Beyond Expectations: Tale of a Civil Servant in and out of Office

R.D. Pradhan joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in the erstwhile Bombay State in 1952.  In 1960 he joined Y.B. Chavan, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra as his Private Secretary. In 1965 he joined the Ministry of Commerce and handled several landmark negotiations.  In 1967 he was appointed as India’s Representative in Geneva to UNCTAD and GATT and later joined the UN.  In 1982 he was appointed the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra and in 1985 the Union Home Secretary.  In 1987 he became the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and also acted as Governor of Bihar.  He was awarded Padma Bhushan for distinguished Public Service in negotiating peace accords for the Punjab, Assam and Mizoram.  As an author he has to his credit books like Working with Rajiv Gandhi and Debacle to Revival-on Y.B. Chavan’s Tenure as the Defence Minister.  He has written several books in Marathi as well.  Currently settled down in Mumbai, he is Vice-chairman of the Nehru Center and a Trustee of the Y.B. Chavan Foundation.