Vivek K. Agnihotri, an IAS officer of 1968 batch, belongs to the Andhra Pradesh cadre of the service.  He obtained his Master’s degrees in English Literature and Political Science from the University of Allahabad, Allahabad.  He has obtained his Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis and Design from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.  He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford, in 1991-92.  He is a distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Directors, New Delhi.  He was conferred Paul H. Appleby award by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi on 26 October 2018.

Among several responsible positions with the State and Central Governments, Dr. Agnihotri has held posts of Collector and District Magistrate, Visakhapatnam; Development Commissioner for Handlooms (1986-89); Joint Director at the LBSNAA, Mussoorie (1992-98); Additional Secretary to Government of India in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance (1999-2002); and Secretary to Government of India in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (2003-05).  Post-retirement, he has served as Member, Central Administrative Tribunal (2006-07); and Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha (2007-2012), in the Parliament of India.

He is currently Director-General, Golden Peacock Award Secretariat, Institute of Directors, New Delhi; Advisor of Eminence (Public Governance), American Society for Quality, New Delhi; and Counsellor and Evaluator of dissertations at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.

He is widely traveled and has several publications to his credit including books entitled An Argosy of English Prose;  Indian History and Culture;  Environment and Development;  Skills for Effective Administrators;  Faculty Manual of LBSNAA;  Public Policy Analysis and Design;  Socio-Economic Profile of Rural India (South India); Effective and Responsive Administration;  Quality Management in Government: Theory and Practice;  Handbook on the Working of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; Praxis of Indian Parliament: Notes on Procedures of the Council of States and its Secretariat (in two volumes);  Total Quality Management for Boardroom;  and Daring Bureaucracy: Revelations and Ruminations.