28 October 2026
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

From UP to UN: An IAS Officer’s Odyssey

NITI Aayog Director Urvashi Prasad’s father Naresh Nandan Prasad was a UP cadre IAS officer who also worked at the UN The 1981-batch officer had written his memoirs but, unfortunately, passed away before he could publish them They have now been published under the title, ‘Small Cogs in a Large Wheel’, by daughter Urvashi, and the book launch is today in New Delhi
Indian Masterminds Stories

‘Small Cogs in a Large Wheel’ is the memoir of former 1981 batch IAS officer Naresh Nandan Prasad. Besides serving in three states of India, he also served at the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the World Intellectual Property Organisation, because of which, he was known as the international bureaucrat.

He started writing about his bureaucratic experiences, that included some of the turning points in the country like the Babri Masjid demolition, on his mobile phone! However, he passed away suddenly a year back leaving his wife, who is also a retired IAS officer, and his only daughter Urvashi Prasad bereaved and devastated.

It is this daughter, Urvashi Prasad, a Director at NITI Aayog, who has published her father’s precious writings saved carefully on his mobile phone. The book titled ‘Small Cogs in a Large Wheel’ is being launched today in New Delhi. It is a happy day for Ms. Prasad and her family members to witness Mr. Naresh Nandan Prasad’s memoir being finally released. At the same time, the book launch will no doubt make powerful memories come alive, as family and friends recount the life and works of the Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer who also served at the international level.

Watch this video interview of his daughter, Ms. Urvashi Prasad, Director at NITI Aayog, to know more about late Naresh Nandan Prasad:


Indian Masterminds Stories
Join our WhatsApp Channel
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
NHPC Vigilance Awareness Week
NHPC Inaugurates Vigilance Awareness Week 2026 Under ‘Probity for Prosperity’ Theme
MRPL Vigilance Awareness Week
MRPL Inaugurates Vigilance Awareness Week 2026, Emphasises Integrity and Transparency
Uttarakhand Officers VRS
Why Are IAS, IPS and IFS Officers Opting for VRS in Uttarakhand? 3 Forest Officers Seek Early Retirement in Three Years
PNB Housing Finanace
PNB Housing Finance Q2 FY27 Results: Net Profit Rises 6% to ₹617 Crore, AUM Grows 17%
BPCL
BPCL Wins CHT Innovation Award 2025–26 for CLRTO Technology at ETM-2026
GAIL PSU
GAIL India to Invest $63 Million in Ratnagiri LNG Terminal Heating Unit by June 2027 
MCL E-Waste Management Campaign
Mahanadi Coalfields Organises Street Plays to Promote E-Waste Management Under Special Campaign 6
HAL_resized
HAL Appoints P B Rangarao as Director (Operations) Effective October 28, 2026
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Five years after Kargil, India sent its cricketing heroes to Pakistan where terrorism posed a deadly threat. The man guarding them, former Special Director of Intelligence Bureau, Mr. Yashovardhan Azad, reveals what all went behind the scenes during that crucial tour. 
Trust No One, Said His Instinct in Pakistan
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
How India Plans to Boost Tourism, Create Jobs and Ease Overcrowding : Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the Road to 2047
Dr Saket Badola IFS
Beyond Tigers and Safaris: How Corbett Literature Festival Wants to Change the Conservation Conversation
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
IA&AS Lokesh Datal
‘Dreams Don’t Change Lives, Daily Habits Do’: IA&AS Officer Lokesh Datal on UPSC and Discipline
IA&AS officer Lokesh Datal shares his UPSC journey, clearing the exam in his fourth attempt, building...
Mavis tak
From Dropping Out of School to Becoming an IPS Officer : How a Father’s Unwavering Support Helped Mavis Tak Achieve Success
For Mavis Tak, becoming an IPS officer once seemed like a distant dream. Despite financial struggles...
Bhikan Rojekar UPSC
He missed MBBS by 1 mark in 2016; Maharashtra’s Bhikan Rojekar secures UPSC AIR 812
Bhikan Rojekar secured AIR 812 in UPSC CSE 2025 in his third attempt. Read how the son of a farm labourer...
CSR NEWS
nalco
NALCO Foundation Signs MoU to Sponsor 21 Odisha Youths for Three-Year Nursing Diploma 
The three-year nursing course will support youths from villages near NALCO’s Anugul and Koraput complexes,...
NALCO Nursing Education Initiative
NALCO Foundation Signs MoU to Sponsor 40 Odisha Youths for Three-Year Nursing Diploma Course
The initiative will support GNM nursing education for youths from villages near NALCO’s Angul and Koraput...
MCL CSR Projects
MCL Signs Two MoUs with Sambalpur Administration, Invests ₹1.51 Crore in CSR Projects
The initiatives will provide one-year nutritional support to 1,100 TB patients and install solar streetlights...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
NHPC Vigilance Awareness Week
NHPC Inaugurates Vigilance Awareness Week 2026 Under ‘Probity for Prosperity’ Theme
Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan Lists 12 Types of Bureaucrats, Targets File Throwers, File Sitters and Workplace Misconduct
When Bureaucrats Become the Bottleneck: Cabinet Secretary’s 12 Types Expose Office Woes
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Five years after Kargil, India sent its cricketing heroes to Pakistan where terrorism posed a deadly threat. The man guarding them, former Special Director of Intelligence Bureau, Mr. Yashovardhan Azad, reveals what all went behind the scenes during that crucial tour. 
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Dr Saket Badola IFS
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT