The Mavericks of Mussoorie: Life in the Corridors of Power

M Ramachandran, Ph. D. and M. Phil. in economic planning from University of Glasgow, UK, is Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India.  Member of the Indian Administrative Service since 1972, Dr. Ramachandran has handled several national and international assignments.  He was First National Officer selected to be on deputation to United Nations Development Programme, India during 1986-1992.He was Principal Secretary, School Education in Uttranchal and Pricncipal Secretary to the Chief Minister before elevating to the position of Chief Secretary.  He was identified as the “Infrastructure Man” in the State of Uttaranchal where he took several new initiatives covering public-private partnership projects.  As Secretary, MoUD, since November 2006, he is steering the implementation of JNNURM.  He is a recipient of Skoch Challenger Award recognizing his contribution to urban development and JNNURM.