New Delhi (22.05.2025): It is a dream that most aspire for but a few achieve. Officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) wish to serve as a Union Secretary in a department/ministry before calling it a day, but not everyone is fortunate enough to do so despite outstanding credentials, eligibility or competence. And then there are couples holding key positions in the government. Though there are a few Secretary-equivalent posts accorded (for a while) with the rank and pay of Secretary to the Govt of India.
At present, four such power couples hold secretary-level positions in the various ministries of the Government of India. Normally, except in a few cases, the couples belong to the same cadre. Of four such couples, two are from the Haryana cadre while the other two belong to AGMUT and Madhya Pradesh cadres.
Sukriti Likhi, a Haryana Cadre IAS officer (1993) serves as Chairperson of the National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention in the rank & pay of Secretary, Govt of India. Her husband Abhilash Likhi (1991) is Secretary in the Department of Fisheries.
Another couple from the Haryana cadre is Deepti Umashankar (1993) who serves as Secretary in the President’s Secretariat in the rank & pay of Secretary (GoI) while her husband V Umashankar (1993) is Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Similarly, An AGMUT Cadre IAS officer Debashree Mukherjee (1991) who recently signed the document to keep the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan in abeyance, serves as Secretary in the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. Her husband Amit Yadav (1991) is Secretary in the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
The fourth power couple is from Madhya Pradesh Cadre. Neelam Shammi Rao (1992) is serving as Secretary, Ministry of Textiles and her husband V L Kantha Rao (1992) is Secretary, Ministry of Mines.
Next month, another power couple from Madhya Pradesh cadre is set to join the tribe. Pallavi Jain Govil (1994) shall be taking over from Meeta R Lochan as Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs. Her husband Manoj Govil (1991) who till recently served as Secretary, Department of Expenditure (Ministry of Finance) has recently taken over as Secretary (Coordination) in the Cabinet Secretariat.
The appointment of couples as Secretaries in various ministries in Govt of India is significant given that various factors are taken into consideration, including performance and key competencies among a horde of other factors. It surely captures the imagination of all and sundry and, in a lighter note, sometimes a family’s pride becomes peers’ envy.
(By Rakesh Ranjan)
