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Working in the fields and selling vegetables in the weekly market: Inspirational story of the brilliant IAS Tukaram Munde, who faced transfers 25 times in 21 years.
Samira Vishwas | September 10, 2026 2:24 AM CST


In the history of Indian Civil Service (UPSC), there are some outspoken and dutiful officers, whose working style becomes an example for big politicians and mafia. One such well-known, powerful and honest officer is IAS Tukaram Mundhe of Maharashtra cadre, who is currently serving as the Commissioner of Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tukaram Munde, who has faced 25 transfers during his short administrative tenure of only 21 years, is known for his strict working style and zero tolerance policy against corruption. Recently, under his leadership, massive raids have been conducted on many big food outlets and adulterants in Maharashtra, making it clear that he is not going to compromise on the health and rights of the public. But his journey to reach this tough administrative position is no less than a film story, in which the struggle ranging from the smell of the soil of the fields to the difficult examination of UPSC is hidden. Let us know in detail how the son of an ordinary farmer, who worked as a laborer in the fields and sold vegetables in the weekly markets, became the most popular IAS officer of the country. Tukaram Munde belongs to a poor farmer family of Beed district of Maharashtra. IAS Tukaram Munde was born in a very poor and ordinary farmer family of Beed district under the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. The financial condition of his house was so weak that even supporting the family was a big challenge. All the difficulties of farming, drought and heavy burden of debt always loomed over his family. Like most rural families in the country, his entire family was completely dependent on monsoon rains to water the crops in the fields. The situation was so dire that Tukaram Munde had to work hard in the fields along with his family and to meet the household expenses, he himself used to go to the weekly markets and sell vegetables. They would often wake up as early as 2 in the night and water the crops by hand pulling or using traditional methods so that their crops did not dry up. His entire childhood was spent in a kutcha house made of mud and bricks, where there was not even a trace of comforts and amenities. Tukaram Munde, who was not a part of the system but chose the administrative service to change the system, had this question in his mind since childhood that why farmers and the general public have to face administrative hurdles and corruption for every small thing. He had seen very closely how his family and the poor people around him continued to suffer due to the shortcomings of government systems. This family pain and the inconsistencies of the system inspired him to prepare for the country's most prestigious civil services examination i.e. UPSC. Tukaram Munde himself had mentioned in an interview that he had not come into this service just to be a part of the system, but his main objective was to repair and change this system from within. Without any big and expensive coaching academy, without any strong network or godfather and studying completely on his own, he achieved brilliant success in the UPSC Civil Services Examination of the year 2005 and got 20th rank (AIR 20) at All India level. In this way he got the home cadre of Maharashtra and his dream of becoming an IAS came true. Higher education from Aurangabad, cracked UPSC after master's degree in Political Science. Talking about his primary and higher education journey, Tukaram Munde completed his Bachelor's degree from the famous Government College of Arts and Science in Aurangabad (now known as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) in the year 1996. After this, he obtained MA master's degree in Political Science from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in the year 1998. After completing his master's degree, he completely focused on preparing for the Civil Services Examination and worked hard day and night and finally achieved success in 2005. Even after joining civil service, he never let his hunger for learning diminish. He also successfully completed various high level and important courses like Financial Analysis, Fiscal Policy, Leadership, Tax Analysis, Revenue Forecasting, Macroeconomic Management and Disaster Management, so that he could run the administration more effectively. He was transferred 25 times in his 21 years of service, yet his courage did not waver. The biggest and unique aspect of Tukaram Munde's working style is that he has always been a topic of discussion in the corridors of power due to his honesty and strict decisions. In his administrative career spanning over two decades i.e. 21 years, he has been transferred a total of 25 times. Generally any IAS officer in the country gets a chance to complete a tenure of at least two to three years on one posting, but this rarely happened with Tukaram Munde. They were removed almost everywhere within a short period of time and at times they were even kept without any fixed posting. Despite this there was never any softening in his attitude. He clearly believes that his every action should be completely legal, morally correct and only in the public interest. They bluntly say that if a decision meets these standards, they implement it without any hesitation and without any pressure, no matter how influential a person is standing in front of them. Tukaram Munde has been awarded many big honors at the country and state level for his impeccable honesty and public welfare work. He has received many national and state level awards from water conservation to municipal administration. He is also fondly called the 'Waterman of Maharashtra' by the public and media due to the revolutionary work done by him in the field of water conservation. Apart from this, he got recognition across the country for taking new initiatives in urban administration, public health and transportation system. He was awarded the prestigious 'Best Collector Award' by the Government of Maharashtra for his excellent performance on every front in the district administration during the year 2015-16. Apart from this, he has also received the National Award by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. When he served as Municipal Commissioner of Navi Mumbai, he was awarded the prestigious 'SKOCH Order of Merit' for his e-toilet and earthquake-proofing improvement initiatives. In the year 2017, he also received the National Award for 'Best Integrated Traffic Management System'. Ban on wasteful expenditure during his tenure in Navi Mumbai, 'Walk with the Commissioner' initiative started. When Tukaram Munde became the Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation in 2016, projects worth several crores of rupees had already been approved there and there were serious questions about their usefulness. These included a proposal to install a marble statue worth Rs 20 crore and a solar project worth Rs 163 crore on Morbe Dam. Munde immediately canceled both these projects, considering them completely unnecessary and a waste of public money and used the huge funds to improve the city's infrastructure and make the city more accessible for the disabled. Apart from this, his 'Walk with the Commissioner' initiative to establish direct communication with the public became quite popular. He used to go out on the streets of the city every Sunday morning and invite common citizens to join him, so that people could directly convey their problems and suggestions to him without any fear or formality. However, due to this transparent and public-oriented working style, he sometimes had sharp conflicts with local politicians and councilors, but as a public leader, the public always stood like a rock in his support.


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