Meet Radha Raturi, the first female Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand who was once a journalist

Successfully clearing the UPSC Civil Services exam usually requires many years of hard work, with candidates attempting 3 to 4 attempts to become an IAS, IPS or IFS officer. Remarkably, IAS Radha Raturi achieved this in her first attempt in 1988 and has now become the first woman chief secretary of Uttarakhand.

Radha Raturi, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer of the 1988 batch, has been appointed as the first woman Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand. She is the first woman to hold the top administrative post in the state, replacing Sukhbir Singh Sandhu whose term ended on Wednesday. An order was immediately issued on the same day asking Raturi to take charge immediately.

Journalism by IAS officer Radha Raturi becomes the first woman chief secretary of Uttarakhand

Married to Anil Ratrui, retired from the Indian Police Service (IPS) as Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttarakhand in November 2020. Moreover, her father was a civil servant. With a background in journalism, IAS Raturi joined the civil service with a passion for making a difference. She graduated from Mumbai in History Honors in 1985. She also did her masters in mass communication. She holds an MA in Public Personnel Management from Osmania University. Later, she worked briefly as a journalist in the Bombay edition of The Indian Express and then for India Today.

During her long administrative career, Raturu has held several crucial positions, including the role of District Magistrate in Dehradun. She particularly stands out as one of the rare individuals who has successfully cleared the UPSC Civil Services exam in all her attempts. Her journey began in 1985, immediately after her graduation, when she got a job in the Indian Information Service (1986). However, she applied again and secured a place in the Indian Police Service (IPS) in her second attempt. It was in her third attempt that she achieved her goal of joining the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)

Initially assigned to the Madhya Pradesh cadre, Ratrui later requested to be transferred to the UP cadre. Her first posting in Uttarakhand was in Tehri Gujarat, which marked the beginning of her career in the state. Notably, she served as Chief Electoral Officer of Uttarakhand for an impressive tenure of ten years.