https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

An Officer’s Passionate Love for Electronics 

Indian Masterminds Stories

Being a civil servant and handling all the responsibilities that come with it, by itself is a big challenge. However, there are officers who are not only adept in efficiently discharging their duties, but also in following their passions. Dr. S. Siddharth, who is currently posted as the Principal Secretary to CM, Bihar, is a man who doesn’t want to miss out on anything in life and explore as much as he can. He is into photography, video editing, script writing, and his love for electronic objects is unmatched – something he follows passionately. 

S Siddhartha, Principal Secretary to CM (Bihar)

In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, 1991-batch officer shared how much he loves to make new electronic devices. 

WIRES AND BATTERIES BECAME INTEGRAL TO LIFE

As a child, Dr. Siddharth was always attracted to wires, batteries and electronic devices. However, at that time, only few were available. He was in class 8 when he made his first radio transistor. With time, this passion kept growing. He went to IIT and, there too, he took up Computer Science. Recalling those days, he said, “It was way different than today. Only few of us were in the course and unlike now, the focus was hardware and not software.” 

During those days, he worked on a project to make fault tolerant modules for the satellites. It would help the satellites to identify problems and repair itself. 

At that time, black and white TV had come into the market, and he used to repair TVs of people in his neighbourhood. 

However, when he joined IIM Ahemdabad, the direct connection with electronic devices stopped. Yet, he still found a way. He became a disk jockey and started working with amplifiers and speakers. This fixation with electronic devices stayed with him, and even during his LBSNAA days, he used to repair irons of his colleagues.

WANTED TO START INVERTER WORKSHOP 

He still has a full-fledged lab of electronics, where one can find batteries, screw, wires, and what not. Sharing a hilarious incident, he said, “When my wife saw my room for the first time, she was shocked and asked me where to find a place to sleep in the midst of wires and batteries!”

During the initial days, she used to get irritated with his obsession, but over time, she learned to accept it. At one point of time, during 2003-04, Dr. Siddharth even wanted to quit his job and start an inverter workshop. 

Its about time when Dr. Siddharth will assemble his own aircraft as he has already collected the parts

“I bought all the elements in bulk of 100s and started making. Slowly people who knew started to take those inverters for free (laughs). I still have those parts with me. I never throw away any of the parts, no matter how old they get,” he said, adding that Delhi’s Lajpat Rai market (famous for electronic items) is like a pilgrimage for him. In every visit to Delhi, he makes it a point to go to that market. He feels restless if he doesn’t. It’s like a place of pilgrimage for him.

MAKING A ROBOT FOR SOCIAL IMPACT

Even after joining the civil services, he continued experimenting with electronics. When he was posted as SDO, Giridih (now in Jharkhand), he made his first single board black and white TV. 

Right now, he is working on making a robot. It is still in the preliminary stage. “This one, I want to make for social impact. I have always wanted to do that. If successfully implemented, the robot I am working on will assist the blind in walking,” he said.

TO ASSEMBLE AND FLY AN AIRCRAFT

The officer’s wishlist is long. Next on the list is flying a plane. He has already enrolled in a pilot training programme. It doesn’t just end there. He wants to fly an aircraft assembled by him. He has already collected all the parts of a small aircraft, and it is just a matter of time before he assemble those and get his plane ready to fly! 


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Qingdao Meet
Rajnath Singh and Admiral Dong Jun Meet on SCO Sidelines to Push for Permanent Border Peace
Tiger death in Karnataka
Shocking: 5 Tigers Found Dead in Karnataka’s MM Hills Sanctuary, Suspected Poisoning Sparks Outrage - Details Inside
NPCIL
Clean Energy Push: NPCIL Extends Bid Deadline to September 30 for Bharat Small Reactor (BSR) Co-Development
All India Officers IAS IPS IFS UPSC
IFS Ambarish Vemuri Appointed Deputy Secretary in PMO; IAS Ashish Srivastava’s Role Upgraded in SSC
Devinder Singh
Retired IRS Devinder Singh Kalyan Appointed Haryana’s State Election Commissioner Amid Controversy
Uttarakhand Lok Sewa Ayog UKPSC-lok-sewa-aayog
UKPSC PCS Prelims 2025 to Be Held on June 29: Advisory Issued Amid Monsoon & Traffic Concerns - Details Inside
SAIL resized
High-Level Meeting in New Delhi Paves Way for Major Expansion of SAIL’s Rourkela Steel Plant
Kerala-police-resized
Kerala DGP Appointment: UPSC Shortlists 3 Senior IPS Officers, Excludes ADGPs; State Govt to Choose New Police Chief - Details Inside
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-25 at 5.07
Why Has the DGCA Fined Air India Rs 5 Crore Since Privatisation?
Former Diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar
Iran Is Weakest Now, Needs a Face-Saver
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-23 at 12.39
Retired Officers Lead 7-Day Mission to Revive Betwa River with 55 Check Dams | Video Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Sanish Kumar Singh
“If you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way,” Sanish Kumar Singh AIR 8, UPSC IFS 2024 
The real interview, he says, was much more humane. “The board was conversational. The chairman opened...
Raju Wagh
When the Battlefield Became a Study Room and a Dream Took Flight
Amid IED blasts and anti-Maoist operations in Bastar, CRPF Commando Raju Wagh taught village kids, studied...
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-18 at 10.31
"I Just Wanted to Breathe Again": The Man Who Fought Death and Made It to UPSC
Struck by COVID at the peak of his UPSC prep, Devanand Telgote spent months on ECMO, unsure he'd live,...
Social Media
Shailaja Chandra
“Nanis & Dadis Have a Brain”: Former IAS Officer Shailaja Chandra Weighs in on 1970s vs 2025 Life Debate - “This Generation Has It Better”
Responding to Viral Post on Middle-Class Struggles, Ex-Bureaucrat Offers Candid Reflection on Then and...
Tigress Arrowhead
The End of an Era: A Queen Falls - Ranthambore’s Iconic Tigress Arrowhead (T-84) Passes Away at 14, Hours After Daughter’s Relocation
Ranthambore mourns the loss of one of its fiercest and most beloved tigers, Arrowhead, the granddaughter...
Screenshot 2025-06-13 194001
Wild Elephant Disrupts Riverside Picnic, Sparks Debate on Human Encroachment; IFS Parveen Kumar Shares the Video - Watch Here!
Mr. Kaswan used the viral video, which has garnered over 1.5 lakh views, to highlight the risks of human...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Qingdao Meet
Rajnath Singh and Admiral Dong Jun Meet on SCO Sidelines to Push for Permanent Border Peace
Tiger death in Karnataka
Shocking: 5 Tigers Found Dead in Karnataka’s MM Hills Sanctuary, Suspected Poisoning Sparks Outrage - Details Inside
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-25 at 5.07
Former Diplomat Ashok Sajjanhar
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-23 at 12.39
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT