Thoppil Varghese Antony (1933 – 2020) was aPadma Bhushan-winning 1956 batchIndian Administrative Service officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre. He served asChief Secretary of Tamil Nadu, Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, andJoint Secretary in theMinistry of Health and Family Welfare,Government of India.[1][2]
Antony graduated with a B.Sc. in chemistry fromLoyola College, Chennai, and earned a Bachelor of Laws fromMadras Law College. He ranked highly in the 1956 Central Services Competitive Examination, leading to his selection for the IAS.[2][3]
Antony spearheaded Tamil Nadu’s demographic transition, reducing the state’s Crude Birth Rate from 28 to 19 per 1,000 between 1984 and 1994. He pioneered Mass Family Planning Camps in Thanjavur (1971–72), later adopted statewide. His holistic approach integrated women’s literacy, delayed marriage, child spacing, and maternal nutrition.[4][2]
In Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu’s “rice bowl,” he promoted high-yielding rice varieties, modern farming practices, and robust supply chains for agricultural inputs, significantly boosting productivity.[4][2]