IAS officer from AP joins central fisheries department

Hyderabad: Dr Vundru Raja Sekhar, IAS, who belongs to Andhra Pradesh, has taken over as Joint Secretary of Fisheries in the Central Government. Dr Vundru belongs to the 1990 IAS batch and was allotted Haryana cadre. He had worked earlier as Joint Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals and contributed to the development of the pharma sector in the country.

India is the world’s second largest producer of fish in the world and also world number two in aquaculture also. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of fish in the country and retained the top position for the last two years. It is also the most significant contributor to prawn production through aquaculture in coastal Andhra.

The price of Vannamie prawn introduced by the Central government in 2009 has reached Rs 600 a kg. The Andhra Pradesh farmers are reaping the benefit and may continue to benefit because of low production and incidence disease in South-East Asia.

At this crucial juncture, comes the appointment of Dr Vundru, who belongs to Pasarlapudi Lanka village in Mamidikuduru mandal in East Godavari district, in the fisheries department. It is hoped that knowledge of fisheries segment in coastal Andhra region will help him get the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA), the National Fisheries Development board (NFDB) and also Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) to focus on the region and also contribute greatly to the State’s growth in marine products segment.