Janadas Devan, Director of the Institute of Policy Studies, was educated at the National University of Singapore and Cornell University in the United States. He taught English in various institutions in Singapore and the US, and later wrote for various publications in the region, before joining The Straits Times in 1997.

He served as the paper’s leader writer for many years, writing unsigned editorials on a wide variety of subjects; wrote a weekly column on politics and economics, in which he covered international and domestic developments; and a column on language for The Sunday Times. In 2008, he became the editor of the paper’s opinion pages, and in 2010, became the paper’s Associate Editor. He also did a weekly radio broadcast, “Call from America”, for Radio Singapore International, from 2000 to 2008, on American life and society. 

He left The Straits Times in July 2012 on being appointed the Government’s Chief of Communications at the Ministry of Communications and Information. 

He relinquished his role as Government’s Chief of Communications in March 2023. He remains Deputy Secretary (Prime Minister’s Office) and Senior Advisor (Government Communications) in MCI. He was also appointed Chairman of the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) with effect from April 2023.

Publications

• Devan, J. (2008). Why the Western media dominates. In C. George (Ed.),  Free markets free media?: Reflections on the political economy of the press in Asia.  Singapore: Asian Media, Information and Communication Centre and Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Nanyang Technological University.
• Devan, J. (2007). Odd man in. In K. P. Tan (Ed.),  Renaissance Singapore? Economy, culture, and politics (pp.37—44) . Singapore: NUS Press.

Op-eds/Commentaries

• Devan, J. (2017, February 6).  A tribute to father’s old friend Fong Swee Suan.  The Straits Times.
• Devan, J. (2015, January 28).  Singapore could have become ‘one country, two systems’ within Malaysia, not sovereign country.  The Straits Times.
• Devan, J. (2013, April 22).  Choosing the better angels of our nature.  The Straits Times.
• Ho, K.P., & Devan, J. (2011, September 3).  Let electoral college choose the president.  The Straits Times.

Speeches

• Opening Remarks, "The Challenges of Governance in a Complex World: Lecture I", at 2016/17 IPS-Nathan Lectures, 5 April 2017.
• Opening Remarks, “Exceptional government to sustain a nation once thought improbable”, at Singapore Perspectives 2017, 23 January 2017.
• Opening Remarks, “The ‘We’ in our National Pledge”, at Singapore Perspectives 2016, 18 January 2016.
• Opening Remarks, “Audacious choices”, at Singapore Perspectives 2015, 26 January 2015.
• Opening Remarks, “Differences”, at Singapore Perspectives 2014, 28 January 2014.
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Opening Remarks, “Governance”, at Singapore Perspectives 2013, 28 January 2013.
Opening Remarks, “Why Singaporeans will never be happy”, at the Institute of Policy Studies Young Singaporeans Conference, 26 September 2012.
Opening Remarks, “A tribute to Mr S R Nathan”, at the Institute of Policy Studies Corporate Associates Lunch with Mr S R Nathan, 22 February 2012.
Opening Remarks, “Singapore inclusive: Bridging divides”, at Singapore Perspectives 2012, 16 January 2012.  
Opening Remarks, "Impact of New Media on General Election 2011", at the Institute of Policy Studies Conference, 4 October 2011.
Opening Remarks, "Making a ‘Great' Art Museum: Contending with Southeast Asian Modernities and Art", at the National Heritage Board Academy and Institute of Policy Studies Symposium, 13 July 2011.
Opening Remarks, "Institute of Policy Studies Post-Election Forum", 8 July 2011.

Awards

• The Public Administration Medal, Gold (2017). National Day Awards.
• Clark Distinguished Teaching Award (1988). Awarded by Cornell University.

Committees/Directorships

• Director, Institute of Policy Studies (2011- Present)