K Ratna Prabha Appointed As Karnataka's New Chief Secretary

IAS Officer Ratna Prabha has been appointed as the new chief secretary (CS)  the state government announced (on Tuesday, Nov. 28), Bangalore Mirror reported.

Among the four bureaucrats running for the top post —Ratna Prabha, SK Pattanayak, Latha Krishna Rao and TM Vijaya Bhaskar -- the senior-most officer was chosen for the post. The appointment comes in just before the upcoming Assembly elections.

READ: Meet IAS Officer Ratna Prabha, Karnataka’s biggest champion for women

Ratna Prabha, heralded as Karnataka’s biggest champion for women, along with DG & IG Neelamani Raju will lead the Karnataka government in a poll-bound year.

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Ratna Prabha now stands tall as the third woman CS of Karnataka, Teresa Bhattacharya (2000) and Malati Das (2006) being the first two. She will chair heading the state administration till March 2018.

ALSO READ: Ending Devadasi culture in Karnataka, Ratna Prabha’s mission

Early career

Prabha started her career as a young officer in Bidar in North Karnataka.  The Chief Minister applauded her efforts and called her the only ‘man’ in the state. Prabha, who in her initial days learnt the ropes in India’s administrative systems, broke many glass ceiling and came out a winner.

She is the force behind the new tech park for women entrepreneurs soon to be launched in Bengaluru.

She has always encouraged women to go into manufacturing and tech fields and not just settle for soft industries.

For long, Prabha has been the champion for many women’s issues in the state. Moreover, she has proved again and again that policymakers can become impact-makers.

For years the evil practice of "Devadasi” was prevalent in Karnataka in a big way. Prabha single-handedly took up the challenge to bring up the state’s Devadasi Rehabilitation program.

READ Also: Elevate 100: Priyank Kharge says state’s women are breaking new ground in tech

Also Read: 8 Successful, Powerful and Inspirational Women from Bangalore

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