Rajeev Ranjan takes over as Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu

Ranjan succeeds K Shanmugam, whose second extension in service ended on Sunday

Seasoned bureaucrat Rajeev Ranjan on Monday took over as Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, succeeding K Shanmugam whose second extension in service ended on Sunday.

Ranjan, a 1985-batch IAS officer, was repatriated to his parent cadre of Tamil Nadu by the Centre on the request of the state government. The seasoned bureaucrat assumed charge on Monday morning at Fort St. George, the seat of power of the Tamil Nadu government.

Ranjan began his career as sub-collector in Tiruvannamalai (1987-89), and later became the collector of the district in 1995. Later, he worked with the Centre for a few years before returning to his parent cadre. He had worked as Principal Secretary and later as Additional Chief Secretary (Highways) when Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami was the Highways Minister.

In 2018, he went back to Delhi and was serving as Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, till he was repatriated to his parent cadre last week.

Shanmugam, who retired on Sunday, has been appointed as adviser to the state government for a period of one year.