Ravichandra to Head Andhra Pradesh CMO

Hyderabad: Chief Minister-designate N. Chandrababu Naidu has set the CMO in place before taking oath on Wednesday.

Senior bureaucrat M. Ravichandra will be appointed as principal secretary to the Chief Minister and will head the CMO. The 1996 batch officer is known for his hard work and integrity. His friendly approach towards colleagues and politicians caught the attention of Naidu, sources said, adding that these were the traits of Naidu’s former principal secretary S.V. Prasad that made him the most successful CMO head.

Ravichandra served as Rangareddy joint-collector in 2003 during which time he took steps to protect government land worth hundreds of crores of rupees. He also worked as a collector of East Godavari and Nellore and oversaw the crucial procurement of medicines and their distribution during the worst pandemic of COVID-19 as health secretary.

The 2009 batch officer Karthikeya Mishra will be appointed secretary to the Chief Minister. He handled industries in Naidu’s previous stint between 2014 and 2019. Mishra played a crucial role in holding discussions with investors and international financial agencies and succeeded in clinching a few projects. He is on deputation to the Centre and will join the CMO.

Uttar Pradesh cadre 2003 batch officer Adusumalli Raja Mouli will also be appointed as secretary to the Chief Minister, a post he held between 2015 and 2019. Known for his hard work and integrity, Raja Mouli had to wait without posting in the early days of former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure and joined the parent cadre of UP.

With regard to the Chief Secretary, sources said Naidu may continue the incumbent Neerab Kumar Prasad who is due for retirement this month-end. Though it was rumoured that two bureaucrats, P. Sai Prasad, who served under Naidu in the CMO earlier, and Ajay Jain, aspired for the top post, Naidu was said to have been hurt by their actions during the Jagan Mohan Reddy regime which included a confession made by Jain before a magistrate against the TD supremo which eventually led to his arrest.

“Neerab Kumar Prasad may be continued for another six months by which time the Chief Minister will get a better idea on who the next Chief Secretary could be,” sources added.