The activity in the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance has gained momentum in the last few weeks. Officials have been putting in more number of hours in the office partly because Parliament is in session and partly because of their new boss. Dinesh Kumar Mittal, a 1977 batch Indian Administrative Services officer from Uttar Pradesh cadre, took charge as DFS Secretary earlier this month, after a short stint in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
In the words of people who have worked with Mittal, he is a “demanding” boss who keeps you on your toes. Unlike many other bureaucrats who take time to get familiar with issues after joining a new ministry, he has got into action right from day one. He brings with him over 30 years of experience working with public sector enterprises at various levels, including four years as Chief Executive Officer at the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.
Mittal first worked in the Centre in 1998, when he joined the Ministry of Commerce as a Joint Secretary. After his first stint of six years, he came back to the ministry as additional secretary in 2009 and worked there till February 2011 before moving to the corporate affairs ministry as Secretary.
A key challenge before Mittal in the department will be to coordinate the views of the government and the Reserve Bank of India on issuing new bank licenses. RBI had submitted draft guidelines on new bank licenses to the finance ministry for its views. License to corporate houses is a key issue to be addressed. Finance ministry’s nod to the rights issue of State Bank of India, recapitalisation of banks and pending amendments to some legislations in the sector are others areas that require his immediate attention.