Akhil Arora, additional chief secretary has a great knack of finance. Perhaps both the government – Congress and BJP sensed it. He has been credited to have drafted four budgets and one vote on account budget in his close to four years tenure. This is the second largest tenure for any finance secretary in Rajasthan after Adarsh Kishore Saxena, who served as finance secretary for close to five and half years. Rajiv Mehrishi with a tenure of little more than three years features third in the list.
Akhil Arora, a 1993 batch IAS officer, has expertise in dotting populist budget, which gives a feel-good factor to public as well as the power that be. Even in this budget, Arora showed his financial jugulary or please all. He touched upon each and every segment of society giving them some or the other things to talk about. If people are terming Bhajan Lal Sharma's first budget as historical one, it is deftness of Arora, who had produced three such budgets for Ashok Gehlot government also. The budget gives a feeling that there is no paucity of fund. Like Arora, Saxena had also served in both BJP and Congress government.
Adarsh Kishore Saxena, 1969-batch officer, was on continuously on the post from July 1993 to November 1999. Saxena served first in Bhairon Singh Shekhawat government followed by Ashok Gehlot government. He was considered as master of numbers. He later rose to become finance secretary in Government of India.
Like Adarsh Kishore, Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978-batch IAS, also reached to the coveted post of finance secretary of Government of India after serving as finance secretary in Rajasthan government from January 2005 to April 2008.
Mehrishi later rose to become Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Akhil Arora, who spent all his time during 31 years of his career in Rajasthan, he wI'll not get a stint at centre unlike his other two predecessors.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
