Ashok Lavasa takes over as finance secretary

Expenditure secretary Ashok Lavasa is the new finance secretary. 

The appointments committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment, an official statement said here on Tuesday. 

The post of finance secretary has been lying vacant since Ratan Watal retired in April. He was also expenditure secretary. 

The senior most of  the five secretaries in the finance ministry becomes finance secretary. 

The other secretaries in the North Block are Shaktikanta Das (economic affairs), Hasmukh Adhia (revenue secretary), Anjuly Chhib Duggal (financial services), Neeraj kumar Gupta (disinvestment).