FM's old aide Krishnan back to FinMin

To steer capital market reforms as Additional Secretary

With investors looking at the government in anticipation of reforms in equity and debt markets to attract higher foreign flows and tackle depreciating rupee, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has brought back his old aide KP Krishnan to North Block as Additional Secretary handling charge of Capital Markets.

The 1983 batch Karnataka cadre Indian Administrative Services officer, who had earlier served as Joint Secretary, Capital Markets under Chidambaram, will also be Director General, Directorate of Currency, besides being the reporting head of Joint Secretary handling Investment in the finance ministry.  

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved Krishnan’s appointment “by reviving the post to its original level and in relaxation of cooling-off requirement”.

There is a mandatory cooling-off period of at least five years for all IAS officers who have served the Central government. Krishnan’s cooling-off period was originally getting over in June 2015.   

Officials said Krishnan enjoys the confidence of the Finance Minister and is believed to be an officer with a good understanding of markets. In his last stint with the Finance ministry during 2005 and 2010, he was credited for steering capital market reforms by helping introduction of new products like Exchange Traded Currency Futures, Interest Rate Futures, Credit Default Swaps and Corporate Repos.

After briefly working under Pranab Mukherjee (now President), who took charge as Finance minister in 2009, he joined as Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council in July 2010 and then went back to his cadre in September 2012.

While Krishnan took charge yesterday evening after his appointment orders were issued, Anup Wadhawan, who was handling Capital Markets in the rank of a Joint Secretary has been shifted to the Department of Financial Services where he would fill up the post left vacant by Umesh Kumar who went to the Asian Development Bank.

Wadhawan is 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.