Mumbai: India's first woman IAS officer, Anna Rajam Malhotra, died at her home in suburban Andheri on Monday, her family said. She was 91.

The last rites were performed in Mumbai, the family said.

She was born as Anna Rajam George in Kerala's Ernakulum district in July 1927. She shifted to Chennai after her schooling in Kozhikode to pursue higher education at the University of Madras.

Malhotra joined the civil services in 1951 and opted for the Madras cadre. She served in the Madras state under then chief minister C. Rajagopalachari.

She married R.N. Malhotra, who served as Reserve Bank governor from 1985 to 1990.

Malhotra is known for her contribution in setting up the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) near Mumbai. She was the chairperson of the JNPT when it was being built.

In 1989, she was honoured with the Padma Bhushan.

Malhotra had worked closely with Rajiv Gandhi when he was in charge of the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. PTI