person, hailing from Tamil Nadu only.

3. Shiv Das Meena, 1989 batch IAS and secretary, cooperation, food and consumer protection Department, has also been appointed as secretary to chief minister. Meena, 51, originally hails from Rajasthan. He is a civil engineer-turned IAS.

4. KN Venkataramanan, a retired IAS has been designated as secretary to the chief minister. 

5. A Ramalingam, 1996 batch IAS, has also been appointed as secretary to the chief minister.