THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior bureaucrat V P Joy on Sunday took charge as the Chief Secretary of Kerala, replacing Vishwas Mehta who retired on the same day.
Joy, a 1987 batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre, was Officer on Special Duty in the rank of Additional Chief Secretary before being selected as the chief secretary of Kerala.
Joy who was also serving as the Secretary, Coordination, Central Secretariat, was repatriated to the State after his Central deputation.
Mehta handed over charge to Joy in the presence of senior officials of the State government at the secretariat here.
Joy became the 47th Chief Secretary of the State after Mehta retired from the service.
Joy who has tenure till June 30, 2023 is an author and recipient of S K Pottekkatt award for his work ‘Nimisha Jalakam’.