PATNA: Senior IAS officer and additional chief secretary of state education department, Dr S Siddharth, has opted for voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). He is likely to contest Bihar assembly election from one of the seats in Nawada district on a JD (U) ticket. He is scheduled to retire on November 30, 2025.
According to sources, Tamil Nadu-native Siddharth had submitted his VRS application to the government on July 17, 2025. The final decision is yet to be made as his application is awaiting formal approval from the chief minister's office. Siddharth also holds the post of principal secretary to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
During his stint in the education department, he took several reformative steps like establishing Model Schools, teacher training and online redressal of grievances. He, however, courted some controversy for his policy for transfer of teachers and other tough policies.
"A final decision on the matter is to be taken by the Chief Minister. The 1991-batch IAS officer has cited personal reasons for opting VRS,” a source in CM secretariat said.
Another IAS officer Dinesh Kumar Rai opted VRS recently. He is likely to contest elections from Kargahar in Rohtas district on the ticket of JD(U). Rai’s VRS was accepted by the state government, and a notification was issued on July 14.