JOIN USSenior IAS officer Pradeep Kumar Sinha on Saturday took over as the new Cabinet Secretary after incumbent Ajit Seth demitted office.
Sinha, a 1977 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was serving as Officer on Special Duty in the Cabinet Secretariat since the announcement of his appointment to the office of the most powerful bureaucrat in the country on May 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly acknowledged the services of Seth.
“After a distinguished career spanning 4 decades, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth retired today. Best wishes for the new phase in his life. Ajit Sethji shared with me about ‘Art in Steps’, a unique initiative at Cabinet Secretariat to promote art & spread message of cleanliness,” Modi tweeted.
He also tweeted a photo of artworks displayed in PMO’s stairs as part of the initiative. “Staircases were cleaned and along their walls paintings by officials and spouses were placed. A creative effort!” he said.
Seth’s successor Sinha will be the 31st Cabinet Secretary of the country. He will have a fixed term of two years.
He was Power Secretary when the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) made the selection. Sinha was made Power Secretary in July 2013, when the UPA was in power.
Sinha has worked in energy and infrastructure ministries besides managing politically sensitive districts in his parent cadre state of Uttar Pradesh.
Seth had served as Cabinet Secretary for four years, after getting a series of extensions beyond the fixed term of two years. The UPA government had extended his tenure by a year while the Modi-government gave him a six-month extension in June last year followed by another in December.
The Cabinet Secretariat, which is under the Prime Minister, is responsible for the administration of central government. It facilitates smooth transaction of business in ministries and departments by ensuring adherence to these rules.
“The Secretariat assists in decision-making in the government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences among ministries and departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing or ad hoc Committees of Secretaries. Through this mechanism, new policy initiatives are also promoted,” the Cabinet Secretariat website said.