Oommen Chandy

Oommen Chandy
ഉമ്മൻ ചാണ്ടി
Chief Minister of Kerala
Incumbent
Assumed office May 18, 2011
Governor	P. Sathasivam Nikhil Kumar Hansraj Bhardwaj M. O. H. Farook R. S. Gavai
Preceded by	V.S. Achuthanandan
Constituency	Puthuppally
In office August 31, 2004 – May 18, 2006
Governor	R. L. Bhatia
Preceded by	A. K. Antony
Succeeded by	V.S. Achuthanandan
Constituency	Puthuppally
Minister of Home Affairs Kerala State
In office 2011–2012
Preceded by	Kodiyeri Balakrishnan
Succeeded by	Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan
In office 2004–2006
Preceded by	A. K. Antony
Succeeded by	Kodiyeri Balakrishnan
In office 1981–1982
Preceded by	T.K. Ramakrishnan
Succeeded by	Vayalar Ravi
Minister of Finance Kerala State
In office 1991–1994
Preceded by	V. Viswanatha Menon
Succeeded by	C.V. Padmarajan
Minister of Labour Kerala State
In office 1977–1978
Preceded by	Baby John
Succeeded by	M. K. Raghavan
Leader of the Opposition Kerala Legislature
In office 2006–2011
Preceded by	V.S. Achuthanandan
Succeeded by	V.S. Achuthanandan
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Puthuppally
Incumbent
Assumed office 1970
Personal details
Born	October 31, 1943 Puthuppally, Travancore, British India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Mariamma Oommen
Children	1 son and 2 daughters
Residence	Puthuppally, Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram
Religion	Christian
Website	Official website
As of April 9, 2014 Source: Govt. of Kerala

Oommen Chandy (Malayalam: ഉമ്മൻ ചാണ്ടി) (born October 31, 1943) is an Indian politician and is the current Chief Minister of Kerala since May 2011.^[1] Previously he was Chief Minister from 2004 to 2006, and he was the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2011.^[2]

Early life

Oommen Chandy was born at Kumarakom, Kottayam district, Kerala.

Chandy ventured into the political arena as an activist of Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the party. He was the unit president of KSU at St George High School, Puthupally, and went on to become the State President of the organization. Chandy completed his college education from CMS College, Kottayam, SB College, Changanassery. Later, he took a bachelor's degree in law (LLB) from Government Law College, Ernakulam.

Political life

Chandy started his political career through the Kerala Students Union (KSU), which he served as president from 1967 to 1969. He was elected as the president of the State Youth Congress in 1970. He is the 21st chief minister of Kerala at present.

He has represented the Puthuppally Constituency for decades, having been elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011. During his legislative career he had also served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee during 1996–98.

Election Victories
Year	Closest rival	Majority (votes)
1970	E.M.George (CPM)	7,288
1977	P.C.Cherian (BLD)	15,910
1980	M.R.G.Panicker (NDP)	13,659
1982	Thomas Rajan (ICS)	15,983
1987	V.N.Vasavan (CPM)	9,164
1991	V.N.Vasavan (CPM)	13,811
1996	Reji Zacharia (CPM)	10,155
2001	Cherian Philip(CPM Ind.)	12,575
2006	Sindhu Joy (CPM)	19,863
2011	Suja Susan George (CPM)	33,255

Minister

Chandy has been sworn in as a minister in Kerala for four times. He was the Minister for Labour from 11.04.1977 to 25.04.1977 in the first K. Karunakaran Ministry and continued holding the same portfolio in the succeeding first A.K. Antony Ministry till 27.10.1978. He was in the charge of Home portfolio in the second K. Karunakaran Ministry from 28.12.1981 to 17.03.1982. Again, he was sworn in as a minister in the fourth K.Karunakaran Ministry on July 2, 1991. He was in charge of Finance Portfolio and resigned from the cabinet on 22.06.1994 due to difference with the Chief Minister.The Civilians of Kerala had Faith in him.

Minister in different ministries

No.	Head of the Ministry	Period	Portfolio
1	K. Karunakaran	11/04/1977 – 25.04/1977	Labour
2	A. K. Antony	27/04/1977 – 27/10/1978	Labour
3	K. Karunakaran	28/12/1981 – 17/03/1982	Home
4	K. Karunakaran	02/07/1991 – 22/06/1994	Finance
5	Oommen Chandy	31/08/2004 – 18/05/2006	Chief Minister
6	Oommen Chandy	17/05/2011 – till Date	Chief Minister

Chief Minister 2004–2006

The results of the parliamentary elections in the month of May 2004 saw the Indian National Congress not winning a single seat in Kerala. The sitting Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, was forced to resign and accept responsibility for the poor results. On August 30, 2004, Oommen was elected the Congress Legislature Party leader at the end of a meeting by AICC observers and clearance by the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. In what may be seen as a reflection of his work as Chief Minister, the Congress-led alliance was defeated, but managed to retain 40 out of 140 seats in the assembly and boost its vote-share by nearly 10% after the general election rout. He resigned as Chief Minister on May 12, 2006 following the defeat of his party in 2006 Assembly Elections.

Leader of Opposition

Oommen Chandy was the leader of opposition in the twelfth Kerala Legislative Assembly. Under his leadership UDF marked victories in Lok Sabha Election 2009 gaining 16 out of 20 parliament constituencies in Kerala. and Local Body Election 2010. In the history of Kerala politics it's the first time that the UDF got an upper hand in local body elections.

Leader of Congress Parliamentary Party

After winning the closely contested 2011 assembly election, Congress legislative party unanimously elected Oommen Chandy as its leader. At the Congress Legislature Party meeting, Mr. Chandy's name was proposed by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala and seconded by Aryadan Mohammed. The election process was formally launched after Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Mohsina Kidwai and AICC general secretary Madhusoodan Mistry, who is in charge of Kerala, held a one-to-one meeting in their capacity as observers with the 38 elected MLAs.

Second term as Chief Minister (from 2011 onwards)

UDF (United Democratic Front) led by Oommen Chandy secured a slender margin in assembly election which held on April 13, 2011. UDF candidates won in 72 seats against 68 seats of LDF (Left Democratic Front). He took the oath on May 18, 2011 with six other ministers of his cabinet. Later thirteen other ministers were also inducted into his cabinet.

He gave up Vigilance Portfolio in early August 2011, after a fresh probe was ordered on the Palm Oil case (which happened when he was Finance Minister in 1992).

Kerala CM Oomen Chandy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Though UDF came to power with a wafer thin majority, his 100 days programmes announced propelled the state fast forward. 107 programmes were announced as part of the 100 days programme of the Government. Out of this the government could accomplished a whopping figure of 101 leaving just 6 of the programmes unfinished. This really gave a boost to the governance. The policies adopted by Oommen Chandy supposedly helped to bridge the gap between people and officials, although further evidence is needed.

UNDP appreciated Oommen Chandy, for the range of innovative practices in democratic governance, initiated by the Government of Kerala in strengthening people's access and participation in human development and governance, although later cases of corruption questioned the reality of such policies. They were impressed by the innovative approach to ensure transparency and accountability in Governance, particularly the to web-stream the entire functioning of CM’s office, which was turned off during supposed illegal activities. The Mass Contact Programme, in many ways, is the first of its kind to ensure the right to direct access to leaders and senior civil servants of the government.^[3]

Oommen Chandy left the post of Home Ministry on 13 April 2012 and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan took charge of the post.^[4]

Achievements during the Second Term

Kochi Metro

While the Rs 5,180 crore project was mooted in 2006 during his first tenure, a change of government saw the project being shelved by the LDF government. It was only when UDF returned in 2011 with Oommen Chandy as Chief Minister, that the 25-km long Alwaye to Petta project resumed. While the project was promised in 1095 days, it was delivered on the 985th Day in what could well be the quickest-ever delivered metro project in the country. The trail run of the metro line on January 23, 2016, by Oommen Chandy.^[5]

SmartCity Kochi

SmartCity Kochi is a joint venture of the Government of Kerala and TECOM Investments, an operating unit of Dubai Holding, a global investment holding company with interests in 24 countries. SmartCity Kochi, spread over 246 acres in the IT corridor of Kochi, India, is a hub for all information and communication technology (ICT), Media, Finance and Education (research) companies, attracting them from within India and from overseas. The first phase of this dream SmartCity project, including a Rs 400-crore 6.5 lakh sq ft IT tower overlooking a 300-metre waterfront area, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and other dignitaries on February 20, 2016. The TECOM Board approved the project in April 2013 and work started in July 2013. The first phase of SmartCity Kochi is estimated to provide 5,500 knowledge-based jobs. As many as 27 IT companies have already been leased out 75 per cent of leasable space in the first IT tower and they are expected to be fully functional in the next few months.

The launch of the 4.7 million sq ft phase-2 was also performed simultaneously. Phase-2 is scheduled to be completed in 36 months and estimated to provide around 60,000 jobs. It is planned to have seven towers including the tallest IT tower in India. The projects of UAE based Holiday Group, GEMS International School, Bengaluru based Maratt Projects Pvt Ltd; Prestige Group and Kochi based Elton Technologies, apart from SmartCity's own tower are to feature in phase-2. The phase-two would also feature non-IT buildings.^[6]

Kerala Startup Mission

The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) was started in 2007 with a mission to create a startup ecosystem in the state through the development of student entrepreneurship. KSUM is the nodal agency for implementing the start-up policy and covers a broad area from schools, colleges to young entrepreneurs. It is India's first and most successful non Academic Business Incubator, hosted and housed inside the Asia Largest IT Park Technopark.^[7]

In 2015 the Kerala Startup Mission collaborated with MIT to open two Fab Labs in Kerala, one in the capital city and the other in Kochi. Fab Lab, a platform for learning and innovation where one can create, share, teach, and even play. The Fab Lab is equipped with various computer-controlled high-end tools and machines to help creative minds. Fab Lab has now opened its doors for the public once a week and students of many professional colleges in the district and outside visit the lab to get acquainted with the high-end machines, equipment and other facilities.^[8]

One of the startups, Elsys Intelligent Devices Private Ltd. incubated at the KSUM has developed an innovative car gadget and smart road safety platform 'Raksha SafeDrive', The SafeDrive gadget has a 'panic button' which can connect the passenger of a car with emergency services including ambulance, hospital, police, insurance provider and roadside assistance. It will also help the user by alerting people in family or friend circles during emergencies.^[9]

The Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) will partner with the Union government’s Software Technology Parks India (STPI) and Technology Development Board for realising the Rs.250-crore Kerala Technology Innovation Zone (K-TIZ) at Kalamassery.^[10]

Recently, the government also honoured the top 6 startups for 2015-2016 for their work in various categories such as robotics, hardware development, mobile application development, visual media, designing, etc. which are part of the KSUM. The awardees included Sastra Robotics, Agrima Infotech, Qplay, CAT Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., SectorQube, Wow Makers,^[11]

Startup Village

Startup Village (SV) was started in April 2012 to attract the best entrepreneurial minds among youngsters and creating successful start-ups. While it did not draw much attention then, today with the launch of a nationwide campaign that aims to spawn startups across the country, Startup Village in Kochi with a list of grand accomplishments and a grander vision is testament to the vision of Oommen Chandy and the UDF government. SV was India’s first public-private technological business incubator with the aim of creating at least 48 startup companies in five years. However, within three and a half years, it achieved its targets, becoming home to over 70 startups. The target is to support 10,000 startup teams in the next five years.^[12]

Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose seaport

In a landmark development, the Government was able to begin the work on the multi-crore Vizhinjam International deep water seaport project which had remained idle for 25 years. The proposed Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport is an ambitious project taken up by Government of Kerala. It is designed to cater primarily for container transshipments besides multi-purpose and break bulk cargo. Vizhinjam International Seaport Ltd - a company fully owned by Government of Kerala is the implementing agency for the project, responsible for the land procurement, development of external infrastructure and selection of concessionaire. With its numerous natural advantages and potential, the port will create major economic development and will be an asset in terms of infrastructure development in the country. The port is proposed to be developed in landlord model with PPP component for which Draft Concession Agreement is prepared based on the Model Concession Agreement for State Ports published by Planning Commission, Government of India.

Located on the busy East-West international shipping route, Vizhinjam, when completed in less than three years (that's what Adani has promised), will be one of the busiest ports in that part of the world. It can handle ships of 18,000 TEU (each TEU refers to twenty foot equivalent units or the size of a normal cargo container). Built under the PPP model, the operator has to develop the container yard and the terminal buildings, and operate it for a 40-year period.^[13]

The relaxation granted in the Cabotage law governing shipping will benefit Vizhinjam. With the Cabotage law being relaxed, foreign cargo ships can deposit the empty containers to any ports in India.^[14] On March 4, 2016, the disbursement of compensation to those who have lost their livelihood in the project area began. At the government guest house at Thycaud here, compensation was given first to those collecting mussels in catamarans under the Rs.23.80-crore package approved by the government. District Collector and Chairman of the appeal committee of the Livelihood Impact Appraisal Committee Biju Prabhakar distributed the compensation of Rs.12.5 lakhs each to the displaced 70-odd persons. The government had on March 1 given administrative sanction for the package.^[15] Work on the port project is progressing well with an aim to complete it within 1000 days.^[16]

GAIL pipeline project

The project envisages connecting the Petronet LNG terminal at Puthuvype in Kochi to Kanjirkkode, from where two separate lines are to join it from Mangaluru and Bengaluru. The Rs.3,032-crore pipeline project was approved in 2010 and GAIL India launched the work in 2012 for the 1,114-km stretch on the Kochi-Kanjirkkode- Mangaluru and Bengaluru route. Once the pipeline is connected to Bengaluru, Kerala will get connected to the national gas grid. Major hurdles to acquisition of land for laying the pipeline in Kerala are almost over and the natural gas pipeline project is back on the track. The survey and preparation of ‘mahasar’ for land acquisition are almost over in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, and Kasaragod districts. Work is in progress in Kannur district and it has started in Kozhikode. The tendering process for the work will start soon and pipe-laying work is expected to be over in two years. The land is acquired under the Petroleum and Mineral Pipelines (Acquisition of Rights of User in Land) Act, 1962. Under the Act, the owner will retain ownership of the land and cultivation other than planting of trees is permitted.^[17]

Light Metro Rail Project

The Light Metro rail projects to be implemented in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode with a proposed outlay of Rs.6728 crore to be implemented in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram promise to change the face of public transport in these cities providing affordable and convenient options for commuting. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been appointed as consultants advised by 'Metro Man' E. Sreedharan to identify and take up the preliminary and preparatory works. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to provide financing of Rs.4733 crores with an interest rate of 0.3 per cent and a 10-year moratorium on repayment with another 30 years for actual repayment. The rest of the funds will come from the state and the centre. The Kerala cabinet has approved the project report and it is now with the Central Government for their in principle approval. The first phase of the 21.82 km Light Metro line in the capital city is planned to be ready in three years' time and the entire 13.33 km Kozhikode project is planned to be completed in four years' time.^[18][19][20]

Idukki Package

The M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation had studied the prevailing agrarian conditions in the Idukki District and made certain recommendations to mitigate the agrarian distress present there. Based on their recommendations for various packages of activities for the improvement of the prevailing situation, the Union Cabinet has approved the Idukki Package worth Rs. 765 Crores. The Commission had observed that the destruction in the forest cover due to various reasons and the cropping pattern have drastically changed the climatic conditions and the water regime.^[21] Till date, detailed project reports worth Rs Rs.771.87 crores have been prepared and submitted to Govt. of India, as per GO(MS)No. 375/09/Agri dated 7/3/09 for which an amount of Rs.504.83 crores has been sanctioned. Out of this amount Rs. 277.11 crores has been released and Rs. 237.11 crores utilized up to May 2015.^[22]

Kannur International Airport Ltd.

Kannur International Airport Ltd. (KIAL) is the second greenfield airport set up in the public private partnership (PPP) model in civil aviation infrastructure sector in Kerala. It will be coming up close to Mattannur in Kannur district of Kerala State. It is only 20 km away from Kannur city and 2 km from Mattannur on Kannur–Mattannur–Mysore road. Once complete, the Kannur International Airport will provide an international gateway in the northern Malabar region with state-of-the art facilities to support safe, efficient and cost effective travel for foreign tourists and ‘non-resident’ Indians from Kerala, as well as domestic passengers. It will also act as an Air Cargo hub for the Malabar region, aiding in trade promotion and industrial activities that will generate employment opportunities and transform the North Malabar region into a highly developed growth centre for travel, tourism and industries. The new airport will benefit the people of Kannur, Kasargod, Wayanad, Mangalore and Coorg areas. Total land planned for the project is 2061 acres, out of which 1277.93 acres has been acquired and is available with KIAL. The balance land is under acquisition. The land presently available is adequate to commence the project. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will run the fuel farm business at Kannur airport in joint venture with KIAL. 78% of airside works has been completed as on date, while 65% of city side works has been completed.^[23]

On February 29, 2016, the first trial run at the airport was successfully completed. Soon after the arrival of chief minister Oommen Chandy and minister K Babu, Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar, a native of Kannur, flew around the airport in a Dornier 228 of the Indian Air Force along with co-pilot Vipin Maniyayi and landed on the newly laid runway at 9 am. People came in large numbers from various corners of Kannur and neighbouring districts to watch their long pending dream finally take wing.^[24]

Once the operations begin at the Kannur airport in December, Kerala will become the only Indian state to have four international airports. The state currently has fully operational international airports in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

Rapid Rail Transport System - Suburban Railway Project

The proposed Rapid Rail Transit System (RRTS) has been mooted for the 125.65-km stretch from Thiruvananthapuram to Chengannur to enhance the mobility requirement in the region. The RRTS has been mooted to enhance mobility requirement in view of traffic congestion on the national highways, limited scope of road widening, high incidence of road casualties and inability to introduce additional train services with the existing infrastructure. The RRTS will make travel hassle-free for short-distance commuters.^[25][26]

The DPR, prepared by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) and approved by the government last year, has projected the cost at Rs.3,330.78 crore. The MRVC has found that the RRTS is cost-effective, and requires only an upgrade of the existing railway network. Besides, the corridor can emerge as a continuous urban segment. Of the estimated cost, Rs.1,200 crore is needed for rolling stock, Rs.1,025 crore for civil work, Rs.554.46 crore for signalling and telecom, Rs.172 crore for electrical work, and the remaining for other expenses. The specialty of the project is that it will not require land acquisition or a new railway line. Instead of track doubling, the capability of the existing track will be increased. A new railway signalling system will be introduced for implementing this effectively. Through this system, the distance between trains which run on same tracks and on the same direction, will be reduced to one km. Presently, this distance is 10 km. The new signalling system will enable over 144 trains to run against 70 trains at present. The Railway Budget this year also announced the Thiruvananthapuram- Chengannur suburban train service. The project will be implemented with the cooperation of the State Government.^[27]

Kuttanad Package

Kuttanad region and its community were facing severe agrarian distress for the last five decades due to many factors. Based on the request of the Govt. of Kerala to address the perennial problems faced in Kuttanad, the Union Govt. entrusted the Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai to conduct a scientific study of the region and suggest suitable measures to mitigate agrarian distress in Kuttanad. The MSSRF recommended a variety of interventions to be implemented with a total cost outlay of Rs. 1,840 crore which was accepted by the Govt. of India. Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) prepared by the State Govt. for different activities envisaged in the Package are under different stages of implementation.^[28] The Kuttanad Wetland System (KWS) inclusive of the Vembanad lake is now receiving global attention because nature is at the peak of its beauty in this Ramsar site.

Projects worth Rs. 2509.101 crore have been submitted to Govt. of India under several ongoing Central Schemes. Sanction orders have been received for Rs. 1270.267 crore including Rs. 300 crore awarded by the 13th Finance Commission. Out of the sanctioned amount, Rs. 517.273 crore has been released and 398.782 crores has been utilised.^[29] The latest status report as on January 2016 can be accessed here.

Kasaragod Package

The State Planning Board in March 2013 approved the proposed Kasaragod package envisaging an outlay of Rs. 11,000 crores in the public and private sectors. While the Cheemeni power project would be the major component, other major projects would be in tourism, health and education. Out of the 448 schemes under 19 sectors to be taken up under the package, the highest allocation would be for industries, followed by energy. Of the total outlay of Rs.11,123.07 crore, the State government would contribute Rs.2,524.56 crore and Central government Rs.756.19 crore. The public sector and private sector together would contribute Rs.7,264.16 crore. There would also be foreign funding of Rs.543 crore.^[30] Amounts spent 2013-14 Rs 24 cr; 2014-15 Rs 68.7 cr; Provided in 2015-16 Rs 75 crores [[File:Govt. order of admin. sanction for projects in kasaragod district.pdf|thumb|pdf file]]

Jana Samparka Paripadi - Mass Contact Programme^[31]

The Mass Contact Programme is a unique outreach campaign, for which Oomen Chandy won the UN Award for Public Service in July 2013. The JSP was conceived as a platform for the head of the government to directly meet the people, hear their complaints and take all possible action on them then and there itself. The thrust of the campaign is to bridge the gap between the people and the government by removing the menace of "red tape" which comes in the way of just and speedy delivery of services. The experience gained from the campaign would be factored in to update official rules and procedures for better governance. In the first phase of the JSP last year, over five lakh petitions were received from 14 districts and a vast majority of them were settled. An amount of over Rs. 203 crores was distributed as relief under JSP and over Rs. 450 crores distributed from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.

The programme is structured in such a way that the petitions are invited 30 days before its schedule in each district and each one of them would be sent to the district administration for screening and making recommendations. The identified petitioners are then invited to attend the JSP giving them fixed time slots. For example, at the JSP held in Ernakulam, Oommen Chandy spent nearly 16 hours hearing 14218 petitions and benefits of over Rs 2.02 crore sanctioned on the spot. Besides, 14 families were assigned small pieces of land under the Zero Landless scheme, title deeds for 323 people were disbursed, 632 families allotted BPL ration cards and 40 physically challenged persons got motorised tricycles. It is not uncommon for the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to spend 20 hours at a stretch at the JSP mass contact programmes.

The UN award recognised the programme as a new experience in democratic governance in providing a forum for the masses to directly communicate their grievances to the people in the administration. The programme was chosen for the award based on criteria like promotion of transparency, accountability, innovative management of public finances and adoption of measures to prevent abuse or misuse of powers. The award is given to five geographical regions and the JSP Mass Contact Programme was chosen for the Asia-Pacific region.^[32]

Palmolein Import Scam

The allegation of Palmolein Import Scam occurred during the year 1991–92 in the Kerala state when K. Karunakaran was the chief minister of the state and the ruling party was United Democratic Front. During this time Oommen Chandy was the Finance Minister^[33] of the state and was responsible for financial accounts of the state of Kerala. This scam allegedly caused a loss of ₹2.32 crore to the state. The case once closed after the death of K. Karunakaran in December 2010 was reopened in March 2011^[34] during the election period of 2011. However this did not affect the election results to a great extent.

The court stated that Chandy had approved of the import of palmolein through "Power and Energy Ltd" by paying 15% service charge and it was evident from his signature in the note.^[35] However the court has not been able to show any direct involvement of Oommen Chandy in the scam .

2013 Kerala solar panel scam

In 2013, a fraudulent solar energy company, Team Solar, in Kerala, India, used two women to create political contacts, duped several influential people to the tune of 70 million Rupees, by offering to make them business partners, or by offering to install solar power units for them, and receiving advance payments for the same. Team Solar was unsuccessful in lobbying Kerala Govt to get include in ANERT programmes.

Awards and honours

Oommen Chandy's office received the 2013 United Nations Public Service Award^[36][37][38] from the Asia-Pacific region, for the category "Preventing and Combating Corruption in the Public Service." The award was presented on June 27, 2013, in Manama, Bahrain, by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo. The award was based on the theme "Transformative e-Government and Innovation: Creating a Better Future for All."

See also

• Chief Ministers of Kerala
• Kerala Ministers
• Palmolein Oil Import Scam

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34. Palmolein import scandal case to be reopened The Economic Times, Thiruvananthapuram, March 15, 2011
35. Palmolein case: Chandy knew, feels the Court The New Indian Express, August 10, 2011
36. "Chandy wins UN Award" The Hindu, Thiruvananthapuram, June 26, 2013.
37. "UN Public Administration Programme" UN Public Administration Programme.
38. "Chandy Wins UN Award" The Economic Times.

External links

• The official website of Kerala Chief Minister
• The official Facebook page of Oommen Chandy