Parameswaran Iyer | |
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Personal details | |
Born | Srinagar | 16 April 1959
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | The Doon School St. Stephen's College, Delhi |
Occupation | Civil Servant |
Known for | Leading the Swachh Bharat Mission |
Parameswaran Iyer (born 16 April 1959) is an Indian civil servant who led the Swachh Bharat Mission, the country-wide sanitation campaign initiated by the Government of India in 2014.[1][2] He entered the Indian Administrative Service in 1981 and took a voluntary retirement in 2009 to join the water and sanitation initiatives at the World Bank.[3] In 2016, he returned to India and was appointed by the government to head the drinking and sanitation department, and lead the Swachh Bharat Mission.[4]
Early life
Iyer was born in Srinagar and his father was an Indian Air Force officer.[5] He was educated at The Doon School in Dehradun, and then attended St. Stephen's College, Delhi.[6] He then got a one-year exchange scholarship at Davidson College in North Carolina.[7]
Career
Iyer joined the Indian Civil Services in 1981. In 2009, he took a voluntary retirement to become the water resources manager at the World Bank. Before he joined the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, in 2016, he worked in Vietnam, China, Egypt, Lebanon and Washington for the World Bank.[8] He has been a columnist with the Indian Express.[9]
Swacch Bharat Mission
In 2016, he was appointed by the Government of India to implement Swachh Bharat Mission, the country-wide sanitation campaign to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management.[10] Iyer's modus operandi to achieve the strict goals under the mission (building 110 million toilets in 5 years) was unconventional and "non-bureaucratic".[1]
In 2020, Iyer resigned from the position and returned to the United States to join the World Bank and be close to his family.[11]
Bibliography
- Iyer, Parameswaran. Method in the Madness. Harper Collin. ISBN 978-9390327560.[12]
- Iyer, Parameswaran (2019). The Swachh Bharat Revolution: Four Pillars of India's Behavioural Transformation. Harper Collin. ISBN 978-9353572679.[13]
References
- ^ a b Dhingra, Sanya (January 31, 2021). "Parameswaran Iyer, Modi's IAS man for Swachh Bharat, reveals how the mission was achieved".
- ^ "How Swachh Bharat Mission's Parameswaran Iyer Got His Dream Job". www.news18.com. February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Parameswaran Iyer". World Economic Forum.
- ^ Chitravanshi, Ruchika (July 27, 2020). "Modi's Swachh Bharat man, Param Iyer calls it a day as sanitation secy" – via Business Standard.
- ^ Bamzai, Kaveree (October 6, 2019). "Modi's favourite Parameswaran Iyer belongs to the cult of super IAS officers like TN Seshan".
- ^ Raj Chengappa (December 20, 2019). "The Swachh Yogi". India Today.
- ^ Iyer 2021, p.1
- ^ "Parameswaran Iyer | Indian Economy". indianeconomy.columbia.edu.
- ^ "Parameswaran Iyer". October 30, 2019.
- ^ Sharma, Aman. "Modi trump card behind swachh mission, says former secretary Parameswaran Iyer" – via The Economic Times.
- ^ "Swachh Bharat key player Parameshwaran Iyer quits government". July 27, 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ "Method in the Madness". HarperCollins Publishers India.
- ^ "The Swachh Bharat Revolution". HarperCollins Publishers India.