Dr M. Ramachandran, IAS (Retd.)

Dr M. Ramachandran is a former Secretary to the Government of India at the Ministry of Urban Development. He is a distinguished former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1972 batch, with an illustrious career spanning 38 years in the State and Central Governments of India. A native of Kerala, he has held several key leadership positions across governance, urban development, infrastructure, transport, and education before retiring in 2010.

During his administrative career, Dr Ramachandran served as District Magistrate and Collector in Rae Bareli and Bijnor, Divisional Commissioner in Meerut, Garhwal, and Bareilly, and Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. He went on to become the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand, the state’s top civil servant. At the national level, he served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Urban Development for nearly four years, where he played a significant role in advancing urban policy and infrastructure initiatives.

His extensive experience in urban governance includes serving as Chairperson of multiple city development authorities and metro rail corporations, and contributing to policy and project implementation in urban renewal, transport reform, and infrastructure development. He has also served as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping, Principal Secretary (Transport) in Uttar Pradesh, and Chairman of the State Road Transport Corporations of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In the infrastructure sector, he has held positions such as Development Commissioner of Uttarakhand, Infrastructure Adviser to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Chairman of the State Industrial Development Corporation, among others. He also headed industry and trade sector projects for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Post-retirement, Dr Ramachandran continued to contribute actively to public policy and governance. He served as Chairperson of the Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation, Chancellor of The ICFAI University, Dehradun, Senior Adviser to the US Green Building Council, and Distinguished Fellow at the SKOCH Foundation. He served as an Independent Director on several infrastructure companies, including Delhi International Airport Limited.

An accomplished academic, Dr Ramachandran holds a PhD in Project Planning from the University of Lucknow, an MPhil in Economic Planning from the University of Glasgow, and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Kerala. He is the author of several books on urban development and governance, including Uttarchal: Ideas That Worked, Urban Renewal, Building from the Bottom: Infrastructure and Poverty Alleviation, Delhi Metro Stations and Surroundings, Metro Rail Projects in India, India’s Urban Confusion, Reforming Urban Transport in India: Issues and Best Practices, and Mavericks of Mussoorie.

At CPPR, Dr Ramachandran brings deep expertise in governance, national-level policy formulation, project implementation and monitoring, urban development, transport, and infrastructure, enriching the institution’s research and advisory work in public policy.