Raj Kumar: The Man Who Helms Gujarat Bureaucracy

But, in a surprising move, Kumar was transferred to his parent cadre Gujarat in December 2021, as the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) in the state’s Home Department, after spending around six years in central deputation.

 

His return was meant to clear the deck for his succession as the next Chief Secretary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

 

However, this 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer had to wait for more than a year before occupying the most coveted seat on the fifth floor of Block No. 1 in the Secretariat, or Sachivalay, in Gandhinagar, the state capital.

Interestingly, before he was named as the Chief Secretary on January 31st, the state government appointed him as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to incumbent Pankaj Kumar, in the last week of January, in an unprecedented move.

His appointment as the OSD for a week was meant to ensure “smooth succession,” a senior officer in the Chief Minister’s Office said, so that he was “kept in the loop” about the files cleared during the last days of Pankaj Kumar.

 

“In Gujarat, he is the man whom New Delhi completely trusts and who has been given a free hand to run the state administration,” a senior bureaucrat told The Secretariat.

Colleagues describe 58-year-old Kumar as a no-nonsense, clear-headed and learned officer, who diligently reads all the important files and asks pertinent questions before signing them off.

In meetings, Kumar is known to ask sharp questions, which quite often leave senior bureaucrats fumbling for answers, officials in the administration said.

Noticeably, after he took over as the CS, his office had not been frequented by corporate liaison managers or other political operators.

 

In June 2022, Kumar was given the additional charge as ACS (Industries and Mines). It was during this period that he became a subject of gossip and speculation spread by various interest groups which operate in the corridors of power.

“Several motivated gossips were spread about his conduct and temperament,” a bureaucrat from Delhi said, adding, “it was probably to test his patience.”

 

However, nothing came in the way of his elevation to helm the state’s bureaucracy.

 

Raj Kumar is known for his integrity and objectivity, two rare traits in a state often dominated by corporate and business lobbies which try to influence decision making.

“With him at the helm, one can be sure that he would not allow any compromise with regard to the interests of the state,” one of his junior colleagues told The Secretariat.

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Kumar, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus, joined the service at the age of 22. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from GRIPS, based in Tokyo, Japan.

 

A private person, he keeps a low profile and meets very few people. He stays clear of wheeler dealers and corporate big guns, and is not known to have many friends in or outside the service.

 

His experience spans from governance and management of district and state-level to central government organisations. He has served as Secretary of Science and Technology and Principal Secretary of Food and Civil Supplies among others in the state.

In fact, before moving to New Delhi on deputation in 2015, he had not held any mainstream portfolio, like in industry or energy or revenue departments in the state administration.

In April 2015, he joined as the Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, considered to be a prestigious posting. There he was handling international finances, a much sought-after and influential segment within the department.

But in 2017, he was abruptly transferred to the Employees State Insurance Corporation of India as its Director General. Here, he spent almost two years before he became a full-fledged secretary after his empanelment. He became the Secretary Defence Production in February 2020.

 

As the Secretary, he headed nine Defence Public Sector Undertakings and 41 Ordnance Factories. He initiated reforms in the defence PSUs and made efforts to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and start-ups through programmes like iDEX.

The Secretary of the Department of Defence Production is one of the five secretaries in the Ministry of Defence.

 

Kumar is scheduled to superannuate in January 2025. He will likely remain as the Chief Secretary of the state until then, sources said.