His Excellency Shri Balmiki Prasad Singh      Governor of Sikkim

Shri Balmiki Prasad Singh is a distinguished scholar, thinker and public servant. H.E. the Governor was born on 1.1.1942 in Bihar. He was educated in a village school and subsequently at the universities of Patna and Oxford. He passed his M.A. in Political Science from Patna University, Patna, standing first in first class with record marks and several gold medals. He became a lecturer in Political Science in Patna University at the age of nineteen.

Shri B.P. Singh was appointed in 1964 to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He has since been the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship (1982-84) and Queen Elizabeth Fellowship (1989-90). He is also recipient of Gulzari lal Nanda Award for Outstanding public service from the President of India in 1998 and Man of Letters Award from His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2003.

Over the past four decades Shri B.P. Singh has held a variety of important positions within Assam as well as in the Government of India. He was Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forest (1993-95), Culture Secretary (1995-97) and Home Secretary (1997-99) in Government of India.

As an international civil servant, Shri B.P. Singh served as Executive Director and Ambassador at the World Bank during 1999-2002 representing India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Shri B.P. Singh has also been Chancellor of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath (a Deemed to be University) and Chief Editor of the South Asia Series on “Perspectives on Economics, Technology and Governance” of Oxford University Press, New York. Until recently he was Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow at New Delhi. He is currently Governor of Sikkim.

Shri B.P. Singh has authored five books including The Problem of Change - A Study of North-East India (1987); India’s Culture: The State, the Arts and Beyond (1998) and Bahudha and the post-9/11 World (2008), all published by Oxford University Press, New Delhi. In addition he has authored several articles and monographs on politics, culture, ecology and public administration. He is also Chief Editor of the The Millennium Book on New Delhi, OUP (2001).

Shri B.P Singh is married to Smt. Karuna Singh and they live in Raj Bhavan, Gangtok, Sikkim.

Short Biographical Statement
Born on January 1, 1942 (India) Married to Ms. Karuna Singh, three children

Education
Master of Arts, (Pol. Sci.): Patna University; Patna, India, First in First Class with record marks and several gold medals. Became Lecturer in Post-Graduate Department of Political Science, Patna University at the age of 19 years.Master of Arts from Oxford University, United Kingdom

Professional Background
Joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1964. Postings held in the Indian State of Assam during 64-75 Was S.D.O., North-Lakhimpur (1966-68), Joint Secretary appointment (1968-70), Deputy Commissioner, Darrang, Tezpur (1971-72) and Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup, Guwahati 91973-75). Became life Member of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) New Delhi.

1975-79 Deputy Secretary/Director, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, New Delhi.

1980-82 Secretary for all Departments under the Chief Secretary and also Home Secretary, Government of Assam 1982-84 Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow. Was also member, Assam Planning Board during this period.

1984-89 Joint Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Steel and Mines, New Delhi. Was also Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Copper Limited for one year.

1989-90 Queen Elizabeth Fellow, Oxford University, U.K

1990-92 Agricultural Production Commissioner and Special Commissioner and Special Secretary, Government of Assam, Agriculture. Panchayat and Rural Development, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Department, Dispur, Guwahati. Was awarded Governor of Assam Gold Medal in 1991 for outstanding service in Assam.

1992-93 Joint Secretary and later Additional Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi. Devised regional planning and Development models in tribal areas.

1993-95 Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi, Chairman of the National Committee on Bio-diversity Conservation. Asia Representative on Ramar Convention on Wetlands, Gland, Switzerland. Director, Indian School of Forest Management, Bhopal for one year. Life Member of the Society for Promotion of Wasteland Development (SPWD), New Delhi.

1995-97 Union Culture Secretary, Became Life Member of the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) organized global level Golden Jubilee celebrations of India’s Independence. Set up National Culture Fund.

1997-99 Union Home Secretary, Secretary, Justice, Government of India and Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir Affairs, Government of India. Recipient of Gulzarilal Nanda Award for the year 1998 for outstanding public service in India from the President of India.

1999-02 Executive Director, The World Bank and its Affiliates representing India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Founder Member of the Board of Governors of Development Gateway Foundation (DGF) and member, Global Environment Facility (GEF), Washington D.C.

15 Aug. 2002 to 8th July 2008 A variety of honorary academic and governmental assignments including

• Chancellor of the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath Deemed to be University;
• Chief Editor of the South Asia Series on “Perspectives on Economics, Technology and Governance” of Oxford University Press, New York;
• Chairman, National Commission for Economically Backward Classes Government of India and
• Mahatma Gandhi National Fellow. Was presented the first Man of Letters Award set-up by Subabh International, a social service organization by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on June 11, 2003 at New Delhi.

9th July 2008 Governor of Sikkim onwards

Publications Books

• Threads Woven: Ideals , Principles & Administration, LBS Guwahati, 1975;
• The Indian National Congress and Cultural Renaissance, Allied Publishers , New Delhi 1987
• The Problem of Change: A Study of North-East India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1987;
• India’s Culture: the State , the Arts and Beyond-Oxford University Press, New Delhi 1998; and
• Bahudha and the post-9/11 World; Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2008 Chief Editor of The Millennium Book on New Delhi, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2001.

Monographs : Published more than one hundred articles, monographs, memorial lectures and book-notes and reviews on themes of Culture, Poverty, Ecology and Public Administration in India and abroad.

Present Address :

Raj Bhavan Gangtok,
Sikkim, India
Phone : (03592) 202400, 202410
Fax : (03592) 202742
Email: governor-skm@nic.in