By Ram Kumar Kaushik
The year 2014 was the time when at least eight IAS officers from Rajasthan were ruling the central ministries. They were Sangita Gairola (1977 batch), Rajiv Mehrishi, Arvind Mayaram, Ashish Bahuguna (all 1978 batch), Sudhir Bhargava and Lalit K Panwar ( both 1979 batch), G S Sandhu and Sunil Arora (both 1980 batch). While Gairola was secretary of Ex-servicemen welfare in defence ministry, Rajiv Mehrishi and Arvind Mayaram held various positions including finance and economic affairs positions respectively.
Ashish Bahuguna held post of agriculture secretary while Lalit K Panwar and Sudhir Bhargava held posts of secretary tourism and secretary social justice respectively. G S Sandhu held a couple of secretary positions including that of financial services while his batchmate Sunil Arora was the first secretary of skill development ministry, which was specially created. Later he held the post of secretary in couple of other departments as well.
Rajiv Mehrishi and Sunil Arora worked well beyond their superannuation and reached the top posts. Mehrishi after becoming home secretary went on to become CAG while Arora became chief election commissioner of India.
At present, five senior bureaucrats of Rajasthan cadre are holding posts of secretary at the centre. They are V Srinivas, Rohit Kumar Singh, Sanjay Malhotra, Sudhansh Pant and Rajat Kumar Mishra.
While V Srinivas, a 1989 batch officer is helming two departments – department of administrative reforms and public grievances & department of pension and pensioners welfare, his batchmate Rohit Kumar Singh is heading the consumer affairs department.
Singh hit the headlines when he handled the issue of rising prices of tomato proactively. He centrally procured tomatoes and distributed through channels of cooperative stores across the country at half the market price. In the past, consumer affairs department had been under criticism for not controlling onion prices, which used to climb upto Rs 200 a kg. But under the regime of Rohit Kumar Singh, the prices of almost all the food commodities have been under check.
A batch junior to them Sanjay Malhotra revenue secretary in the ministry of finance, which is considered one of the most important post after secretary home affairs and finance secretary. Recently, he was in news for defending government's decision to share GSTN with Enforcement Directorate. He also handled the issue of imposing 28% GST on online gaming deftly against all the opposition. Malhotra is considered as one of the brightest brains in the bureaucratic circle. He has a good exposure of power sector also.
Sudhansh Pant, a 1991 batch officer has taken over as health secretary on August 1, 2023. Though his journey of secretary started in February this year as secretary of ports shipping and waterways. Later he was made OSD at the level of secretary in health ministry and finally a few days back was given full fledged charge of health secretary after Rajesh Bhushan, a 1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer retired on July 31.
Another exceptional IAS officer is Rajat Kumar Mishra, a 1992 batch officer took over as secretary fertiliser and chemicals in June this year. He started at a crucial time as ensuring supply of urea and other crop nutrients is a big challenge in the ongoing kharif season. He will also have to keep a check on ballooning fertiliser subsidy while keep getting price under control. He has a big role in ensuring food security for the country.
Apart from these five secretaries two more secretaries – Rajesh Verma secretary to the President of India and Amritlal Meena, coal secretary – both are natives of Rajasthan. Verma is a 1987 batch Odisha cadre officer. He had earlier held the post of secretary in the ministry of corporate affairs.
Amritlal Meena, a 1989 batch officer from Bihar cadre is the coal secretary. For some time, Rajasthan has been facing shortage of coal. With him at the helm, solution to this problem looks possible.
Apart from that there are five officers – Tanmay Kumar, Alok, Naresh Pal Ganwar, Rajeev Singh Thakur and Rohit Kumar – are serving as additional secretaries in various department. In couple of years time, three of them will be empanelled for secretary.
Similarly four officers – Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Mugdha Sinha, Pritam B Yashwant and Sidharath Mahajan – are on central deputation as joint secretaries.
Alok Mathur is a law graduate. Journalism is his first love which he now pursues in the latter half of his career. Controversies and crime are the right triggers for him.
, Rajiv Mehrishi, Arvind Mayaram, Ashish Bahuguna (all 1978 batch), Sudhir Bhargava and Lalit K Panwar ( both 1979 batch), G S Sandhu and Sunil Arora (both 1980 batch). While Gairola was secretary of Ex-servicemen welfare in defence ministry, Rajiv Mehrishi and Arvind Mayaram held various positions including finance and economic affairs positions respectively){kind=link}