Mrutyunjay Sarangi, one of 3 Sarangi IAS of 1977 batch, appointed as labour secretary

Mrutyunjay Sarangi, a 1977 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS with a PhD degree from US on demography, has bee appointed as India’s new labour secretary. Current secretary in the ministry of labour and employment PC Chaturvedi, a 1975 batch IAS, is retiring on August 31. Sarangi is currently working as a special secretary in the Cabinet secretariat.

An LLB and MA in political science Sarangi hails from Orissa. Joining as an assistant collector in the state in 1978, Sarangi was collector in Kancheepuram district. In 1990, he first joined the Centre on deputation. During the era of liberalization in early 1990s, Sarangi was a director in the ministry of power in New Delhi.

Significantly, three Sarangis, all hailing from Orissa, joined IAS in 1977. While Maharashtra’s additional chief secretary (home) and 1977 batch IAS Umesh Chandra Sarangi has recently hogged the limelight because of his engagement in back-channel talks with Anna Hazare, Tamil Nadu chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi is also Mrutyunjay Sarangi’s batch-mate.

Mrutyunjay Sarangi was with the Election Commission of India, particularly in delimitation commission, before joining as an additional secretary in the cabinet secretariat in July 2008.
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Call it an Anna effect. A few young IAS officers in Andhra Pradesh have begun a unique method to fight corruption. Calling themselves “The Invisible Crusaders”, these IAS officers give leads about corrupt employees to the state’s anti-corruption bureau, according to a local media report. Rather than taking disciplinary action against a corrupt employee, they collect a lot more evidence and hand those over to the right authority so that legal action can be taken against him.

Action and Appointments

a) R Ramanujam, a 1979 batch MP cadre IAS, presently in the cadre, has been appointed as additional secretary to the Prime Minister with effect from September 1, 2011.