Meet Sarada Muraleedharan, IAS Succeeds Her Husband As Kerala's Chief Secretary

In a first for Kerala, an IAS officer husband is handing over his position as Chief Secretary to his wife. IAS Sarada Muraleedharan who worked as Additional Chief Secretary has now succeeded her husband V Venu who retired on August 31. Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, pointed out this occurrence in the state of Kerala during his presence in the farewell organised for the exit of V Venu. 

As per the reports, the Chief Minister said that he has seen many government officers who are couples succeeding each other in other states. He also said that he has seen couples heading departments and becoming Chief Secretaries at different times. "However, this is the first time in the history of Kerala that the post of Chief Secretary has been handed over by the husband to his wife," Vijayan said. 

Muraleedharan-Venu: The IAS Couple

Speaking about this rare occurrence in the state's bureaucratic history Muraleedharan said that she was feeling odd in bidding adieu to her husband. She added that she and her husband worked together for 34 years and she never had the thought that he would retire before her. She added, "Now I am a bit anxious as I have to continue in service for another eight months after his retirement." Muraleedharan, from Thiruvananthapuram, and Venu, originally a doctor from Kozhikode, are from the IAS 1990 batch.

They first met during their training in Mussoorie. “We didn’t know each other before that. We travelled together to the academy (in Mussoorie) and it started from there," Muraleedharan told the Indian Express. They have two children — Kalyani, a contemporary dancer, and Sabari, a graphic designer. “In 1994, when Kalyani was born, I exhausted my maternity leave (of eight weeks). Venu then took over childcare. Paternity leave was unheard of then,” Muraleedharan told the outlet.

Despite having their distinct working styles, Venu and Muraleedharan often discussed their work with each other and “learned from each other’s unadulterated, honest perspective”. She said, “If something needs to be done, we do discuss quite a lot with each other and strategise. It’s something we have done throughout our careers.” Venu added, “We sorted out each of our differences like any two colleagues would, through discussions and negotiations."

Now, as Muraleedharan takes on a role previously held by Venu, she promises to bring her unique perspective to the table. "When he comes across a problem, he solves it immediately. But if I come across one, I keep working on it. I prefer to get to the core of an issue, which means my solutions are long-term,” she said.

Looking back at Muraleedharan's career

Sarada Muraleedharan works in the government's development sector focussed on women's empowerment, poverty reduction, and social justice. She finished her education at Holy Angels Convent School and began her career by heading the Kudumbashree Mission of the Government of Kerala from 2006 to 2012. In 2013, she worked as Chief Operating Officer at the National Rural Livelihoods Mission of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. 

From 2014 to 2016, Muraleedharan led the post of Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. She was responsible for developing ideas and implementing GPDP (the Gram Panchayat Development Plans). In 2016, Muraleedharan became Director General of NIFT (the National Institute of Fashion Technology). She served in the position for two and a half years and was responsible for changing the curriculum and headed strategic plans for the development of the institute. 

Apart from these highlights from her career, she also worked as a District Collector, in Trivandrum, Kerala and as Director Scheduled Caste Development. She served in the position of Commissioner of Rural Development and the Director of Collegiate Education. She headed the Modernising Government Programme as the director. Lastly, she also worked as the Secretary of Government in Kerala for Current Affairs and then social welfare.