THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sharada Muralidharan will officially take charge as the 49th Chief Secretary of Kerala today. She arrived at the Secretariat office at 3:30 pm, accompanied by her husband, Dr V Venu, from whom she will be taking over the role. Sharada, a 1990 batch IAS officer, will serve as Chief Secretary until April 2025.

While it is not uncommon for IAS couples to reach high-ranking positions, it is rare for a wife to succeed her husband in the same role. Previous IAS couples such as Ramachandran-Padma Ramachandran and Babu Jacob-Lizzy Jacob have reached the post of Chief Secretary, but Sharada and Venu’s succession is notable.

Before this appointment, Sharada served as the Additional Chief Secretary, Planning. She was also a former faculty member at the Government Engineering College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Sharada is the daughter of K.A. Muralidharan and K.A. Gomathi. An academic achiever, she secured first rank in both her SSLC exam and MA degree. She joined the civil service while pursuing a PhD at Pondicherry University. The couple has two children—Kalyani, a dancer and Sabari, a painter.