The challenges never end

I WAS BORN in a middle-class family of agriculturists in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh. In our family, my father was the first to be formally educated. He became an advocate. I am the first to be in government service.

- K.V. CHOWDARY

After schooling, I left for Chennai to pursue my bachelor's in mathematics, and then did my MSc at IIT. After graduation, I joined a bank as there was an immediate need for a job, but I asked my father if I could give one shot at the civil services while earning a living. I prepared as I worked.

Those days, hard work and good grounding in a couple of subjects were enough to clear the civil services exam. I joined the IRS in 1978 and served till 2014. After retiring as chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, and a short stint as adviser to the department of revenue on black money, I was appointed as the central vigilance commissioner.

There was an undercurrent of opposition and my appointment was even challenged in the Supreme Court. It was the first time that a person not belonging to the IAS was appointed as CVC, though no rule prohibited such an appointment. Wild and baseless allegations made in the PIL filed against my appointment were dismissed by the apex court when it upheld my appointment in 2018.