?Senior IAS officer K. Ramakrishna Rao has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Telangana, succeeding A. Santhi Kumari, who is set to retire on April 30, 2025. Rao, a 1991-batch officer, currently serves as the Special Chief Secretary of the Finance Department and will assume his new role on May 1, while continuing to hold his finance portfolio as an additional charge. 

Key Points

• Rao has been instrumental in shaping Telangana's fiscal policies, having prepared 14 state budgets since 2016.
• His career spans important roles during both the BRS and Congress administrations, especially in mobilizing funds for major schemes.
• Beyond finance, he served as Director General of the Centre for Good Governance, promoting IT-driven reforms, and as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from 2003 to 2016.
• He holds degrees from IIT Kanpur and IIT Delhi, including an MBA in investments, supporting his administrative and financial expertise.
• Rao is set to retire in August 2025, making his tenure as Chief Secretary relatively short but strategically significant.