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, marking a significant milestone in her administrative career.
Deka, an Assam cadre IAS officer, was serving as Commissioner and Secretary of the General Administration Department (GAD) before proceeding on deputation to the Centre in August last year.
During her tenure in Assam, Deka served as Deputy Commissioner in five districts — Barpeta, Golaghat, Goalpara, Kokrajhar and Nalbari. She also held several important 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 in the Health and Urban Development departments, Secretary of the Bodoland Territorial Council, and Secretary for Skill, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development. She also served as Director of the Assam and Bodoland Administrative Staff College.
Before entering the civil services, Deka worked in the corporate sector with Tata Consultancy Services’ Global Consulting Practice and ANZ Bank as a business analyst and engineer.
She first qualified for the UPSC with Rank 82 for the IPS before securing Rank 16 for the IAS.
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 is an alumna of Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram, St Mary’s School, Guwahati, RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, and IIT Bombay.
She was the state topper in the HSLC examination and an NTSE scholar. She is also a Visharad in Indian classical music.
Deka has received several prestigious recognitions for her contributions to public administration, including the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Service for innovation in an aspirational district and the National e-Governance Award twice.
She has also received the National Water Award twice for innovations in water management, the Election Commission of India’s Best DEO Award for innovative election management practices and the Chief Minister’s Karmashree Award.
Several of her initiatives have received recognition from organisations and institutions including the United Nations Development Programme, NITI Aayog and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Some of her initiatives have also been recommended as replicable best practices.
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 on the Amrit Gyan Kosh/iGOT Karmayogi platform.
Deka is also 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.