Madhubani collector, praised by Indira Gandhi, moves up the ladder to become Jharkhand chief secretary

TWENTY six years ago, young collector of Madhubani district of Bihar Ashok Kumar Singh was publicly applauded by none other than then Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi and then Congress general secretary Rajiv Gandhi for his outstanding work in flood control and relief work. Ashok Kumar Singh, a 1977 batch Jharkhand cadre IAS and current director general of the Srikrishna Administrative Training Institute (SATI), has been appointed as chief secretary of Jharkhand.

An MA in history from Patna University and also a gold medalist, Mr Singh is an Edward S Mason fellow and completed a degree from the Harvard University in 1992. Before selected into IAS, he first worked as a lecturer in Patna University between 1974 and 1976, and was selected for Indian Revenue Service (IRS) in 1976.

Major Postings

a) SDM, Jamui, Monghyr (1979-1981)

b) Deputy Development Commissioner- Bhagalpur (February 1981 to May 1983)

c) District Magistrate, Madhubani (1983 to May 1985)

d) District Magistrate, Gaya (May 1985 to September 1988)

e) Transport Commissioner

f) Special ADM, Law and Order I/C Bhagalpur Riots Control Task Force 1989

g) Managing Director, Bihar State Financial Corporation

h) Secretary, Forest and Environment, Jharkahnd

i) Secretary, Industries, Jharkhand

j) Secretary, Information Technology.

k) Member, Board of Revenue