BK Chaturvedi,
Cabinet Secretary
On a hot Delhi afternoon last week, Bal Krishan Chaturvedi was having a quiet lunch with wife Vibha when the phone rang informing him about his appointment to the post of cabinet secretary, the country's top bureaucratic job.
It was the culmination of an elaborate exercise spearheaded by none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He had personally interviewed no less than ten top bureaucrats for the post and finally zeroed in on Chaturvedi.
What made Prime Minister Singh decide in favour of Chaturvedi was his high integrity, easygoing nature and impressive career record""he was instrumental in opening up two crucial sectors of the economy: insurance and petroleum.
The passage of the legislation on the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, and the dismantling of the administered pricing mechanism were done under his supervision.
A 1966 batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Chaturvedi did his post-graduation in physics from the Allahabad University, a course on public administration from Manchester University and another course on the French language.
He has also undergone training at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, for management skills. His CV also boasts of a Chancellor's medal as the best student in the under-graduate course, a state award by the Uttar Pradesh government for outstanding work as a district magistrate in 1974, and a special commendation by the Uttar Pradesh government for handling power sector strikes in 1993-94.
As the Union cabinet secretary, Chaturvedi will be the head of the country's large bureaucracy. Those who know him well insist that he has the skills to carry people along.
"It is difficult to find him frowning. Most of the time he is smiling, whatever the pressure of work," says an official who worked with him closely in the petroleum ministry. He can be described in two words""quietly efficient."
The call to take on the job came at a time when the 59-year-old avid golfer was preparing for his retirement, which was due in a month. The new assignment has given him another two years to serve the government.
The low-profile bureaucrat would have preferred to shift to his new role quietly but that was not to be.
The news had already reached his office before he arrived there and a posse of newsmen and a battery of TV cameramen were waiting. A smiling Chaturvedi was at his humble best "" he shook hands with everyone including his peons, some of whom had tears in their eyes.
But that's the only distraction he allowed himself on the day. Chaturvedi returned to his desk and it was work as usual. Though the next two days were weekend holidays, he was in the office clearing the files.
"He did not want to leave anything pending. In fact, even on Monday, he came to the petroleum ministry for a while before taking over his new post," a member of his staff recalled.
