GK Pillai, IAS
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10 key points
The Lodha Committee urged the Supreme Court to remove the entire administration of the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), and recommended that former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai be appointed an observer to oversee the board's administration.
Here's your ten-point cheat sheet on GK Pillai, a veteran civil servant.
10. Beginnings GK Pillai was born on March 14, 1949. He is married to Sudha Pillai, who's also an IAS officer.
9.Taking charge as Home Secretary He took charge as Home Secretary on June 30, 2009. He held the post till his retirement in 2011, at the age of 61.
8.A veteran civil servant Other key positions he has held during his IAS career were Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry between 1996 and 2001 and Union Commerce Secretary before his appointment as Home Secretary.
7.An IAS officer from the Kerala cadre Pillai was from the Kerala Cadre of the Indian Administrative Services batch of 1972. He has served in several positions in both the Kerala government, and in the Central government.
6.Priorities during tenure as Home Secretary When he took over as Home Secretary in 2011, he gave himself three priorities: Kashmir, the Maoist insurgency and the Northeast.
5.Knowledge of sensitive issues Pillai is known to have good understanding of sensitive issues in the Northeast, as well as counter-insurgency issues.
4.Key contributions He played a key role in overhauling the national security apparatus, and ensuring close coordination of intelligence agencies working under the Home Ministry.
3.Testing circumstances He assumed office barely six months after the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks of 2008
2. High-pressure challenges As Home Secretary, he dealt with high-pressure situations, such as the German Bakery bomb blast in Pune, and security issues at the Commonwealth Games.
1.India's Union Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai was India’s Union Home Secretary between June 2009 and 2011.
Career
Bharti Jain Pillai, man of impeccable integrity Nov 22 2016 : The Times of India
GK Pillai, a former Kerala cadre IAS officer who served as Union home secretary as well as commerce secretary , is known as much for his soft-spoken demeanour as his candour that has seen him make it to the news headlines both while in office and post-retirement.
What really may have convinced the R M Lodha committee to propose his name as an observer for BCCI, is his reputation as a man of impeccable integrity . As home secretary under P Chidambaram, Pillai led efforts to give shape to the new security architecture envisioned by the minister, of which a National Counter Terrorism Centre and NatGrid were integral parts.
As commerce secretary , he pushed for special economic zones. As home secretary , he talked tough against Pakistan's sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, naming ISI as the “controller and coordina tor“ of the 2611attacks.
Some accuse Pillai, always a media darling given his ac a media darling given his accessibility , of often putting his foot in the mouth. In February , he told TOI it was Chidambaram who “dictated“ the second affidavit filed by the home ministry in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, dropping reference to her links with Lashkar-e-Taiba. The statement created a political storm, but not enough to ruffle Pillai.
