Ajay Bhushan Pandey, the quiet performer slated to head revenue department

For once the rumour mills of Lutyens Delhi were proved right. Ajay Bhushan Pandey, chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), was appointed as revenue secretary to replace Hasmukh Adhia, who retires at the end of November. 

Indian Administrative Service officers replace one another in the top posts of the government of India and to that extent, the appointment of Pandey, a Maharashtra cadre officer, is not surprising. That the government has not appointed his replacement at the UIDAI is interesting. As of now, Pandey will continue to head the office in which his performance in making Aadhaar the world’s largest identification programme of residents by a government possibly brought him this recognition. UIDAI has been a happy career choice for most chiefs. Among his predecessors, RS Sharma went on to become Trai chairman and has had his term extended by three years now. Pandey also continues as chairman of the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), and if this arrangement continues he will combine the management of Aadhaar, GSTN and tax policy in one office.

Pandey shares a trait that has carried many of his colleagues to critical positions in this government. He is not flamboyant nor does he make himself vocal. But he carries the reputation of a quiet performer. This is one of the reasons the doctorate in computer science from the University of Minnesota has been appointed to one of the most sought-after assignments at the top levels in the government. The Modi government has ensured that he will get a long-term as revenue secretary, since he will retire after February 2021. He has superseded three colleagues in his state cadre and some more from other states to get this assignment. 

He would be surprised if you ask him what his hobby was. He loves to read about technology. In fact, he calls it his passion. Some of it was evident in the spirited way he was able to defend the technological backbone of the Aadhaar project repeatedly on all media platforms. This should also help him now in his new assignment since the revenue secretary in the government has to often engage publicly to defend the tax policies with every possible interest group. His other interest is law, another useful trait for a revenue secretary. In the celebrated Supreme Court case on Aadhaar, which the government won with a 4 to 1 split verdict, it is understood that Pandey wrote a large part of the defence arguments. But beyond that, are there other areas he finds it worth his while to dabble in? “We are fortunately beyond that stage in our career where the HR department asks you to write your hobbies,” he once told me.