Guwahati: Dr Varnali Deka has become the first woman IAS officer from Assam to be empanelled for appointment as Joint Secretary to the Government of India.
Deka was serving as Commissioner and Secretary of Assam’s General Administration Department (GAD) before proceeding on deputation to the Centre in August last year.
During her career in the Assam administration, Deka has served as Deputy Commissioner in five districts -Barpeta, Golaghat, Goalpara, Kokrajhar, and Nalbari. She has also held several senior positions, including Vice Chairman and CEO of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority, Managing Director of the Assam Skill Development Mission and Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission, and Executive Director of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
She has served as Secretary of Health, Urban Development, the Bodoland Territorial Council, and Skill, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development. She has also headed the Assam and Bodoland Administrative Staff College as Director.
Before entering the civil services, Deka worked in the corporate sector with Tata Consultancy Services’ Global Consulting Practice and ANZ Bank, where she served as a business analyst and engineer.
Deka initially qualified for the UPSC with Rank 82 for the Indian Police Service before securing Rank 16 for the Indian Administrative Service.
An accomplished academic, Deka holds a BTech in Computer Science, an MBA in Systems and Operations with a minor in Finance, an LLB and a PhD in Commerce. She studied at Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, St Mary’s School in Guwahati, RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru and IIT Bombay.
She was the state topper in the HSLC examination and an NTSE scholar. She has also completed Visharad in Indian classical music.
Deka has received several awards and recognitions for her contributions to public administration. These include the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Service for innovation in an aspirational district and the National e-Governance Award on two occasions.
She has also won the National Water Award twice for innovations in water management, along with the Election Commission of India’s Best DEO Award for innovative election management practices and the Chief Minister’s Karmashree Award.
Several of her administrative initiatives have received recognition from organisations including the United Nations Development Programme, NITI Aayog, and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Some of these initiatives have also been identified as best practices with potential for replication.
Her One District One Product (ODOP) initiative in Kokrajhar was selected by the Capacity Building Commission under its Innovations in Public Administration programme for submission to the Prime Minister’s Public Human Resources Council.
Her work on Jan Bhagidari in Poshan Kokrajhar has also been developed into a case study for the Amrit Gyan Kosh/iGOT Karmayogi platform.
Deka is additionally the recipient of the L.V. Reddy Memorial Award for Best Officer Trainee (North-East) for the 2009 batch at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.