THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A man with natural connect with people, good command of law and the conviction to use it for the good of people. That was P H Kurian, former additional chief secretary who passed away on Wednesday. He was 67. His most defining moment came in 2012 when he served as controller general of patents.
Bayer, the German pharmaceutical giant, was selling its cancer drug Nexavar at over Rs 2.8 lakh for a month’s dose. The medicine was out of reach for a majority of patients.
It was then that Natco Pharma sought a compulsory licence for a generic version. It offered to sell the drug at Rs 8,800 a month. After an 18-hour hearing over three days, Kurian wrote a 62-page order in Natco’s favour. It became India’s first compulsory licence that drew global attention. An irked US placed India on its Priority Watch List over the ruling.
The instinct to put people ahead of procedure ran throughout Kurian’s career. As revenue secretary, he led relief efforts during the 2018 floods. As IT secretary, he laid foundations of Keralam’s startup ecosystem and drove investments to the state. The first chairman of Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority, he built the institution from scratch.
“He was a textbook example of how an IAS officer ought to perform his duties. He was thorough with rules and always interpreted them in a way that benefited the common man,” said Dr V Venu, former chief secretary and longtime colleague. “He was open and transparent with everyone, from commoners to coworkers and businessmen. That gave him an insight other officers rarely get.” Chief Minister V D Satheesan described him a civil servant who used power for people’s welfare.
A 1986-batch civil servant, Kurian came from an agrarian family in Kottayam. He is survived by wife Usha, sons Godly and Henry, daughters-in-law Sneha and Jomi, and grandson Kurian. The funeral will be held on Saturday at St Thomas Orthodox Church, South Pampady, Kottayam.
