The recent appointment of M. Sheela Priya as the Chief Information Commissioner of the State has turned the focus on the “second innings” of retired IAS officers.
But Ms. Sheela Priya’s case cannot be viewed in isolation: all her three predecessors moved into their role only post-retirement. But, barring her immediate predecessor K. Ramanujam, who is a former Indian Police Service officer, the other two – S. Ramakrishnan and K.S. Sripathi – were IAS officers.
And, the Chief Minister’s Office – be it in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime or under the rule of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – has had the tradition of retired IAS officers serving as Secretaries to the CM.
In fact, Sheela Balakrishnan, who held the post of adviser for nearly three years after her retirement as Chief Secretary in March 2014, had become so prominent that her name was mentioned in sections of the media as a possible successor to former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in September 2014 following the latter’s conviction by a Bengaluru court in the disproportionate assets case.
Post retirement, some retired officials have also moved to Central government bodies, albeit on a part-time basis. R. Kannan, regarded as an authority on museology and archaeology, who retired from the rank of Additional Chief Secretary in September 2015, points out that two of his batch mates of the T.N. cadre – C. P. Singh and Shashi Shekhar – have become independent directors of NLC India and NTPC, both Central power utilities.
There are some who have opted for the corporate sector. S. Ramasundaram, who took voluntary retirement and joined the Nagarjuna group, points out proudly that former Chief Secretary P. Sabanayagam, who belongs to the 1947 batch and has been part of a private firm, is going to work regularly, despite being in his 90s.
Educational push
The field of education is also richer with the experience of retired officials. For instance, C.V. Sankar, former Additional Chief Secretary (Industries), has joined the Chennai Mathematical Institute. Similarly, K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Indian Maritime University between January 2014 and May 2017, and K. Deenabandu is currently the Special Officer of the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha.
Coaching and mentoring candidates for civil services examinations and different competitive examinations has also caught the attention of retired officials: for the last three years, K. Allaudin has been part of one such organisation that prepares candidates, while P.M. Basheer Ahamed has associated himself with a body that is attached to the Makkah Masjid on Anna Salai in Chennai. Similarly, S.S. Jawahar has been taking classes for aspirants for IAS and other services. M.F. Farooqui and R.K. Khanna are other former officers who are now donning the teacher’s role.
Former Chief Secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath, known for his passion for scrabble, says there is no set pattern about retirees as their interests are varied. In a lighter vein, he also says most of the retired officers are busy doing “grand-parenting.”
P. N. Vedanarayanan, the 84-year-old president of the retired IAS Officers’ Association, seems to support Mr. Chunkath’s view: having served in the composite Thanjavur in the 1960s, agriculture has remained Mr. Vedanarayanan’s interest and he has been engaged in various programmes aimed at promoting cultivation of pulses. Swaran Singh, now part of the Srinivasan Services Trust, which is into education, environment and a host of other fields, firmly believes that former IAS officers should not remain idle as they have a duty towards society.
