Dr Arun K Rath joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1973 and superannuated in 2009 as the Secretary,Ministry of Human Resource Development,Govt of India. After superannuation,Dr Rath has been Visiting Professor of management in leading business schools.He served as Independent Director in the Boards of Directors of a number of blue chip Indian companies in steel,coal and petroleum sectors. Dr Rath was awarded the degree of D. Litt honoris causain 2017 for his outstanding contribution to education and corporate governance, Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science, Montreal in February 2020 for his significant contribution to productivityand Lok Nayak Jay Prakash Narayan National Award in 2021 for his outstanding contribution to education . Dr Rath was elected Chairman of the Indian Institute of Public Administration Odisha Regional Branch Bhubaneswar for 2021-23. He received the Paul H. Apple by award from IIPA New Delhi in October 2022 for his outstanding contribution to public administration.