Contrary to what parents advise their children about the need to top classes to be successful, an unassuming and no-nonsense bureaucrat has claimed that it takes more than just high grades in school to have the last laugh.
Meet P Manivannan, managing director of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, an IAS officer who is inferred as being more straightforward than a bookworm. “I was a consistent topper at school. My percentage in college was only 72. You need not be a topper to get into the IAS,” clarifies the 39-year-old.
But does scoring high grades in school assure a better chance at the UPSC exams? No way, says Manivannan. “The UPSC exams test your tenacity. It’s a tedious process. One needs to have a lot of stamina and determination to sail through”. A firm believer in transparency, he has installed glass doors in his office to ensure that nothing is hush hush.
After finishing his schooling in Srirangam in 1990, Manivannan pursued a BTech in chemical engineering from Regional Engineering College (now National Institute of Technology), Tiruchy, in 1994 before appearing for the UPSC exam the same year and again in 1998. His father’s motivation egged him to join the IAS. “He always wanted me to become a civil servant and I was tempted by the opportunity to bring a major change in society,” he claims. He cleared the exams in his second attempt after passing the prelims the first time without any serious preparation — he was working at a steel plant at that time and didn’t give the competitive exam much thought.
Manivannan was ranked 57 and his first posting was at Tumkur, Karnataka, as assistant commissioner in 2000. He considers working under his immediate superior Jayarama Raje Urs a great fortune. “The deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners you meet in your career are very important. They are influential people and you have a lot to learn from them,” he shares. Manivannan also opines that your first posting is mostly about touring and learning from real life.
After his stint in Tumkur, he worked with Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for a year before moving on to work with the then chief minister of Karnataka, SM Krishna, as his deputy secretary between 2003-2004. “After that, I was posted as municipal commissioner of Hubli-Dharwad in 2004. There I learnt that, if autonomy is given to an officer, he can bring about many changes,” he shares.
He then went on to become the deputy commissioner of Mysore between 2008-’10. He was much loved by the people there for his disciplined approach to administration and swift actions. He was responsible for dividing the city into nine zones and appointing specialists to look after each zone’s welfare. In fact, there are still requests from the people of Mysore to take up his old job.
Quizzed about his greatest feat so far, Manivannan quips, “I won’t term them achievements. I managed to get a good team change the way the administration functioned. It was all because we dared to dream.” He credits the peaceful elections in Mysore in 2009 and a successful Talakad Panchalinga Mahotsava in the same year, to a concerted team effort.
Despite his gruelling schedules, the officer sets apart some time every week to mentor UPSC aspirants.
— avinash.bhat@newindianexpress.com