Thirunanthapuram: M Sivasankar, IAS, who was the former principal secretary of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vvaijayan, has retired after a long, eventful career in the government service.
Sivasankar was serving as the Principal Secretary of Sport and Youth Affairs for the last several months since his reinstatement in January 2022 after a 17-month-long suspension following his arrest in a major gold smuggling scandal linked to the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
On Tuesday, the day of his retirement, Sivasankar paid CM Pinarayi a visit to get approval for the pending draft of the sports policy. The CM approved it and said it will be considered in the next Cabinet meeting.
The Chief Secretary's office organised a farewell for the controversial bureaucrat on Tuesday.
It was in mid-2020 Sivasankar was suspended over his arrest in the sensational gold-smuggling case which rocked Kerala politics a few months before the 2021 Assembly polls. He was jailed briefly and is currently out on bail.
Storied career
Sivasankar has several achievements to his name, from an SSLC rank to degrees in Engineering and Business Administration. He had the reputation of being an able administrator though towards the fag end of his career he hit the headlines for the wrong reasons.
A Thiruvananthapuram native, Sivasankar had secured the second rank in SSLC. He completed BTech from the NSS Engineering College in Palakkad. He was also the college union chairman. Then he secured PG Diploma in Rural Management from the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) in Gujarat.
After completing his studies, he worked as an officer with the Reserve Bank of India for several years. Sivasankar was later appointed in the Revenue Department as deputy collector. While continuing in this post, he was conferred with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1995. He was confirmed in IAS in March 2000.
He was known as an able administrator during his tenure as the Malappuram Collector. He also excelled in his roles as the tourism director, general education director and Secretary, and PWD Secretary.
