Senior IAS officer Praveen Prakash (IAS:1994:AP) has made a sensational decision to opt for voluntary retirement (VRS) from the Indian Administrative Service and without any delay, the Andhra Pradesh government has approved his request. This news quickly spread through the power corridors, shocking many. Nobody had imagined that someone who was once one of the state’s most powerful bureaucrats would depart in this manner. With the government’s approval, Praveen Prakash will retire voluntarily on September 30.
Praveen Prakash is known as a forward-looking and proactive civil servant who always led by example. He was considered a close aide of former CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. When Jagan became Chief Minister in May 2019, Praveen was brought back from central deputation to Andhra Pradesh and appointed as Principal Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office. He was also given additional charge of Principal Secretary (Political) in the General Administration Department. Subsequently, he served as the Principal Secretary for School Education in Jagan’s government.
However, after the Andhra Pradesh elections, the political landscape shifted drastically. The newly formed government under the leadership of Chandrababu Naidu reshuffled and reassigned new responsibilities to bureaucrats, except for three IAS officers close to YS Jagan: Y Srilakshmi (IAS:1988:AP), Rajat Bhargava (IAS:1990:AP) and Praveen Prakash (IAS:1994:AP). These officers were transferred to the General Administration Department and left without new positions.
During his tenure at the Centre as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource Development and later in the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Praveen Prakash was considered one of the most promising bureaucrats.
