Kerala government appoints Tom Jose as Chief Secretary

The decision comes in the wake of the sitting Chief Secretary Paul Antony retiring on June 30.
Kerala government appoints Tom Jose as Chief Secretary
Kerala government appoints Tom Jose as Chief Secretary
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The Kerala government on Tuesday decided to appoint IAS officer Tom Jose as the new Chief Secretary of the state.

The decision to appoint him to the post was taken in a cabinet meeting that was held in Thiruvananthapuram, which was chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The decision comes in the wake of the sitting Chief Secretary Paul Antony retiring on June 30.

Tom Jose is currently the Additional Chief Secretary of Labour and Skills, Water Resources and Taxes (Excise only) department. Prior to this, he was posted as the Managing Director of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd.

Tom Jose is a 1984 batch IAS officer who is set to retire from service in 2020.

While Aruna Sunderraj, AK Dubey and Anand Kumar are the senior-most IAS officers in the Kerala cadre, Tom Jose was elevated to the post since the others have been sent on central deputation.

Teeka Ram Meena, currently serving as Principal Secretary & Chief Electoral Officer in the Department of Election, will replace Tom Jose.

Other decisions taken at the cabinet meeting include giving additional charge of tax (Excise) to Additional Chief Secretary Subrata Biswas.

Earlier in April 2017, 1981 batch IAS officer Nalini Netto, who had been serving as the Additional Chief Secretary of Home and Vigilance and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, was elevated to the post of Chief Secretary. Nalini Netto retired four months later in August, after which KM Abraham replaced her. Paul Antony, a 1983 batch IAS officer, replaced Abraham in December of the same year after the latter retired from service.

In 2017, allegations of disproportionate assets were raised against Tom Jose. However, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) gave a clean chit to him in the case.

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