Senior Maharashtra-cadre Indian Administrative Service officer Tukaram Mundhe has stated that he would advise his children against joining the civil services, pointing to the personal strain and instability caused by approximately 25 transfers across his 21-year career. Mundhe, who currently serves as the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, noted that young people should consider alternative avenues such as entrepreneurship or public leadership to contribute to society, rather than viewing the civil services as the sole path to meaningful public impact.
Frequent Postings and the Burden on Family Life
Mundhe entered the service after securing the 20th all-India rank in the 2004 Union Public Service Commission examination and joined the Maharashtra cadre in 2005. Over the course of more than two decades, he built a reputation for strict administrative discipline, surprise inspections, and rigorous enforcement of government rules. However, the routine reassignment of duties resulted in an average of more than one transfer per year, placing ongoing demands on his household. For administrative officers, taking charge of a new posting is part of standard protocol, but for their families, it requires frequent relocations, settling into unfamiliar cities, and repeatedly rebuilding domestic routines.
Disrupted Schooling and the Cost of Relocation
The repeated transfers had a direct impact on his children’s upbringing, most notably through the disruption of his son’s schooling. Before entering Class 5, his son had to change schools six times, navigating new academic systems, unfamiliar teaching methods, and fresh peer groups with each move. Mundhe observed that schools provide children with critical social grounding and long-term friendships, both of which become difficult to sustain amid constant geographical shifts. His wife similarly shouldered the burden of managing recurring household transitions and domestic responsibilities, reinforcing his view that the professional standing of an administrative career carries substantial private costs.
Looking Beyond the Civil Services for Public Contribution
Reflecting on these experiences, Mundhe emphasized that his children should choose professions driven by personal interest rather than social prestige. While administrative officers must function within rigid procedural boundaries and regulatory constraints, he pointed out that entrepreneurship offers opportunities to build enterprises, deploy technology, and resolve social challenges with greater independence. Mundhe, who took charge of the state FDA in May 2026 after heading civic bodies in Navi Mumbai, Nashik, and Nagpur, expressed strong confidence in the energy and capacity of the younger generation, concluding that meaningful public service can be achieved outside traditional government structures.
Follow for daily updates on cybercrime, corporate fraud, DFIR, hacking, investigations, and digital forensics
