2 Maharashtra IAS officers become additional secretaries at Centre

As many as six Gujarat IAS officers figure on the list of 45 to be promoted as additional secretaries at the Centre, followed by five from Uttar Pradesh, four from Karnataka and three each from Rajasthan, Bihar, Assam-Meghalaya and union territories. Barely two Maharashtra officers — Swadheen S Kshatriya and V Ramani — could make the coveted list.

Those empanelled from Gujarat are Sardar Sarovar Nigam managing director S Jagadeesan, Rajesh Kishore, Maheshwar Sahu, Amitava Bhattacharya, Hare Krushna Dash and Vijay Laxmi Joshi. The only 1980 batch officer from Gujarat to miss the bus is DK Rao. He was embroiled in the sensational case of burning of a girl in a hotel ‘tandoor’ (barbeque) in New Delhi.

The promotions were approved by prime minister Manmohan Singh on the basis of recommendations made by the eminent persons group (EPG) headed by former chief vigilance commissioner P Shankar. EPG was constituted by the government to pick the best from 108 officers of the 1980 IAS batch.

It’s a new procedure followed by PM in which former bureaucrats and eminent persons vet the performance of bureaucrats. The select group will be posted from November.