Cabinet Appoints Arunish Chawla as Revenue Secretary Ahead of Budget Presentation

A month before the presentation of the Budget, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Wednesday appointed Arunish Chawla, Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, as the new Revenue Secretary. 

Chawla, a 1992-batch IAS officer from the Bihar cadre, will succeed Ajay Seth, who has been holding the additional charge of Revenue Secretary after Sanjay Malhotra's appointment as the RBI Governor.

Chawla, who has served as Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals since November 2023, will continue to hold the additional charge of Secretary in the Ministry of Culture until a permanent appointment is made. He has a tenure of over three years remaining, with his service scheduled to end in July 2028.

Chawla's distinguished career includes a role as Joint Secretary in the Expenditure Department of the Finance Ministry (2014-2016), as well as serving as Minister (Economics) at the Indian Embassy in the United States and working as a Senior Economist at the IMF. 

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He holds a postgraduate degree and PhD in economics from the London School of Economics. Throughout his career, he has held significant positions, including Additional Chief Secretary for Planning and Development in Bihar and contributions to urban development and disaster rehabilitation. 

As Revenue Secretary, Chawla will be tasked with implementing a review of the Income Tax Act, rationalizing GST rates, reviewing Customs duties, improving tax collection, and advancing digital transformations in taxation. 

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In other appointments, Rachna Shah has been appointed Secretary in the Department of Personnel and Training, while Neelam Shami Rao will take over as Textiles Secretary. 

Amit Agrawal, CEO of UIDAI, will become Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, and Vineet Joshi has been appointed Secretary in the Department of Higher Education.

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