DEA's Ajay Seth given additional charge as Revenue Secretary after Sanjay Malhotra's appointment as RBI Governor

Ajay Seth, secretary of the department of economic affairs, has been assigned additional charge as secretary of the department of revenue following incumbent Sanjay Malhotra’s appointment as governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The appointment comes with immediate effect till a regular incumbent is named or until further orders, said the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions in a notification.

Seth, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Karnataka cadre with over 33 years of experience in public finance and social sector administration, has been the economic affairs secretary in the Union finance ministry since April 2021.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) handles key functions such as formulating macroeconomic policies, managing public finances, regulating capital markets, overseeing climate change financing, coordinating external aid, releasing states’ share of central taxes, supporting the Finance Commission, and managing non-tax revenue estimates.

The department of revenue, under the finance ministry, oversees India’s financial resources through tax collection and administration (direct taxes like income tax and indirect taxes like GST and customs), investigation of economic offences and supervision of central taxes.

In the past, Seth has served in various key roles within the Karnataka government, including additional chief secretary of health and family welfare and commissioner of commercial taxes.

He has also been an adviser at the Asian Development Bank and previously worked with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation.

Malhotra joins the ranks of finance ministry officials who have transitioned to leading the central bank, following outgoing governor Shaktikanta Das and predecessors D. Subbarao, Y.V. Reddy, and Bimal Jalan.

Malhotra takes the RBI reins on 11 December.