Early career Abraham started his career as a lecturer in Civil Engineering in the
TKM College of Engineering under the
University of Kerala. He then joined the
IAS in 1982 and served as Assistant Collector (Under Training) in
Kollam district. After his training he served as Sub Collector in both
Ernakulam district and
Thiruvananthapuram district.
District Collector He was District Collector in
Alappuzha district and
Ernakulam district during the period 1994–1996. During this period, he officiated as Mayor of the
Kochi Municipal Corporation for a brief period.
Secretary in Finance Department He was Secretary in Finance Department from 1996 to 2002. During this period, he is credited to have led the Modernizing Government Programme (MGP) – the first comprehensive governance and fiscal reforms programme at the State level in the country financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), with supplementary grant support by the Government of Netherlands (RNE), and the Government of United Kingdom (DFID). The Management Information Systems used in the State for Budgeting and in Treasury operations are credited to him during this period. During this time he drafted the original legislation for establishing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund in 1999 – precursor to the current KIIFB.
Professor of Finance, Asian School of Business In 2006, he took a sabbatical to serve as the Professor of Finance for one year in the Asian School of Business
*] at Thiruvananthapuram.
Visiting Faculty, IIT Kanpur He also served as a Visiting Faculty in the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur between 2003 and 2007 in the Industrial Management and Engineering Department
Secretary/Principal Secretary (Higher Education, Revenue and Food and Civil Supplies & Science and Technology, Personnel & Administrative Reforms Departments) He has also served for various stints as Secretary in Higher Education, Revenue and Food and Civil Supplies and the Personnel & Administrative Reforms Departments before he took up an assignment as Whole Time Member in the
Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Whole Time Member – SEBI He served as Whole Time Member in
Securities and Exchange Board of India from 2008 to 2011. During his tenure at SEBI, he exposed the financial irregularities at
Sahara India Pariwar which culminated in the
Supreme Court of India upholding his judgement as member. As on 31 March 2021, SEBI had recovered
crore out of crore from the Sahara Group of Companies (SHICL and SIRECL), making this the biggest penalty levied in the financial markets to date . He was in charge of the Secondary Markets, Investigation and Surveillance Divisions and the International Affairs Division during his tenure at SEBI.
Additional Chief Secretary – Higher Education In 2011–2014, he served as the Additional Chief Secretary in Higher Education. During this period, the largest skilling programme (Additional Skills Acquisition Programme (ASAP) was initiated in colleges and schools, with assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). He is credited with having drafted the legislation for granting autonomy to colleges in Kerala. Twenty three colleges in Kerala were granted autonomy under this framework. Several key programmes like Fostering Linkages in Academic Innovation and. Research (FLAIR), Walk with a Scholar (WWS), the Honors Programme at Graduate Levels in English, Mathematics, Economics and Commerce were initiated by him. He has also served as the Vice Chancellor in four Universities (Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and Kannur Universities) during his time for various periods.
Additional Chief Secretary – Social Justice He served concurrently as Additional Chief Secretary in Social Justice Department in 2012–14. The Nirbhaya Programme for women in distress, the country's first Cochlear Implant Programme, the first State Policy for Transgenders, Early Intervention Programmes for Disabilities, and the National Institute of Physical Education and Medical Research (NIPMER) in Thrissur District are projects and programmes credited to his leadership.
Additional Chief Secretary – Finance During 2014–2017 he served as the Finance Secretary in Government. It was during this period that the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Act was amended. KIIFB, fully equipped to leverage the innovations in financial markets in India came into existence. He was appointed as chief executive officer, KIIFB and continues to serve in that role.
Chief Secretary He retired as Chief Secretary in the
Government of Kerala in December 2017. == Current roles in Government of Kerala ==