Rakshasingh12 at 13:36, 8 May 2026

2026-05-08T13:36:02Z

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{{Short description|Indian Administrative Service Officer}}
{{Indian patronymic|Abraham|Kandathil Mathew}}
{{Tone|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image =
| governor = [[P. Sathasivam]]
| predecessor = [[Nalini Netto]] [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]]
| term_start = August 2017
| term_end = December 2017
| office = [[Chief Secretary (India)|Chief Secretary]], [[Government of Kerala]]
| 1blankname = [[Chief Minister]]
| 1namedata = [[Pinarayi Vijayan]]
| alma_mater = {{Unbulleted_list|[[University of Kerala]]|[[IIT Kanpur]]|[[University of Michigan]]}}
| native_name =
| birth_place = [[Kollam district|Kollam]], [[Kerala]], India
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|05|03|df=yes}}
| successor = [[Paul Antony (Bureaucrat)|Paul Antony IAS]]
| occupation = {{hlist|Bureaucrat|Financial analyst}}
| awards = [[Satyendra K. Dubey Memorial Award]]
| name = Dr. K. M. Abraham
}}

'''Kandathil Mathew Abraham''' (born 3 May 1958) is an Indian bureaucrat and retired [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS officer]], who was the Chief Principal Secretary to the [[Chief Minister of Kerala]]. He also served as the chief executive officer of the [[Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board]] (KIIFB) and Executive Vice Chairperson of Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Radhakrishnan|first=S, Anil|date=2021-05-25|title=Dr. Abraham appointed Chief Principal Secretary to CM|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/dr-abraham-appointed-chief-principal-secretary-to-cm/article34641600.ece|access-date=2021-06-17|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He retired as the Chief Secretary of Kerala in December 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2017-08-30|title=K.M. Abraham is Chief Secretary|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/km-abraham-to-benext-chief-secretary/article19588048.ece|access-date=2021-06-17|issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He belongs to the 1982 batch of IAS. He was instrumental in bringing out the [[Sahara India Pariwar investor fraud case|Sahara Group Scam]] when he was a member of the [[Securities and Exchange Board of India]].

==Education==
Abraham did his [[Bachelor of Technology|B.Tech]] in Civil Engineering from [[University of Kerala]] and his [[Master of Technology|M.Tech]] in Industrial Management from [[IIT Kanpur]]. He completed his [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] from [[University of Michigan]] in Technology Policy in the Urban, Technology and Environment Program (UTEP).

He is also a [https://www.cfainstitute.org/ Chartered Financial Analyst] (CFA) and has completed the Licensed International Financial Analyst (LIFA) certification.

He holds a Diploma in Business Finance from [[Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India|ICFAI, Hyderabad]].

He has completed online courses in a range of subjects that include Neural Networks and Deep Learning, Probabilistic Graphical Models, Machine Learning, Big Data, Hadoop Platform and Application Framework, R and Python Programming.

== Career ==

=== Early career ===
Abraham started his career as a lecturer in Civil Engineering in the [[TKM College of Engineering]] under the [[University of Kerala]]. He then joined the [[Indian Administrative Service|IAS]] in 1982 and served as Assistant Collector (Under Training) in [[Kollam district]]. After his training he served as Sub Collector in both [[Ernakulam district]] and [[Thiruvananthapuram district]].

=== District Collector ===
He was District Collector in [[Alappuzha district]] and [[Ernakulam district]] during the period 1994–1996. During this period, he officiated as Mayor of the [[Kochi Municipal Corporation]] for a brief period.

=== Secretary in Finance Department ===
He was Secretary in Finance Department from 1996 to 2002. During this period, he is credited to have led the Modernizing Government Programme (MGP) – the first comprehensive governance and fiscal reforms programme at the State level in the country financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with supplementary grant support by the Government of Netherlands (RNE), and the Government of United Kingdom (DFID).

The Management Information Systems used in the State for Budgeting and in Treasury operations are credited to him during this period.

During this time he drafted the original legislation for establishing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund in 1999 – precursor to the current KIIFB.

=== Professor of Finance, Asian School of Business ===
In 2006, he took a sabbatical to serve as the Professor of Finance for one year in the [https://www.asb.ac.in/ Asian School of Business] [<nowiki/>[[Asian School of Business|*]]] at Thiruvananthapuram.

=== Visiting Faculty, IIT Kanpur ===
He also served as a Visiting Faculty in the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur between 2003 and 2007 in the Industrial Management and Engineering Department

=== Secretary/Principal Secretary ===

=== (Higher Education, Revenue and Food and Civil Supplies & Science and Technology, Personnel & Administrative Reforms Departments) ===
He has also served for various stints as Secretary in Higher Education, Revenue and Food and Civil Supplies and the Personnel & Administrative Reforms Departments before he took up an assignment as Whole Time Member in the [[Securities and Exchange Board of India]].

=== Whole Time Member – SEBI ===
He served as Whole Time Member in [[Securities and Exchange Board of India]] from 2008 to 2011. During his tenure at SEBI, he exposed the financial irregularities at [[Sahara India Pariwar]] which culminated in the [[Supreme Court of India]] upholding his judgement as member. As on 31 March 2021, SEBI had recovered {{currency|15473|INR}} [[crore]] out of {{INR|23000}} crore from the Sahara Group of Companies (SHICL and SIRECL), making this the biggest penalty levied in the financial markets to date .

He was in charge of the Secondary Markets, Investigation and Surveillance Divisions and the International Affairs Division during his tenure at SEBI.

=== Additional Chief Secretary – Higher Education ===
In 2011–2014, he served as the Additional Chief Secretary in Higher Education.

During this period, the largest skilling programme ([https://asapkerala.gov.in/ Additional Skills Acquisition Programme (ASAP]) was initiated in colleges and schools, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He is credited with having drafted the legislation for granting autonomy to colleges in Kerala. Twenty three colleges in Kerala were granted autonomy under this framework.

Several key programmes like Fostering Linkages in Academic Innovation and. Research ([http://collegiateedu.kerala.gov.in/?page_id=326 FLAIR]), Walk with a Scholar ([http://collegiateedu.kerala.gov.in/?page_id=320 WWS]), the Honors Programme at Graduate Levels in English, Mathematics, Economics and Commerce were initiated by him.

He has also served as the Vice Chancellor in four Universities (Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and Kannur Universities) during his time for various periods.

=== Additional Chief Secretary – Social Justice ===
He served concurrently as Additional Chief Secretary in Social Justice Department in 2012–14.

The Nirbhaya Programme for women in distress, the country's first Cochlear Implant Programme, the first State Policy for Transgenders, Early Intervention Programmes for Disabilities, and the [http://www.nipmr.org.in/ National Institute of Physical Education and Medical Research (NIPMER)] in Thrissur District are projects and programmes credited to his leadership.

=== Additional Chief Secretary – Finance ===
During 2014–2017 he served as the Finance Secretary in Government.

It was during this period that the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Act was amended. [https://kiifb.org/ KIIFB], fully equipped to leverage the innovations in financial markets in India came into existence. He was appointed as chief executive officer, KIIFB and continues to serve in that role.

=== Chief Secretary ===
He retired as Chief Secretary in the [[Government of Kerala]] in December 2017.

== Current roles in Government of Kerala ==

* '''Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Kerala'''
* '''Chief Executive Officer, [https://www.kiifb.org KIIFB]'''
* '''Executive Vice Chairperson, [https://kdisc.kerala.gov.in/ Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC)]'''

== Membership in Professional Bodies ==

* (Member) Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, USA
* (Member) Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP)

== Areas of academic interest ==

* Emerging Technology Adoption in Public Sector (Blockchain, Deep Learning, Internet of Things)
* Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Securities Analysis, Risk Management, Debt Markets, Portfolio Management, Public Finance.

== Awards and honors ==

* 16th Archbishop Mar Gregorious Award for Outstanding Service to Social Justice (2018)
* One of the top ten Personality Brand Names selected by Dhanam Magazine (2018)
* Special Award by Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms with National Campaign for People's right to Information for integrity, honesty and professional excellence (2017)
* [[Satyendra K. Dubey Memorial Award]] conferred by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur Alumni Association for displaying highest professional integrity and honesty (2016)
* GFiles Governance Award for Exceptional Achievement (2014)
* Selected by ''[[India Today]]'' among top ten bureaucrats in the State of Kerala (2014)

== References ==
<references />

{{Indian civil servants}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Kandathil Mathew}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Indian Administrative Service officers from Kerala]]
[[Category:District magistrate]]
[[Category:Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy alumni]]
[[Category:University of Kerala alumni]]
[[Category:IIT Kanpur alumni]]
[[Category:People from Kollam]]

K. M. Abraham civil servant - Revision history

Rakshasingh12 at 13:36, 8 May 2026