Finance secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey takes charge as revenue secretary

Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Thursday took charge as the revenue secretary in the finance ministry, a day after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet announced his change in position.

In a major reshuffle in the finance ministry late on Wednesday evening, Pandey, who was serving as the secretary in the Department of Investment & Public Asset Management (DIPAM), was made the revenue secretary while incumbent revenue secretary Arunish Chawla was shifted to DIPAM after his brief stint. Both departments, part of the finance ministry, are currently at the height of activity in preparation for the 2025-26 (FY26) Budget, set to be presented on February 1.

A 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Odisha cadre, Pandey had been serving as the DIPAM secretary since October 24, 2019. He held the additional portfolio of secretary of the Department of Public Enterprises from August 1, 2024. He also held the portfolio of secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for a brief period.

Pandey as DIPAM secretary is credited with concluding the long-pending sale of national carrier Air India and also for the instrumental role he played in the public debut of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India.

Throughout his career, Pandey has taken on various significant responsibilities in both the Union government and the state government of Odisha, in addition to serving a stint in the Regional Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

In the Union government, he served as joint secretary in the Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog), joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, and deputy secretary in the Ministry of Commerce.

In Odisha, Pandey served as administrative head in the departments of Health, General Administration, Commercial Taxes, Transport, and Finance. He also served as executive director of Odisha State Finance Corporation and managing director of Odisha Small Industries Corporation.

Pandey holds a Masters in Economics from the Panjab University, Chandigarh, and an MBA from the University of Birmingham (UK).

Separately, apart from his role as DIPAM secretary, Chawla has also been assigned the additional responsibilities of secretary for the Department of Public Enterprises, and secretary for the Ministry of Culture. This arrangement will continue until regular appointments are made or further orders issued.

Chawla, a 1992-batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre, was appointed as revenue secretary on December 25. Prior to this role, he served as the secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals within the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, a position he held since November 1, 2023.

www.business-standard.com, dt. 10-01-2025