There are many great personalities in the world and even though each one of them are unique in their achievements, they still have something in common, they are diligent, dedicated, and humble. Dr. V. Irai Anbu, an IAS officer, is one such personality. Supportive, hardworking, and dedicated, he is also a multi-talented person who has given many motivational and persuasive speeches for youngsters to gain confidence in themselves and has written many books. He has served many esteemed positions in the Tamilnadu government for over 30 years and currently at the age of about 58, he has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Tamilnadu. His life and his journey towards this success is an inspiration and motivation for all of us.
Birth and Childhood :
Officer Irai Anbu was born on September 16, 1963 in a small village named Kattoor, located in Salem, Tamil nadu. He was born to Venkatachalam (Father) and Baby Saroja (Mother), who always encouraged him to study and learn as there were no barriers to learning. He also has an elder brother named Thirupugazh, who is also an IAS officer working in Gujarat and is remembered for his remarkable work during the Gujarat earthquake. He completed his fundamental education in a nearby higher secondary school.
Higher education and career :
After his basic education, V. Irai Anbu joined the renowned ‘ Tamilnadu Agriculture University ‘and pursued Agriculture there. In 1984, he completed his B.sc Agriculture degree and was the university topper. Later , he completed other degrees and higher studies such as : M.B.A , M.A ( English ), M.A ( Labour Management ), M.Sc ( Psychology ), Ph.d ( Business Administration ), Ph.d ( English ), Post Doctorate (Management ), M.Sc ( Sanskrit ), Hindi ( Preveen ), Sanskrit ( Govidaha ) and has pursued his second Ph.d in Comparative Literature.
After completing his B.sc in Agriculture, he started his career as an Agriculture officer in Rayakottai, Denkanikottai, and Krishnagiri. After his civil service examination, he got into the Indian Revenue service and trained as an Income Tax Assistant Commissioner. In the 1985 civil services examination, he was ranked 15th in the All India level and 1st place in Tamilnadu. After that, he served as the Chairman of the Tamilnadu tourism and cultures department.
After training in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Administrative Academy, He became the Deputy collector for the Nagapattinam district in 1990. During this time, he visited a small fishing hamlet near Villupuram and desired to turn that village into a model village. There was a lack of cooperation, but he later convinced the people of the hamlet and initiated the process of converting the bamboo houses into concrete houses and building concrete roads. He also set up a high school and set up a huge library with many books, stressing the importance of books and literature, which has always been his ideal choice of improving knowledge. Grateful and pleased with his contribution, the people of the village converted the name of the hamlet from “Mudaliar Kuppam”‘ to “V. Irai Meenavar Kudiyiruppu”.
Later when the tsunami hit, the village was wrecked thoroughly. But officer Irai Anbu came to the rescue of the village once again. He re-built the village including all the houses and buildings. He also installed many other facilities such as streetlights, Drinking water, etc. He also tried to terminate the smuggling of Silica sand which was being transported without legal documents. He also seized lorries that were transporting them. He also did numerous night patrols to stop this illegal activity.
Later he was made the additional collector of Cuddalore. He did many remarkable things while working there. He provided training programs for the inmates of the Cuddalore central prison on various employment skills so that they would not get involved in any illegal activities henceforth. He also introduced teak and cashew plantations in South Arcot district.
He served as the coordinator at the world Tamil conference in Thanjavur from 1st January 1995 to 5th January 1995. Later, from 1997 to 1999, he served as the District collector for the Kancheepuram district. During this period of time, he organized moonlight schools for children above 14 years who worked in the silk looms. Some of the children who have studied in the moonlight schools have even done post-graduation in many areas and nearly 30 people are into government jobs now. He also conducted a survey regarding child labor with financial assistance from UNICEF. He took an active part in exterminating child labor by conducting surprise raids.
Later he also served many other positions such as Additional Secretary, Secretary of the information and Tourism department, Secretary of Tourism and Cultural department, Secretary of the Environment and Forest department, Principal Secretary of the Personnel and Administrative Department, Principal Secretary/Commissioner of Economics and Statistics and the Principal Secretary/Director of the Entrepreneur Development and Innovation institute.
When he was serving as the Director at Anna institute of Management, he constructed the civil services coaching institute on greenways road. Later in 2004, Mudaliarkuppam was renovated by him as told above. On 1st March 2019, he became the secretary of Anna institute of Management. He also donated 2 lakh rupees to the Mylapore Adi Dravidar welfare hostel.
On 7th May 2021, Dr. V. Irai Anbu was appointed as the Chief Secretary of Tamilnadu by the newly elected Chief Minister, MK Stalin.
Personal contribution :
Has donated many books for school and village libraries.
His book on civil service exam preparation has motivated many students and all of them have succeeded in the exams.
Special programs for educating auto drivers regarding character development and the minuses of alcohol are conducted by him with the support of the Annamalai university alumni association.
He has authored 102 books in both languages: Tamil and Hindi. The genres of his books range from facts to fiction.
He contributed a special program called “ kalloori kaalangal '' on Podhigai TV. This is mainly to shape college students to lead meaningful lives.
He has personally guided 100 aspirants who have been successful in passing the civil services examination.
Nearly 50 people have done their doctorate with the guidance of his works.
He has contributed so much for the moonlight schools and the Adyar cancer hospital apart from continually supporting these noble causes.
He personally does counseling for people who come to him for their own concerns and problems.
Awards Received :
Best collector award for small savings collection in 1998
Award for flag day collection in 1998 and 1999
State Government award for best poetry collection for ‘ Vaikkal Meengal ‘ in 1996.
Best novel award for ‘ Aathangara Oram ‘ by Thirupur Tamil Sangam in 1998.
Best collection of essays by the state bank of India in 1998 and 2003 ( for the books
‘ IAS thervum , anugu muraiyum and ezham arivu ‘)
Best book award by Thirupur Tamil Sangam for the book ‘ pathayeram mile payanam ‘ in 2012
Won first place for the article submitted in the international conference held in the US on thirukkural ( 2005 ).
Won first place for the article submitted in the international conference held in Washington DC on ‘ Purananooru ‘in 2011.
Won the literary award for his book ‘ Ilakkiyathil Melanmai ‘ given by Dina thanthi as the best book in 2017 and received the award from the hands of the honorable prime minister Shri. Narendra Modi.
Books written by him : Ilakkiyathil Melanmai, Padipathu sugame, Sirpangalai sidhaikalama, Aathangarai oram, IAS thervum anugumuraiyum, Pani Panpadu. Sagavaram, Vaikkal Meengal, Narippal, Simhasana Secret, Steps to super student, Dhroga chuvadugal, Ezhavathu arivu Part - 1, Part - 2 & Part - 3 and many other books.
So the journey of how an IAS officer, from being an agriculture officer, became Tamilnadu’s chief secretary is an inspiration to all those outside who wish to achieve great things in life. Dr. V. Irai Anbu did many great things while serving the IAS position, which will leave us impressed and astounded. The fact remains that a person who is hardworking, passionate, and determined can reach great heights in life. So let’s take Dr. V. Irai Anbu as an example and work towards leading a meaningful and successful life.
