Power couple: As Kerala chief secretary readies for retirement, his IAS wife is set to take over

Venu and Sarada belong to the 1990 batch of IAS. Sarada is currently additional chief secretary of the Local Self-Government Department.

2 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: Aug 22, 2024 10:12 AM IST

Kerala’s Chief Secy Venu to retire on August 31, wife to succeed him

Dr V Venu will hand over the baton to his wife Sarada Muraleedharan on his retirement from service on August 31.

In a rare change of guard at the top of the state’s bureaucracy, the incumbent chief secretary Dr V Venu will hand over the baton to his wife Sarada Muraleedharan on his retirement from service on August 31.

The decision on appointing Sarada as the next chief secretary was taken at the Cabinet on Wednesday. This is the first time in the state that an IAS couple in unbroken sequence becoming the chief secretaries. Since the formation of the state in 1956, Kerala had two occasions when IAS couples became the chief secretaries, but those were not consecutive terms.

Venu and Sarada belong to the 1990 batch of IAS. Sarada is currently additional chief secretary of the Local Self-Government Department.

She had headed the state flagship poverty alleviation scheme Kudumbashree Mission for six years from 2006 and 2012, a period marked by several initiatives of women empowerment.

During central deputation from 2013, Sarada had worked as chief operating officer at the National Rural Livelihood Mission under the Rural Development Ministry till 2013.

For next two years, she also served as a joint secretary at the Panchayat Raj Ministry, where she was responsible for conceptualising the gram panchayat development plans that put a premium on citizen participation through the gram sabha.

Shaju Philip

Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's coverage from Kerala. With over 25 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political, religious, and developmental landscape of South India. Expertise, Experience, and Authority Decades of Regional Specialization: Shaju has spent more than two decades documenting the "Kerala Model" of development, its complex communal dynamics, and its high-stakes political environment. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive reporting portfolio includes: Political & Governance Analysis: In-depth tracking of the LDF and UDF coalitions, the growth of the BJP in the state, and the intricate workings of the Kerala administration. Crime & Investigative Journalism: Noted for his coverage of high-profile cases such as the gold smuggling probe, political killings, and the state’s counter-terrorism efforts regarding radicalization modules. Crisis Management: He has led ground-level reporting during major regional crises, including the devastating 2018 floods, the Nipah virus outbreaks, and the Covid-19 pandemic response. ... Read More

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