There was one crucial way in which Gujarat cadre bureaucrat Girish Chandra Murmu, designated to take charge of the secretary, department of expenditure, was considered unlike his peers in the state government during his stint in Gandhinagar.
His colleagues were known to be close to either Chief Minister Narendra Modi or state Home Minister Amit Shah. Murmu, it is said, enjoyed their confidence in equal measure.
A 1985-batch IAS officer with a reputation for industriousness, Murmu is currently special secretary in the revenue department. He will take charge of this all-important position of expenditure secretary on January 31 next year.