Mumbai: The first woman IAS officer in a post-independent India, Anna Rajam Malhotra, passed away on Monday at her Andheri residence in Mumbai. She was 91.
Born in July 1927 in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, Anna Rajam Malhotra moved to Chennai after her schooling in Kozhikode. She went on to pursue her higher studies at the University of Madras. Later in 1951, Malhotra joined the civil services. Opting for the Madras cadre, she served under the then chief minister C Rajagopalachari.
She later married R N Malhotra, who was the governor of Reserve Bank of India from 1985 to 1990. She is also known for successfully executing the setting up of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust as the chairperson. The task of JNPT was given to her as a part of her deputation in the Central government.
In 1989, she received the honourable Padma Bhushan award.
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.
