West Bengal Power Secretary Sunil Mitra will be the new Disinvestment Secretary, at a time when offloading of government equity in public sector units is hogging the headlines.
"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sunil Mitra, as Secretary Department of Disinvestment, Ministry of Finance," an official release said.
He will replace Rahul Khullar, who has moved from the Disinvestment Department to take charge as Commerce Secretary.
Mitra, an IAS of 1975 batch, was earlier pivotal in formulation of disinvestment policy for 26 public sector undertakings in West Bengal as Secretary for Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction.
The appointment of Mitra came at a time when the Government is busy giving final touches to lay a road map for offloading its equity in state-run enterprises.
While the Economic Survey has recommended that the Government should look at Rs 25,000 crore from disinvestment in a year, it is unlikely that this amount would be raised in the current fiscal.