Saurabh Chandra, PK Sinha in race for cabinet secretary

Naved Masood, Madhav Lal, Alok Rawat, too, on the list

The choice for the topmost civil servant’s post in the country might have narrowed to two, though about five names are still on the shortlist for Cabinet secretary, according to sources. In the current season of massive bureaucratic reshuffles, this one appointment is being keenly watched.

Saurabh Chandra, a 1978-batch IAS from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, who’s currently the petroleum secretary, is one of the two with good chances for elevation, as current Cabinet Secretary

Ajit Seth’s term ends on December 12, sources said. Seth got a six-month extension on June 13. Chandra has done three successful stints in Varanasi, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested the general elections. He has worked in chemicals and fertilisers, finance and commerce and industry ministries at the Centre, besides petroleum.

IN THE FRAY

• P K Sinha
  1977 batch UP cadre IAS
   
• Naved Masood
  1977 batch Manipur-Tripura cadre IAS
   
• Madhav Lal
  1977 batch Jammu & Kashmir cadre IAS
   
• Alok Rawat
  1977 batch Sikkim cadre IAS
   
• Saurabh Chandra
  1978 batch UP cadre IAS

Source: GoI executive record sheet

P K Sinha, again an Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS, is believed to be the other civil servant in the race for the top post. While power secretary Sinha, a 1977 batch IAS, is a year senior to Chandra in the bureaucratic hierarchy, he’s younger than the petroleum secretary by three months.

The other three in the shortlist under consideration are Corporate Affairs Secretary Naved Masood, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Secretary Madhav Lal and  Administrative Reforms Secretary in the department of personnel and training (DoPT) Alok Rawat. All three are 1977-batch IAS officers. Rawat was shifted from the ministry of water resources to DoPT earlier this week. Chandra is in fact the junior-most in the civil services hierarchy among the five believed to be in the race for the top bureaucratic post.

When asked to comment on the likely contenders, Jagdish Thakkar, public relations officer (PRO) at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), told Business Standard, “I do not speculate on future appointments.’’

Even as bureaucratic circles are confidently throwing up names in the race for the top slot, a civil servant familiar with the working of Prime Minister Modi said seniority was something not overlooked by him when he was chief minister of Gujarat. If that’s the case, Sinha might stand a better chance than Chandra, in case those two are indeed the top contenders, he said.

Another source said there’s a possibility of appointing Sinha as the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) as well, which might then make way for Chandra as Cabinet secretary. But, Modi is known for springing surprises, the source added.