FM puts Budget team in place

Ahead of the Budget exercise scheduled to begin in the first week of November, Finance Minister P Chidambaram will have a new team of bureaucrats with Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Jha appointed as the new Finance Secretary.

Jha, a 1969 batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre, replaces Adarsh Kishore, who is likely to go to International Monetary Fund for a three-year term as its Executive Director.

Kishore, a 1969 batch IAS officer from Rajasthan cadre, was also looking after expenditure department. The government has also appointed a new Expenditure Secretary Sanjiv Mishra, a 1972 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, who is at present the Disinvestment Secretary.

Special Secretary (banking) Vinod Rai, a 1972 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, has been elevated as Secretary to look after the entire financial sector. There is no change in the revenue department, which will continue to be headed by K M Chandrashekar.

Apart from changes in the Finance Ministry, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved Parliamentary Affairs Secretary C T Misra, a 1972 batch IAS from Gujarat cadre, as Chairperson of Staff Selection Committee.

P K Mishra, a 1972 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, would be the new Parliamentary Affairs Secretary. Naresh Dayal, a 1972 batch IAS officer from UP cadre, has been appointed as the new Health Secretary replacing P K Hota, who retires on Tuesday.