Metro India News | amaravati

K. Vijayanand assumed the office of the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. In a solemn ceremony held at the state secretariat, Vijayanand was formally entrusted with his new responsibilities amid the divine blessings of Vedic pandits from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and Durga Malleswara Swamy temples.

He succeeds Neerab Kumar Prasad, whose tenure as Chief Secretary concluded on the same day.

A 1992 batch IAS officer, Vijayanand's appointment was notified through GO.Rt.No.2209 on December 29. Vijayanand began his career as an Assistant Collector in Adilabad district of undivided Andhra Pradesh in 1993. He subsequently served as Sub-Collector in Rampachodavaram until 1996.

From 1996 onwards, he held various key positions including Project Director in the Rural Development Department, Joint Collector in Rangareddy, Srikakulam, and Nalgonda districts, and State Project Director for Planning and Programme Implementation. He also served as Joint Managing Director of APTRANSCO from 2008 to 2009.

Significantly, Vijayanand held dual roles as Managing Director of APGENCO and APTRANSCO from 2016 to 2019. He also served as the Chief Electoral Officer and ex-officio Principal Secretary, overseeing key electoral processes in the state from 2019 to 2021.

Since 2023, he has been the Special Chief Secretary of the Energy Department and has held additional responsibilities as Chairman of APPCC, APSPCCL, NREDCAP, and APSECM. He also served as the Chairman of the Southern Regional Power Committee (SRPC) for the year 2023-24.

Under the visionary guidance of Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Vijayanand played a pivotal role in formulating and notifying the Andhra Pradesh Integrated Clean Energy Policy-2024.

This policy aims to transform the state into a global clean energy hub by adding over 160 GW of capacity. This ambitious policy is expected to attract investments of around Rs.10,00,000 crore and create approximately 750,000 jobs.