K. M. Chandrasekhar (born 20 February 1948) is a retired Indian

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

, who was the 29th

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

of the

Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...

from 2007 to 2011 for a four-year term under which he directly reported to the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He is a 1970 batch

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 An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

from

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 ...

Cadre. In 2023, he was honoured with Kerala Sree Award, third highest civilian award given by the

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

Early life and education

K. M. Chandrasekhar was born in Kerala to Ittyanath Thangamani from Ittyanath family Villadom, Thrissur and Kesava Menon, who was Chairman of the Railway Service Commission. He is the nephew of I. K. K. Menon, the eminent Malayalam writer who also served as the Secretary to the

Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body established by Constitution of India, the Constitution of the Republic of India empowered to conduct free and fair elections in the Republic of India. It is headed by a Chief Ele ...

(ECI). After graduating from college, he got an MA in history from the University of Delhi. He then earned his M.A. in Management Studies from the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

Career

Chandrasekhar worked in the

from 1970 to 2011. During the last four years of his career, he held the highest position achievable in the Indian civil services, that of Union

, reporting directly to Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

. After his retirement in 2011, he was offered a position equivalent to

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in his home State,

, as Vice Chairman of the State Planning Board, which he held for the next five years until 2016. He has been Revenue Secretary in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

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 ...

, and Finance Secretary in his State Government. In the

Ministry of Commerce A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

, he has worked as Chairman of the Spices Board (of which he was founder chairman), as Joint Secretary (Trade Policy Division) in the Ministry and in two diplomatic assignments abroad. He is on the Boards of ten companies, eight of them in the

Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate group of companies headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest business conglomerate, with products and services in over 160 countries, and operations in 100 c ...

and the others in the health care sector. He has been Chairman of the Federal Bank, President of a medical research institute and hospital under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (the Sri Chithra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum) and currently chairs, in an elected capacity, an economic think tank, teaching and research institution, the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, affiliated to the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

, New Delhi. He is also Honorary Adviser to an Ayurvedic institution, the Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal. His memoir 'As Good as My Word' is published by HarperCollins India in December 2022 and he is now working on his second book.

Personal life

Chandrasekhar is married to Jaya, who taught English language and literature. They have a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandrasekhar, K M Cabinet Secretaries of India 1948 births Living people Alumni of the University of Leeds St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Delhi University alumni Indian Administrative Service officers Kerala Sree Award Winners 20th-century Indian civil servants 21st-century Indian civil servants