Rajiv Mehrishi appointed home secretary

Mehrishi, who was due to retire today, succeeds L C Goyal, who had sought voluntary retirement citing personal reasons

Rajiv Mehrishi has been appointed home secretary for a period of two years effective today.

Mehrishi, who was due to retire today, succeeds L C Goyal, who has sought voluntary retirement citing personal reasons.

The government on Friday had announced major changes to top bureaucratic posts in the ministry. 

Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das is to take over as the new economic affairs secretary next month. He replaces Mehrishi.

Financial Services secretary Hasmukh Adhia will replace Das as revenue secretary.

Mehrishi was Chief Secretary in the Rajasthan government before asked to move to the Centre. In that role, he was instrumental in the Vasundhara Raje ministry, helping push through key labour reforms in an attempt to attract industry, as well as an ambitious identity scheme for better delivery of public services and subsidies. Such measures by Raje’s government have been widely acclaimed and acquired the moniker of ‘Rajasthan Model’.

Apart from being a vocal critic of various schemes launched during the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Mehrishi also believed that the very processes of governance that India’s administrative system had relied on for decades urgently needed fixing. 

Before being appointed Rajasthan chief secretary on December 2013, he was secretary ministry of overseas affairs and special secretary in the union agricultural ministry. Mehrishi, a 1978 batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer (Rajasthan cadre) has served on many positions in the state government. He was joint secretary in the cabinet secretariat. 

Mehrishi himself replaced former economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram in what was seen as the then-new Modi government's first major bureaucratic reshuffle.