 "Arunish Chawla")
About a month before the presentation of the Budget, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday appointed secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals Arunish Chawla as the next revenue secretary.
A 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Bihar cadre, Chawla will take over from economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth.
Seth is holding additional charge of revenue secretary following Sanjay Malhotra’s appointment as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor.
Chawla has been serving as secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals within the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers since November 1, 2023.
The appointments’ panel, in a notification, said Chawla will continue to hold additional charge of secretary in the Ministry of Culture until a regular appointment is made. Chawla has more than three years in service left with his tenure scheduled to end in July 2028.
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Between 2014 and 2016, Chawla served as a joint secretary in the Expenditure Department of the finance ministry.
He has also held the position of minister (economics) at the Indian Embassy in the United States and worked as a senior economist with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Chawla holds a postgraduate and PhD in economics from the London School of Economics.
Over the course of his career, Chawla has held numerous significant positions as well.
He served as additional chief secretary of planning and development, during which he also acted as secretary of the Bihar State Planning Board and project director of the Bihar Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Society.
In addition, he also made contributions to urban development as additional chief secretary for urban development and housing. He was also managing director of the Patna Metro Rail Corporation.
Chawla's responsibilities will include implementing a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act, rationalising goods and services tax (GST) rates, conducting a review of Customs duty, improving tax collection and digital transformations, among others.
Also, the appointments committee appointed textiles secretary Rachna Shah as new secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training.
Neelam Shami Rao, currently secretary in the National Commission of Minorities, is the new textiles secretary.
Amit Agrawal, chief executive officer (CEO) at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), will become secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals. Vineet Joshi has been appointed secretary in the Department of Higher Education.
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