THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government has appointed Dr A Jayathilak as the 50th Chief Secretary of Kerala. The 1991 batch IAS officer, currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary (finance), will succeed incumbent Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan who retires on April 30.
Manoj Joshi, the senior most Kerala cadre IAS officer of the 1989 batch, was among the probables for the state’s top bureaucratic post. However, Jayathilak was picked as Manoj continued on central deputation. Another 1991 batch officer, Raju Narayana Swamy, is yet to get the Chief Secretary grade.
A doctor and former quiz champion, Thiruvananthapuram native Jayathilak is a multifaceted personality. Having passed out of Thiruvananthapuram Medical College in 1990, he started his bureaucratic career as the Mananthavady sub-collector and went to hold different posts later. As the district collector of Kollam and Kozhikode, Jayathilak launched notable initiatives such as a career guidance programme for school students. The collector’s participation in programmes in different schools was appreciated by all.
Jayathilak, along with tourism secretary Amitabh Kant and director V Venu, is also credited with taking brand ‘Kerala Tourism’ to greater heights. The experience helped him in securing a deputation to Chhattisgarh, then a new state, where he served as the maiden managing director of Chhattisgarh tourism board. In two years, Jayathilak was able to successfully brand and market Chhattisgarh internationally.
As a student, Jayathilak won several quiz competitions in school and college. He consecutively bagged the first prize in the state-level wildlife quiz competitions organised for college students by the forests and wildlife department.
Jayathilak’s elevation to the top post comes amid a power struggle in the bureaucratic circle following the allegations levelled by IAS officer N Prasanth. Set to retire in June 2026, Jayathilak will have a longer tenure than Sarada, who held the Chief Secretary office for seven months after taking over from her husband Dr V Venu in September 2024.