History appears to be clamoring for the country’s top bureaucrats positions
Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will make history if he leaves office in August, when his term ends. The Jharkhand cadre officer from 1982 will become India’s longest-serving cabinet secretary. He will break the record of his predecessor, PK Sinha, who was in office for just more than four years.
The officers vying to succeed Mr Gauba have the potential to make history if Prime Minister Narendra Modi chooses one of them.
The three officers under consideration are from the 1987 batch: Finance Secretary TV Somanathan, Gujarat Chief Secretary Raj Kumar, and Jal Shakti Secretary Vini Mahajan, according to sources.
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Leading the pack is a guy who would have left the military many years ago following a heated argument with his then-political boss, J Jayalalithaa, who refused to accept his resignation.
”The Prime Minister-led Scheduling appointments Committee chose Mr. Somanathan, an IAS officer from the Tamil Nadu cadre and class of 1987, as Finance Secretary in April 2021.”
TV’s financial talents are so widely known that the head of the World Bank, where he worked for a long time, asked then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prolong the bureaucrat’s service to the organization beyond the time limit. Dr. Singh consented to the request.
That may be the main reason why PM Modi, as he puts the economy and job creation the centerpiece of a hypothetical third term, might zero focusing on the Finance Secretary.
It’s interesting to note that early in his career, while Jayalalithaa was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Somanthan—known for his unwavering integrity—had a contentious feud with her. The chief minister was so furious that he had ordered a vigilance inquiry on a topic she handled that she would not even release him from state to send a central mission.
As an aside, during the last complete presentation of all secretaries to the cabinet, the Finance Secretary dazzled his peers by speaking in chaste Hindi.
Sources claim that Raj Kumar, the chief secretary of Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Modi, is another contender for the top position. Shortly after PM Modi assumed leadership at the Center in 2015, Mr. Kumar began his central deputation. Mr. Kumar’s most recent position in the central government was Secretary, Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence, which was an extremely sensitive and demanding role. 2021 saw him return to Gujarat, his parent cadre, following an exceptional tenure at the Center.
The government of Gujarat placed him in charge of the delicate Home Department upon his return. He was promoted to Chief Secretary in January of last year.
Mr. Kumar, a renowned bureaucrat with no nonsense, hails from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh.
According to his fellow classmates, one significant factor working in his favor—far more so than the others—is the Prime Minister’s implicit trust in him.
Vini Mahajan is the third officer running, and possibly the one with the highest preference. Should the If the prime minister does choose to appoint her, history will be made because she will be India’s first female cabinet secretary since the position was established prior to independence.
Vini Mahajan belongs to the same batch of IAS as well. Her home cadre was Punjab, a highly sensitive border state, where she served as chief secretary. The officer was sacked following a midnight revolt by the state Congress leadership against its own government. The officer was thought to be connected to the former chief minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh.
Vini Mahajan is the daughter of a former Punjab chief secretary and a second generation bureaucrat. She is a devoted, trustworthy bureaucrat who is renowned for her careful planning and logical reasoning.
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In all three cases, Ms. Mahajan is the only person with a substantial understanding of the Prime Minister’s Office’s operations, having spent a considerable amount of time in the Manmohan Singh PMO.
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The trio, including the youngest members of their batch and two former chief secretaries, are all IAS officers making their first go at the job. All three are also renowned for their impeccable cleanliness.
