K Jayakumar is new Chief Secretary of Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: K Jayakumar will be the new Chief Secretary of Kerala. The 1978-batch IAS officer who is now the Additional Chief Secretary, succeeds P Prabhakaran who retires on March 31. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy made the announcement after the weekly Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday.Around eight top portfolios would be left vacant when Jayakumar takes over as Chief Secretary.The senior IAS officer has been in charge of Home and Vigilance, Inter-State Waters, Agriculture Production Commissioner, Sabarimala special officer, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University among others. On filling these posts, the Chief Minister said the government was taking steps.The new Chief Secretary gives to Kerala’s top bureaucrat’s post an aura of the artistic and the literary. Jayakumar is a noted poet and lyricist, artist and scriptwriter.He has written songs for over 80 films, conducted exhibition of art works and translated works into Malayalam.