New Secy appointment shows PMO's increasing footprint in Finance Ministry

Tarun Bajaj, who takes over as Economic Affairs Secretary this week, is the latest in a string of bureaucrats who have worked closely with Narendra Modi in the past

On Thusday, incumbent Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty retires, and Tarun Bajaj takes over from him. This was one of the many new appointments announced on Sunday, as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle. As the Centre and states look for an exit plan from the nationwide lockdown, Bajaj and his department will play a crucial role in formulating an economic revival roadmap. Hence his appointment could prove to be the most crucial.

Bajaj, currently an Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, is a 1988 batch Haryana Cadre officer. Born in 1962, he has two-and-a-half years left for his super-annuation.