Centre allows IRS officer to change gender on official records

In a historic decision, the central government has given its approval to a Hyderabad-based Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer to change name and gender on official records.

M Anusuya had requested the Union Finance Ministry to change his name to M Anukathir Surya, and the gender from female to male.

And the request was promptly approved by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs department.

“The request of Ms. M. Anusuya has been considered. Henceforth, the officer will be recognised as ‘Mr. M. Anukathir Surya’ in all official records,” read the memo posted by the Central Board Of Indirect Taxes and Customs on its website.

Notably, this is not the first time that the Indian bureaucracy has been receptive to such progressive requests.

In 2015, Aishwarya Rutuparna Pradhan then serving in the Odisha Finance Service publically announced her transgender identity, making her the first transgender civil servant in the country.