Nilam Sawhney becomes the first woman Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh

Senior IAS officer Nilam Sawhney, on Wednesday, was appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh. An order was issued by the General Administration Department to this effect.

The latest appointment makes Nilam Sawhney the first woman Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation. She takes over the reins from Neerabh Kumar Prasad, who was holding the additional charge after the transfer of previous Chief Secretary LV Subramanyam.

It may be noted that Nilam Sawhney had met Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy soon after Mr. Subramanyam’s transfer, giving indications of the latest move.

The 1984-batch IAS officer, who was deputed as the Social Justice and Empowerment Secretary in Delhi, recently returned to her cadre state Andhra Pradesh, following the request by the state government.

Nilam Sawhney’s husband, Ajay Sawhney, too is an IAS officer and serves as Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Sawhney’s predecessor, LV Subramanyam, was appointed as the Director-General of Andhra Pradesh Human Resources Development Institute. The 1983 batch IAS officer, who had taken over as the Chief Secretary of Andhra before the Assembly elections, was transferred to Bapatla following a spat with Political Principal Secretary of the General Administration Department Praveen Prakash.