Finance Secretary T V Somanathan named Cabinet Secretary for two years

The 1987 batch IAS officer will be OSD in the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, from the date he joins the assignment till he takes over as Cabinet Secretary

Union Finance Secretary T V Somanathan has been appointed Cabinet Secretary for two years starting August 30, said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet in an order on Saturday.
 

He will be taking over from Rajiv Gauba, who took over the charge of Cabinet Secretary on August 30, 2019.

A 1987-batch Tamil Nadu cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Somanathan was designated Finance Secretary in April 2021, the senior-most position among all secretaries in the ministry.

He had been appointed Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, back in December 2019. 

Somanathan, who served as a joint secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA) from 2015 to 2017, was also involved in overseeing the implementation of economic policies in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) during that period.

 

He also helped in shaping the Budget 2024 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The IAS officer holds a doctorate in Economics and is a qualified chartered accountant, cost accountant, and company secretary. He has published over 80 papers and articles on economics, finance, and public policy in journals and newspapers. He is also the author of two books and has contributed chapters to several others. Additionally, he served as Director at the World Bank in Washington, DC, on deputation from the IAS.