UPSC topper Nandini's top priority: Fighting Covid-19

The 2016 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) topper, K R Nandini, has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ballari Zilla Panchayat. Earlier, she served as assistant commissioner Tiptur in Tumkuru.

Soon after assuming office, Nandini said she will need some time to understand the core issues that have been confronting Ballari region, but her first priority would be on initiating measures to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in her zone. Ballari had been reporting over 400 Covid positive cases each day, while the quarantine regulations have been eased.

"When the government eases restrictions, it will definitely pose a challenge in containing the spread of the virus. That said, the government has to ease curbs to put the economy back on track. The strategy across the country has shifted from government to people-centric to contain Covid-19. People need to report and isolate themselves if they contract the virus. While the government trusts the people, they should exhibit tremendous social responsibility to help the government in its efforts to contain the pandemic," she pointed out in an exclusive chat with The Hans India.

On the recent controversy over the tragic suicide of Dr Nagendra and the subsequent transfer of Nanjagud Taluk CEO P K Mishra, she remained non-committal. She, however, said "Within half a day after assuming charges, I understood that the rules and responsibilities of each individual in Ballari is defined. All systems related to containing the coronavirus pandemic are in place here. Responsibilities have been distributed to different departments. Focus is to achieve faster discovery of cases, provide best possible treatment and thereby contain the pandemic sooner," she noted.

Nandini is a hard-core Kannadiga who studied in the local medium at government-aided Thimmaiah Vidyalaya at Kolar, and later studied in Alva's College in Moodabidri. A civil engineer graduate from M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bengaluru and a gold medallist from the Visvesvaraya Technological University in Belgavai, Nandini has her task cut out. "Earlier I was heading a sub-division. Now, I will be working at the district level so this is a completely new role. With this new role, obviously there will be new challenges. Everything changes with the role. The work amount will also change. In my previous job, the concern was more about generating revenue. Now, I will have to look about the overall development. It has just been half a day since I have taken charge, I will spend more time getting myself acquainted with the issues in Ballari," Nandini said.

As far as achieving her dreams are concerned Nandini believed she was getting to do what she wanted to aspire to. "There is so much arena to give back. The job satisfaction is definitely there," she summed up.