Hasmukh Adhia, a 1981 Gujarat cadre IAS officer, has been named as new financial services secretary, which almost overhauls the top deck of the finance ministry ahead of the Union Budget preparation. With the new appointment, four out of the five secretaries handling the key departments of the ministry have been changed under the new government.
Adhia has been working as additional chief secretary, finance department, state government of Gujarat. Before this, he was a principal secretary in education department from April 2008 to January, 2013. He has also been the principal secretary to chief minister of Gujarat and director at the department of industrial policy and promotion, ministry of industry, New Delhi.
Adhia has also held the position of managing director, Gujarat Industrial Investment Corporation as well as vice-chairman & managing director, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation.
He obtained post graduate degree in accounting and is a gold medallist from IIM. He also did PhD in Yoga from Swami Vivekananda Yoga University, Bangalore.
Adhia is replacing G S Sandhu who has been appointed as chairman of the National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention.
This is the third secretary level change in the finance ministry after former finance secretary Arvind Mayaram was first shifted to tourism ministry and later to minority affairs ministry, and Rajiv Takru was shifted to department of North Eastern region.
Fertiliser secretary Shaktikanta Das was named new revenue secretary in June while Rajasthan chief secretary Rajiv Mehrishi was appointed economic affairs secretary recently replacing Mayaram.
The ministry of finance has five departments and separate secretaries for different units, including economic affairs, expenditure, revenue, financial services and disinvestment.
Currently Ratan P Watal is expenditure secretary and is the only one among his former peers who is still in the high profile ministry.
The disinvestment department, which was led by three joint secretaries till September, got Aradhana Johri as the new secretary.
The moves are seen as crucial ahead of the preparation for Union Budget which is to be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in February.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
