Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu, who will be demitting office on Friday, will be coming out with a book on the art of public speaking shortly.
“It is about how to speak and what to speak. From inter-personal conversations to performances during interviews for employment to making speeches at public platforms, you will find everything,” says Mr. Irai Anbu. He finished writing the manuscript well before he became Chief Secretary.
This will be one of a host of books that he had authored in the areas of personality development and positive thinking. Asked about any specific assignment that he is going to take up after retirement, the civil servant, who has put in 35 years of service, replies that “for the time being, I am going to relax a bit”.
Some months ago, his name did rounds on the social media for being considered for the post of Chief Information Commission of the State Information Commission. Though he had applied for the job, he subsequently withdrew his application. Given his passion for channelling the energy of the youth towards constructive and fulfilling tasks, he would have been an ideal candidate for the post of Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC), which is lying vacant. But he has decided not to accept any position in the government, post-retirement.
Soon after he became the Chief Secretary, the State witnessed the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. To accelerate the process of vaccination, over 40 mega vaccination camps were held. Lakhs of doses of vaccine were administered.
Mr. Irai Anbu, who used even Sundays to carry out his inspection, followed closely the progress of work on storm-water drains. Viewing seriously instances of village panchayat presidents belonging to Scheduled Castes not being allowed to hoist the National Flag, the veteran official visited Adanur village on August 16 last year to witness the panchayat president doing the honours to the flag.
When a conservancy worker - Mary - found gold while doing her work, he presented her not only a shawl but also a hand-written letter of appreciation. Given the poor economic status of the worker, he got her son a job on contract at the Anna Administrative Staff College. In August last year, Mr. Irai Anbu directed District Collectors to ban the practice of beating ‘’thandora’, which was anachronistic in this age. He takes pride over the State administration rising to the occasion when the Chess Olympiad was held in the State during July-August 2022 at a short notice.
