C. V. Ananda Bose Wiki, Age, Caste, Wife, Family, Biography & More

C. V. Ananda Bose is an Indian politician and former bureaucrat, who joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1977 from the Kerala cadre. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. On 23 November 2022, Bose was sworn in as the Governor of West Bengal.

Wiki/Biography

C. V. Ananda Bose was born on Tuesday, 2 January 1951 (age 72 years; as of 2023) in Mannanam, Kottayam, Kerala. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He did his schooling at St. Ephrem’s Higher Secondary School, Mannanam. After completing his schooling, Ananda pursued graduation in English from Kuriakose Elias College, Mannanam. He then enrolled himself at St. Berchmans College, Changanassery, to pursue a post-graduation in English. Thereafter, he obtained a Ph. D. in Housing and Environment from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. In his college days, Bose was good at debating and had won several intercollegiate debating contests, including 15 gold medals. He was one of the best speakers at Kerala University. After pursuing his post-graduation, Bose started preparing for the civil services examinations. In 1977, he became an IAS officer from the Kerala cadre. While training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie, he topped several debates.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 6″

Hair Colour: Black (semi-bald)

Eye Colour: Black

Family

He belongs to a Malayali family.

Parents & Siblings

Ananda Bose is the son of the freedom fighter P K Vasudeva Pillai and the postmistress C Padmavathy Amma. He has four brothers, Er. C V Venugopalan Nair, Prof. C V Mohan Bose, Er. C V Sundara Bose, and Adv. C V Sukumar Bose. He also has three sisters, Prof. Omana Kunjamma, C V Komala Bose, and C V Indira Bose.

Wife & Children

He is married to L S Lakshmi, who manages her family-owned plantation. Together, they have a son named A Vasudev Bose, who is pursuing an acting course at Stella Adler acting studio in Los Angeles (as of 2022). The couple also had a daughter named Nanditha Bose, who died of cancer in 2017. Before her demise, Nanditha wrote a book ‘Mad for Each Other.’

Career

C. V. Ananda Bose started his career as an assistant professor in a central government college. Meanwhile, he also appeared for a bank exam and after passing it, took the job of a probationary officer at the State Bank of India, Kolkata.

As a Civil Servant

After completing his training at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy Of Administration, Mussoorie, Ananda Bose was posted as assistant collector in the Land Revenue Management & District Administration from 1 July 1979 to 1 June 1980. He then served as the sub-collector of Kasargod for a year, and during his tenure, he initiated the Gramotsava program that ensured the time-bound development of rural areas. After officially evaluating the development model, the Kerala Government found it effective and worthy of replication. The program was then applied to around 200 panchayats in Kerala. Later, he served in various positions like District Collector, Chairman, Managing Director, Principal Secretary, and Additional Chief Secretary in ministries like Education, Home, Forest and Environment, Labour, and General Administration. Ananda served long stints in both Manmohan Singh’s government and in his home state, Kerala. During his term as an IAS officer, Bose introduced several changes in governance which helped ensure the effective delivery of public services to people. He initiated several movements in the field of affordable housing, good governance, science and technology, agriculture, rural development, and education. He has also founded institutions like Nirmithi Kendra (Building Centre), District Tourism Council and Habitat Alliance. While serving as the District Collector of Kollam in 1985, Bose founded The Nirmithi Kendra (Building Centre) to provide environment-friendly houses to people at affordable prices. The scheme later became a part of the national housing policy and triggered PM Modi’s decision to provide affordable houses for all in 2022. In 1986, Ananda established the District Tourism Promotion Council to boost tourism in the state. It was regarded as an effective move by the Government of Kerala. Later, the institution was replicated in all the districts in the country after the recommendation of the national tourism policy. Another initiative taken by Bose during his tenure was the introduction of the Dhanwanthari Kendras, which were introduced to provide ancillary medical facilities in hospitals. The concept was replicated in all districts in Kerala. He was also the head of the 2011 Supreme Court Committee on the treasures of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala. He last served as an administrator at the National Museum in New Delhi before his superannuation in 2011.

Major Designations held as an IAS officer:

• Assistant Collector, Kasargod (1 July 1979- 1 June 1980)

• Sub Collector, Kasargod (1 June 1980- 1 October 1981)

• Joint General Manager in Finance Department (1 October 1981- 1 September 1982)

• Deputy Secretary in Planning Department (1 September 1982- 1 January 1984)

• Deputy Secretary in Welfare Department (1 January 1984- 1 April 1985)

• District Collector of Kollam (1 April 1985- 1 July 1987)

• Managing Director (Industries) (1 July 1987- 1 January 1988)

• Secretary in Revenue Department (1 January 1988- 1 July 1990)

• Secretary to Chief Minister in General Administration Department (1 March 1991- 1 March 1995)

• Secretary to Chief Minister in Home Department (1 July 1991- 1 March 1995)

• Director of Housing & Urban Dev Department and Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra (1 March 1995- 1 March 1999)

• Secretary of Kerala Labour Department (1 March 1999- 1 October 2001)

• Chairman & Managing Director of Kerala State Transport Corporation (1 October 2001- 5 January 2002)

• Secretary of Administrative Reforms and General Administration (1 August 2002- 26 September 2002)

• Secretary of Parliamentary Affairs (26 September 2002- 29 November 2002)

• Secretary of Youth Affairs (29 November 2002- 16 January 2003)

• Secretary of SC/ST Welfare (16 January 2003- 16 July 2003)

• Secretary of Administrative Reforms (6 March 2003- 16 July 2003)

• Principal Secretary of Higher Education Department (16 July 2003- 14 June 2004)

• Principal Secretary of Forest & Wild Life Department of Thiruvananthapuram (17 September 2004- 1 April 2005)

• Joint Secretary of Atomic Energy (Mumbai City) (1 April 2005- 12 January 2008)

• Additional Secretary of Agriculture & Cooperation (12 January 2008- 14 September 2009)

• Managing Director of Agriculture & Cooperation, NAFED, New Delhi (14 September 2009- 21 September 2010)

• Administrator (Additional Secretary Equivalent) of Culture Affairs of National Museum (22 September 2010- 14 January 2011)

• Administrator (Secretary Equivalent) of Culture Affairs of National Museum (1 February 2011- 20 September 2011)

Posts Held after Retirement (as an IAS officer)

After retiring as an IAS officer, Ananda Bose was appointed as the Chairman of the Govt. of India Public Sector Undertakings, Central Warehousing Corporation & Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd. He has also served as the Chairman of the Habitat Alliance, in consultative status with UN Ecosoc. Ananda was also a member of the UN-Habitat Governing Council. In 2018, Ananda was appointed as the advisor to the Meghalaya government.

As a Politician

Ananda Bose started his career as a politician in 2019 by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. Bose stayed away from the politics of Kerala and networked with the national leaders of the party. In 2021, after facing a debacle in the Kerala Assembly polls, PM Narendra Modi sought Ananda’s recommendations to revive the party in the state. however, the existing leaders did not like the report submitted by Bose.

As the Governor of West Bengal

C. V. Ananda Bose was appointed as the governor of West Bengal on 17 November 2022 by Indian President Droupadi Murmu. On 23 November 2022, Bose took over the responsibilities of the governor from Manipur Governor La. Ganesan who assumed the additional charge as the governor of West Bengal on 18 July 2022 after Jagdeep Dhankhar (previous governor of West Bengal) was elected as the Vice-President of India. He was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court Prakash Shrivastava at raj bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Speaker Biman Banerjee, and other state ministries. After swearing in as the governor, Ananda Bose addressed the media and said,

I consider this as a great opportunity for me to know the great state firsthand, to interact with the people and be of some service to the people of West Bengal. I don’t see the governor’s post as a big position but as an opportunity to commit my service to the welfare of the people.”

Awards & Honours

• National Special Habitat Award instituted by the Government of India and HUDCO for outstanding contributions to Housing in India (1989)

  C. V. Ananda Bose receiving an award

• Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship awarded by Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi, for Habitat Management (1994)

• Finalist of the World Habitat Awards (1994)

• UN-Habitat Global Best Practice for Building Centre Movement (1996)

• Diwaliben Mohanlal Mehta Award Instituted by Diwaliben Mehta Charitable Trust (1996)

• Dr. Pam Davar Award Instituted by Siri Ram Washeshran Devi Bhatia Memorial Charitable Trust (1997)

• Gold Medal by Management Leadership Awards (TMA) (1997)

• Akshaya Award for outstanding contributions in promoting traditional architecture (Vastu) and heritage (1998)

• Overseas Literary Critics Awards (1999)

• Cities Asia Urban Green Management Excellence Award (2001)

• Bremen Partnership Award for efficient use of Natural Resources (2001)

• UN-Habitat Global Best Practice for GNN (Sustainable Habitat Development) (2002)

• Overseas Literary Critics Awards (2017)

• International Book Fair Awards (Sustainable Habitat Development) (2017)

• Lion Centennial Malia Jones Award (2018)

• Swathi Pratibha Puraskar (2018)

• Rajiv Gandhi National Award for Excellence in Management

• UNCHS – Awards for Excellence – Good Practice selection for transparent governance

• United Nations Global Best Practice

• Singapore Government Award for Urban Green Management Excellence

• First-ever Fellow of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie

Salary

As the governor of West Bengal, Ananda Bose is entitled to a monthly salary of Rs. 3, 50,000 (as of 2022).

Facts/Trivia

• Ananda Bose is fluent in three languages- English, Hindi, and Malayalam.

• A prolific writer and columnist, he has published 45 books in Hindi, English, and Malayalam which consist of novels, short stories, poems, and essays.

  C. V. Ananda Bose’s book Parayathini Vayya- Mannanam Muthal Mantthattan Vare

• Although a Malayali by birth, Ananda received the Bengali surname ‘Bose,’ by his father. Nair named him ‘Bose,’ after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whom he considered his inspiration.

• Ananda is fond of the Bengali white rosogollas.

• He is the second civil service officer to become the governor of West Bengal during Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s tenure (2010-2014). The first was M. K. Narayanan.

• Also known for his mastery of oratory, Ananda Bose has addressed many prestigious global forums like the United Nations General Assembly.

• C. V. Ananda Bose was described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an ‘ace debater’ and ‘man of ideas.’ The former PM Manmohan Singh described him as ‘an inspired civil servant.’ The government of Kerala described him as ‘lord of ideas.’ He is also known as the ‘makeover man’ of the civil service.

• Some sources revealed that Bose was asked by the labour ministry to prepare an action plan for the welfare of migrant workers during the lockdown.

• In November 2023, Ananda made allegations of attempted snooping at his official residence. He asserted that he possessed reliable information about the incident but refrained from naming anyone involved. While talking about the incident, in an interview, Ananda said,
  

  It is a fact. I had reliable information about snooping in Raj Bhavan. That issue has been flagged to the concerned authorities. I will wait and watch.”