One year extension given to Parameswaran as Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

Former IAS officer and well-known sanitation specialist Parameswaran Iyer was on Sunday has given a one-year extension as Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, which plays a key role in the government's ambitious Swachh Bharat initiative. Iyer, a 1981-batch IAS officer (retired) of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was in 2016 appointed to the post on a contractual basis.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved an extension in tenure of Iyer for a further period of one year beyond the date of his superannuation, i.e. April 30, 2019, a Personnel Ministry order said. The mandate of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is to provide technical and financial assistance to the states for accelerating rural sanitation coverage, among others.

Iyer had taken voluntary retirement from the IAS in 2009. He worked as Senior Rural Water Sanitation Specialist at the United Nations between April 1998 and February 2006. Iyer is known as leading water and sanitation specialist worldwide.

(With inputs from agencies.)