NEW DELHI: B. R. Sharma, IAS (Retd.), former Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir and Chairman of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), J&K Regional Branch, has been conferred the prestigious Paul H. Appleby Award in recognition of his distinguished services to the institute and significant contributions to public administration.
The award was presented by C. P. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President of India and President of IIPA, at the institute’s 72nd Annual General Meeting in Delhi. Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office and Chairman of IIPA, was also present.
Instituted in the name of Dean Paul H. Appleby, whose recommendations led to the establishment of IIPA in 1954, the award recognises outstanding contributions to public administration. Sharma joins a distinguished list of recipients that includes N. N. Vohra, Dr Karan Singh, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Dr Ashok Bhan, Dr S. S. Bloeria, Er. J. B. S. Johar, A. M. Watali and J. A. Khan.
The recognition also marks a significant achievement for the IIPA J&K Regional Branch, which has received the Paul H. Appleby Award for the ninth time—the highest number among IIPA’s 26 regional and 43 local branches across the country.
A 1984-batch IAS officer of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir cadre, Sharma has had a distinguished administrative career spanning more than 36 years. He has held several important positions in the Union and Jammu and Kashmir governments, including Secretary, Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs; Chairman, Staff Selection Commission; Chief Secretary of J&K; Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission; and State Election Commissioner.
He has also served in key departments, including Home, Finance, Power, Planning and Development, and Human Resource Development. His contributions to public administration, particularly in addressing the challenges faced by Jammu and Kashmir, have earned him wide recognition. He received the J&K State Award for Meritorious Public Service in 2010 and the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for 2010–11.
Sharma has been associated with the IIPA J&K Regional Branch as a life member since 1988 and has served as its chairman since 2015. Under his leadership, the branch has expanded its academic and professional activities through capacity-building programmes, training sessions, seminars, panel discussions and debates on contemporary administrative and regional issues. He has also contributed to resource mobilisation and infrastructure development.
In 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed among the National Centre for Good Governance, IIPA New Delhi and the IIPA J&K Regional Branch to strengthen public administration initiatives in the Union Territory.
Under Sharma’s stewardship, the branch was recognised as the second-best IIPA branch in 2019–20 and 2020–21, the third-best in 2021–22, and the best branch in 2022–23.
The award citation describes Sharma as a widely respected and multifaceted administrator with a credible record in public administration. It highlights his service in key positions in both the Union and J&K governments and acknowledges his contribution to strengthening the administrative machinery in the face of decades of terrorism and violence in Jammu and Kashmir.
The award ceremony was attended by Dr Ashok Bhan, IPS (Retd.), Patron of the IIPA J&K Regional Branch; Vikrant Kuthalia, Honorary Treasurer; G. M. Andrabi, Joint Secretary, Kashmir; Rashmi Sharma, wife of B. R. Sharma; and Jatin, Programme Coordinator of IIPA J&K Regional Branch.
