 "Revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey named new finance secretary")
Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey has been appointed the finance secretary. He will replace Rajiv Kumar.
An IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre with over 35 years of experience in state and Central governments, Pandey is taking over as the finance secretary at a time when the economic growth has been on a downward trajectory, hitting nearly seven-year low of 4.7 per cent in the quarter ended December 31.
As such, steering the economy in these difficult times, particularly when the fourth quarter is facing challenges because of the coronavirus outbreak, would be his foremost priority.
He assumed the charge as revenue secretary in the finance ministry on December 1, 2018. Since then he has been at the helm of significant taxation reforms, using technology to avoid any aggressiveness by taxmen.
He has been instrumental in introducing faceless e-assessment, documentation identification number (DIN) system, pre-filled income tax returns and sharp reduction in the corporate tax rates.
He believes that the recent decisions by the government, including corporate tax rate cut, will help in laying the foundation of a simple and self-compliant tax regime. This would benefit both — the taxpayer and the tax department — and will go a long way in building a tax compliant society.
Pandey concurrently holds the position of GSTN chairman where he is playing a key role in the introduction of e-invoicing and new simplified returns.
Pandey had a remarkable stint of more than nine years in UIDAI where he played a key role in implementing Aadhaar across the country, and drafting the historic Aadhaar legislation for providing statutory basis to the unique identity number.
It was under his leadership as chief executive officer of UIDAI till October 22 last year that the nodal agency issued digital identity Aadhaar to more than 1.24 billion Indian residents.
An IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre with over 35 years of experience in state and Central governments, Pandey is taking over as the finance secretary at a time when the economic growth has been on a downward trajectory, hitting nearly seven-year low of 4.7 per cent in the quarter ended December 31.
As such, steering the economy in these difficult times, particularly when the fourth quarter is facing challenges because of the coronavirus outbreak, would be his foremost priority.
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He has been instrumental in introducing faceless e-assessment, documentation identification number (DIN) system, pre-filled income tax returns and sharp reduction in the corporate tax rates.
He believes that the recent decisions by the government, including corporate tax rate cut, will help in laying the foundation of a simple and self-compliant tax regime. This would benefit both — the taxpayer and the tax department — and will go a long way in building a tax compliant society.
Pandey concurrently holds the position of GSTN chairman where he is playing a key role in the introduction of e-invoicing and new simplified returns.
Pandey had a remarkable stint of more than nine years in UIDAI where he played a key role in implementing Aadhaar across the country, and drafting the historic Aadhaar legislation for providing statutory basis to the unique identity number.
It was under his leadership as chief executive officer of UIDAI till October 22 last year that the nodal agency issued digital identity Aadhaar to more than 1.24 billion Indian residents.
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