Theresa Bhattacharya is new Chief Secretary

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, DEC. 29. Ms. Theresa Bhattacharya, Additional Chief Secretary, will be the new Chief Secretary to the Government in place of Mr. B.K.Bhattacharya who is retiring on Saturday.

A decision to appoint Ms. Bhattacharya, wife of the retiring Chief Secretary, was taken by the Cabinet which met here today.

The Cabinet and the Council of Ministers placed on record the distinguished and meritorious services rendered by the outgoing Chief Secretary and his integrity and devotion to duty, according to Prof.B.K.Chandrashekar, Minister of State for Information, who briefed the press about the Cabinet decision.

The appointment of Ms. Teresa Bhattacharya as the next Chief Secretary to the Government marks two firsts. She is the first woman Chief Secretary of the State and it is also perhaps the only case of a woman succeeding her husband to the highest post in the State's civil service.

The Government is appointing the second senior-most IAS officer to the post. The senior-most, Ms. Achala Moulik, is stated to have declined to head the civil service in the State preferring to remain at the Centre. Ms.Moulik belongs to the 1964 batch of the IAS, while Ms. Bhattacharya is from the 1965 batch. Ms.Bhattacharya, who hails from Kerala, was born on April 1, 1942, and joined the IAS on July 5, 1965. The 24th Chief Secretary since 1956 will have a 16-month tenure. She is at present one of the additional chief secretaries.

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Section  : Southern States
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