Ajay Seth gets additional charge of revenue as Malhotra becomes RBI guv

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday assigned the additional charge of the post of revenue secretary in the finance ministry to Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth.

 

“The competent authority has approved the assignment of additional charge of the post of secretary, Department of Revenue, to Shri Ajay Seth, IAS (KN:1987), secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, with immediate effect until the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” said a notification posted on the Department of Personnel and Training.

 

Seth’s immediate appointment was necessitated by the vacancy in the post following the appointment of outgoing revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the next Reserve Bank of India governor.

 

His appointment comes at a time when the Goods and Services Tax Council meeting is scheduled for December 21 in Jaisalmer. Seth also has to manage two crucial departments in the finance ministry ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s eighth Budget for 2025-26, to be presented in February. Seth is also tasked with overseeing the ongoing review of the Income-Tax Act as well as the customs duty rate structure.

 

Seth, a Karnataka cadre bureaucrat from the 1987 batch, assumed the role of economic affairs secretary on April 15, 2021. With a career spanning over 33 years, Seth has worked extensively in public finance and taxation for 18 years. He has also contributed nearly three years each to the social sector and urban transport and infrastructure.

 

Throughout his career, Seth has held several important positions in the Union Government, Karnataka state government, and the Asian Development Bank. He was honoured with the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2013, as part of the team that helped transform the commercial tax administration in Karnataka.

 

Seth, who was previously the managing director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation, is also credited with leading initiatives such as India’s first sovereign green bond issuance and the creation of the Infrastructure Finance Secretariat.