DG Shipping, Lakshmi Venkatachalam appointed as ADB vice-president for 3 years

DIRECTOR General of Shipping and 1978 batch Karnataka cadre IAS Lakshmi Venkatachalam has been appointed as vice-president of Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB).

An additional secretary level officer with triple masters degree in economics, English literature and business administration (Boston University), Ms Venkatachalam will be the ABD Vice-President handling private sector and co-financing operations for a term of three years. The senior IAS who has over 30 years of experience in public life will handle some important issues as ADB plans to scale up private sector operations and co-financing partnerships under the bank’s long-term strategy 2020 framework.

Some of her recent posts include Commissioner, Bangalore Development Authority, and Managing Director of the State Cooperative Marketing Federation, in Karnataka, as also Director in the Ministry of Steel, Government of India. She was also the chairperson of the Coffee Board of India in 2000-2005 when she represented India at the International Coffee Organization London, and she chaired that council in 2001-2002.

Some of her prominent batch-mates include Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav and PPP man and additional secretary in rural development ministry, Arvind Mayaram.