Anna Rajam Malhotra (née George; 17 July 1927 – 17 September 2018) was an

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the Public administration, administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. The IAS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian ...

officer. She was the first woman in India to hold this position. Anna Rajam belonged to the 1951 batch of the IAS and married R. N. Malhotra, her batchmate.

Early life and education

Anna Malhotra was born in 1927 in

Niranam Niranam is a village in Thiruvalla, Kerala, India. It was a port in ancient Kerala, on the confluence of the Manimala River, Manimala and Pamba River. It is almost 7 km from Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, lies to the wester ...

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, () also spelled Tiruvalla, is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 52,883 people, down from 56,837 in 2001. It is also the H ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality, city in southern Kerala, India, spread over an area of . It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538 (as of 2011 census). The Hindu pilgrim centre Sab ...

as the daughter of Ottavelil O. A. George and Anna Paul. She was the granddaughter of Malayalam author Pailo Paul. She grew up in

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

(

Kozhikode district Kozhikode (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has a corporation l ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

) and completed her intermediate from Providence Women's College and bachelor's degree from Malabar Christian College in Calicut. In 1949, she obtained her master's in English literature from the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

. She passed the civil services examination in 1950, and was the first woman to do so.

Career

Malhotra was discouraged from joining the service by the board which consisted of four ICS officers, headed by R. N. Banerjee the Chairman of UPSC. She was instead offered the Foreign Service and Central Services because they were 'more suitable for women'. But, she argued her case and stood her ground. Her first posting as a civil servant was in

Madras State Madras State was a state in the Indian Republic, which was in existence during the mid-20th century as a successor to the Madras Presidency of British India. The state came into existence on 26 January 1950 when the Constitution of India was ad ...

and reportedly chief minister

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence ...

was sceptical about giving a woman the charge of a district sub-collector and instead offered her a post in the Secretariat. She had undergone training in horse riding, rifle and revolver shooting and in using magisterial powers and hence did not comply and was eventually posted as the Sub Collector of Tirupattur in Madras State, becoming the first woman to do so. She held other positions in the Government of Madras including Under Secretary, Agriculture, Under Secretary and Deputy Secretary, Public, and Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department. She also held several important positions in the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

including Deputy Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Chairperson, National Seeds Corporation, and Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Education and Culture. She worked under seven chief ministers and worked closely with

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

in the Asiad Project and briefly with

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

. As Chairperson, Nhava Sheva Port Trust, Anna Malhotra was responsible for building India's first computerised port, Nhavasheva, in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and was also the first woman to serve as a Secretary to the

Award

She was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 1989.

Death

Malhotra died in September 2018 at the age of 91.India’s first woman IAS officer dead
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References

1927 births 2018 deaths Indian Administrative Service officers Indian Christians People from Ernakulam district People from Kerala People from Kochi Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service Saint Thomas Christians {{India-bio-stub Government of India