Punjab gets first woman chief secy, bureaucracy its first power couple

CHANDIGARH

The ascent of Vini Mahajan, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, to the highest bureaucratic place in Punjab is a narrative of many firsts.

One, Mahajan is the primary girl chief secretary of the state.

Two, she is the spouse of Punjab Police chief Dinkar Gupta. This is the primary time a pair is holding the highest administrative and police posts within the state, and maybe the primary time this has occurred wherever within the nation. Gupta, a 1987-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, was appointed as head of the state police in February final 12 months. He was empanelled by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) final month for the submit of director common or DG equal on the Centre.

Three, that is the primary time the chief secretaries of each Punjab and Haryana are girls. In Haryana, 1983 batch IAS officer Keshni Anand Arora at the moment holds the highest bureaucratic place. Anand Arora isn’t the state’s first girl chief secretary, although; that distinction goes to her elder sister Meenakshi Anand Chaudhary who was appointed chief secretary in 2005. Their sister, Urvashi Gulati, additionally served because the state’s chief secretary from October 2009 to March 2012.

Four, in 1995, Mahajan was the primary girl IAS officer to be posted as deputy commissioner (DC) in Punjab.An economics graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, Mahajan additionally has a submit graduate diploma in enterprise administration from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, the place she was positioned on the ‘roll of honour’ and later additionally obtained the ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’. She served in Manmohan Singh’s Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) from 2005 to 2012, dealing with issues referring to finance, trade, commerce, telecom and IT. Her father, BB Mahajan, was additionally an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre.

Mahajan has been appointed because the chief secretary, superseding 5 IAS officers senior to her. They are: KBS Sidhu (1984 batch), Arun Goel, C Roul, Kalpana Baruah Mittal and Satish Chandra (all 4 from the 1985 batch).

Sidhu, the senior-most bureaucrat in Punjab, is because of retire in July 2021. Both Goel and Roul are at the moment on deputation to the Centre and Mittal is further chief secretary, cooperation, within the state authorities. Chandra, who has three months left for retirement, is further chief secretary, dwelling.

Before being appointed as chief secretary, Mahajan was further chief secretary, funding promotion, industries and commerce, data know-how, governance reforms and public grievances. She served because the chairman of the celebrations committee for the 550th anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019. She succeeds Karan Avtar Singh who is because of retire on August 31, and who has been posted as particular chief secretary governance reforms and public grievances.

People accustomed to the matter mentioned Singh’s exit was largely due to variations with senior ministers within the state, together with finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

Mahajan will have greater than 4 years because the chief secretary if she continues within the workplace until her superannuation in October 2024.