Aditya Nath Jha

Aditya Nath Jha (18 August 1911 – 1972) of the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan in 1972 in the civil services category. He belonged to the 1936 batch of the ICS.

Jha was the son of Sir Ganganath Jha, and the brother of Shri Amarnath Jha, a scholar of English and Sanskrit and former vice-chancellor of Allahabad University. Educated at Allahabad University, he entered the ICS on 16 September 1936, completing his ICS probationary training at Jesus College, Oxford. He served in the United Provinces as an assistant magistrate and collector before transferring to the Indian Political Service in November 1939. At the time of independence, he was secretary to the Resident for the Eastern Princely States.

Post-independence, Jha served as Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, as the first director of the National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, Secretary to the Government of India and first Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

Jha was known for his administrative acumen and his wide-ranging knowledge of cultures and languages. Descended from a family of Sanskrit scholars, Jha was a fluent Sanskrit speaker. While serving as Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh he was also concurrently Vice Chancellor of the Sanskrit University in Varanasi. Provided by Wikipedia