10 things to know about new UPSC Member Smita Nagaraj

A WEEK after 1984 batch former Tamil Nadu cadre IAS Smita Nagaraj took over as Member, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), a government agency that recruits top civil servants of the country, the President of India has given his formal nod. A notification issued on Wednesday (6th December), reads as follows: “The President is pleased to appoint Ms. Smita Nagaraj as Member, Union Public Service Commission with effect from the forenoon of 1st December, 2017, for a period of six years or until she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier”. Here are the 10 things about Smita Nagaraj:

1. Smita Nagaraj who took over as Member, UPSC on December 1, 2017, will be with the Commission till September 21, 2023. 

2. She will work with chairman Prof David R Syiemlieh (who’s retiring on January 21, 2018, and members — Vinay Mittal, Arvind Saxena, Prof (Dr) Pradeep Kumar Joshi, Bhim Sain Bassi, Air Marshal AS Bhonsle (Retd), Sujata Mehta and Dr Manoj Soni.

3. As an IAS officer, she had an administrative career for 33 years both in the state of Tamil Nadu and at the Centre.

4. On her Central deputation, she had worked with the ministry of defence (1989-92), and was a director in DoPT (2000-2001) and cabinet secretariat (2001-2003).

5. Later, she was the joint secretary in the ministry of defence (2009-2014) — the period coinciding with the UPA-II.

6. Since January 2016 till recently, she was the Director General (Acquisition) under the ministry of defence. 

7. In the state, she served in a number of departments including energy, public health, water supply and sanitation, and was also the principal secretary and director in Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Tamil Nadu. 

8. She also undertook in-service training on Management Control Systems (IIM-Ahmedabad), Energy and development (TERI, New Delhi), basic course on WTO (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi).

9. Nagaraj is an MA in political science, and a diploma holder in mass communication. She also undertook an 18-day-long course on Change Management in UK (2005). 

10. Her mother tongue is Konkani, but she is well versed with a number of languages — English, French, Hindi, Marathi, Oriya and Tamil, according to records in DoPT.