India’s 1st woman IAS officer passes away in Mumbai at 91

MUMBAI: India’s first woman

IAS officer

post-Independence,

Anna Rajam Malhotra

, died at her

Andheri residence

on Monday. She was 91.


Born in July 1927 in Kerala’s Ernakulum district, she shifted to Chennai after her schooling in Kozhikode to pursue higher education at the University of Madras. She joined the civil services in 1951 and opted for the

Madras cadre

. She then served in the Madras state under chief minister C Rajagopalachari.

She married R N Malhotra, who served as Reserve Bank of India governor from 1985 to 1990. She is also known for her contribution in setting up Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust . She was the chairperson of the JNPT during the execution and was given the task of JNPT as a part of her deputation in the Central government.

In 1989, she was honoured with the Padma Bhushan.

Malhotra had worked under seven chief ministers of Tamil Nadu. She had worked closely with Rajiv Gandhi when he was in charge of the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. She had served in the personnel section of the Union home ministry during her central services, her family said.

Post retirement, Malhotra was serving as a director of Hotel Leela Venture Ltd.