Assam’s Varnali Deka becomes first woman IAS officer from state to be empanelled as Joint Secretary

Dr Varnali Deka has become the first woman IAS officer from Assam to be empanelled for appointment as Joint Secretary to the Government of India.

Deka was serving as Commissioner and Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD), in Assam before proceeding on deputation to the Centre in August last year.

During her career in Assam, Deka has served as Deputy Commissioner in five districts — Barpeta, Golaghat, Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Nalbari. She has also held several key positions, including Vice Chairman and CEO of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, Managing Director of the Assam Skill Development Mission and Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission, and Executive Director of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

She has served as Secretary, Health; Secretary, Urban Development; Secretary, Bodoland Territorial Council; and Secretary, Skill, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development. She has also served as Director of the Assam and Bodoland Administrative Staff College.

Before joining the civil services, Deka worked in the corporate sector with Tata Consultancy Services' Global Consulting Practice and ANZ Bank as a business analyst and engineer.

She qualified for the UPSC with Rank 82 for the IPS and subsequently secured Rank 16 for the IAS.

Deka holds a BTech in Computer Science, an MBA in Systems and Operations with a minor in Finance, an LLB and a PhD in Commerce. She is an alumna of Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, St Mary's School, Guwahati, RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, and IIT Bombay.

She was the state topper in the HSLC examination and an NTSE scholar. She is also a Visharad in Indian classical music.

Deka has received several recognitions for her work in public administration, including the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Service for innovation in an aspirational district and the National e-Governance Award twice.

She has also received the National Water Award twice for innovations in water management, the Best DEO Award from the Election Commission of India for innovative practices in election management and the Chief Minister's Karmashree award.

Her initiatives have been recognised by the United Nations Development Programme, NITI Aayog and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and have been recommended as replicable best practices.

Her initiative on One District One Product (ODOP) in Kokrajhar was selected by the Capacity Building Commission under its Innovations in Public Administration programme for submission to the Prime Minister's Public Human Resources Council.

Her work on Jan Bhagidari in Poshan Kokrajhar has also been developed into a case study in the Amrit Gyan Kosh/iGOT Karmayogi platform.

Deka is also the recipient of the L.V. Reddy Memorial Award for Best Officer Trainee (North-East) for the 2009 batch at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.