Mehrishi likely to be named CAG

Name forwarded to Prez, formal orders expected soon

Rajiv Mehrishi, who retired as Home Secretary on Thursday, is likely to be the next Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India.

Sources said Mehrishi's name has been forwarded by the government to the President. They said the formal orders would be issued soon.

Once the appointment is formalised, Mehrishi will succeed former Defence Secretary Sashikant Sharma, who was appointed by the UPA government and will take over on late September when the incumbent retires.

A CAG has a tenure of six years or till the officer attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Sharma will be 65 years old on September 25.

Senior IAS officer Rajiv Gauba of Jharkhand cadre has succeeded Mehrishi as the Home Secretary.

Mehrishi was appointed as Home Secretary for two years on his last day as Finance Secretary after completing 60 years.

A 1978-batch Rajasthan cadre officer, Mehrishi was the Economic Affairs Secretary before becoming the Home Secretary.

Mehrishi was brought in to Centre in October 2014 from Rajasthan where he was serving as Chief Secretary and speculation was that he was being groomed for the Cabinet Secretary post. However, he did not make it as then Power Secretary P K Sinha was selected for the post.

Earlier in the day, three senior bureaucrats were appointed as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General.

Ashwini Attri, Anita Pattanayak and Ranjan Kumar Ghose were chosen as the Deputy CAG, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.