Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday appointed retired IPS officer A R Anuradha as the chairperson of Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC).
State chief secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad issued orders to this effect in the evening.
The APPSC chairman post has been vacant since July 4, when former chairman Gautam Sawang resigned from the post following change of government in the state.
“Since the government is keen on taking up a recruitment drive soon, it wants to appoint a senior officer in the APPSC chairperson post. After a lot of exercise, Naidu picked up Anuradha for the same,” a source said, adding the APPSC might soon announce notification for the recruitment of several posts.
The 1987-batch IPS officer served as the first woman intelligence chief of Andhra Pradesh.
She held various roles including DIG of Karimnagar, DG of vigilance and enforcement, IG of the Hyderabad region, and ADGP of provisions and logistics.
However, sources say Naidu might have taken caste considerations into account in appointing Anuradha as the APPSC chairperson.
Though she is a Tamilian, her husband Nimmagadda V Surendra Babu, being a Kamma, was a hot favourite of Naidu in his earlier regime.
Both husband and wife were pushed into loopline posts after Jagan came to power in 2019.
Anuradha was posted as director general of Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Services and later as principal secretary, women and child welfare, before she retired.
Now that Naidu is back in power, he cherry-picked Anuradha for the top Constitutional post, sources said.