Tuhin Kanta Pandey Appointed As New Finance Secretary

The Center named 1987 batch IAS officer from the Orissa cadre Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new Finance Secretary on 07 September 2024. This appointment came nearly a month after the current T.V. Somanathan was designated Cabinet Secretary by the Cabinet's highest appointment panel.

As the Secretary in charge of two important departments, the Departments of Public Enterprises (DPE) and Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), Pandey is currently employed by the Finance Ministry. 
 

DIPAM's mandate is to maximise the value of central government firms and disinvest in certain firms in accordance with the government's public sector enterprise policy.
 

DPE, which was initially established under the leadership of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, is now home to the longest-serving Secretary in charge, Pandey. 

Pandey has successfully navigated the crucial sale of the struggling national carrier Air India, which continued to drain the exchequer until its divestment to the Tata group was completed in January 2022.

An order issued on 07 September 2024, by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)'s secretariat to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) stated that “the ACC has approved designating Shri Tuhin Kanta Pandey (IAS OR:87), Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Ministry of Finance, as Finance Secretary.”

Other significant changes to the Finance Ministry's senior leadership have occurred during the previous month, including the appointment of Somanathan as Cabinet Secretary, who has replaced Rajiv Gauba as the nation's top official.