Government of Kerala Archives

Renu Raj

Dr. Renu Raj is a medical doctor and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, currently serving as Director of the Scheduled Tribes Development Department, Government of Kerala. She has held key roles, including District Collector of Wayanad, Ernakulam, and Alappuzha, as well as Director of Kerala’s Urban Development Department. Her work spans governance, development, and public health, with a focus on welfare programs for over 3,300 tribal settlements, implementing the Aspirational Districts Program, urban infrastructure projects under AMRUT, and managing COVID-19 responses effectively.

Dr. Raj earned her MBBS degree from Government Medical College, Kottayam, and an MA in Public Management from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has also completed leadership and governance training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, which honed her administrative capabilities.

Recognized for her outstanding contributions to governance, Dr. Raj has received several honors, including a Good Service Entry from NITI Aayog and the GFiles Governance Award. She was ranked second in the 2015 UPSC Civil Services Examination and featured in India Today’s prestigious List of Doers and Makers, highlighting her impactful career.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow, Dr. Raj is pursuing a Master’s in Public Health. She seeks to combine her expertise in public administration and medicine to strengthen global healthcare systems, bridge public health and policy gaps, and improve healthcare access worldwide.

Mir Mohammed Ali

Mr. Mir Mohammed Ali holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in political science. He was selected to the Indian Administrative Service in 2011 and assigned to the Kerala cadre.

Mr. Ali has served in various capacities in the state of Kerala. As Director of Land Records, he organized a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Google Maps and the state government to bring more than 60,000 public establishments online.

As District Collector of Kannur, he led 81 local governments in banning single-use plastics in 2016. When widespread misinformation derailed a vaccination program, he piloted ‘Satyameva Jayate’, an information literacy campaign that trained more than 100,000 students to consume information critically and disseminate it responsibly. During this time, he won five Kerala State e-Governance awards, including Best e-Governed District.

As a Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellow at Harvard Kennedy school, he is focusing on acquiring the analytical skills needed for a career in evidence-based policy making. A firm believer in the capacity of information technology to make a difference, he seeks to interact with a global cohort to expand his understanding of positive technological interventions worldwide.

Mr. Ali is an avid cinephile who enjoys writing and directing short films. His film on Kannur Tourism was awarded the ‘Best Ad Film’ at an International Film festival. He also finds great joy in open-water swimming, kayaking and stand-up comedy.

Anupama Thekkinkat Vadukoot

Ms. Anupama Thekkinkat Vadukoot is Commissioner, Land Revenue and Disaster Management, Government of Kerala. She joined Indian Administrative Service in 2010 after completing B.E. in electrical and electronics engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani-Goa.

She was a co-founder of a social service society in her college and the first president of the Goa chapter of the NGO Nirmaan, leading to a strong foundation for her work in the social sector later in her career.

Ms. Vadukoot secured fourth rank in the country in the all-India Civil Services Examination (CSE) and joined Kerala cadre. There, she served in various positions: Sub Collector, District Collector, and Head of the Department in Government of Kerala. The sectors she worked in includes food safety, social justice, women and child, Scheduled Tribes development, tourism, disaster management, and land revenue. She is passionate about working on issues in the social sector, particularly child protection and gender.

During her Fulbright-Nehru Master’s fellowship, Ms. Vadukoot is studying public administration at Harvard Kennedy School. She believes that this program will enable her to smoothly transition from her current implementation roles to policy-making roles in the government. Furthermore, she aims to learn skills necessary for developing an interdisciplinary approach in designing people-friendly policies for the state.