10 fascinating facts about 5 new secretaries: SR Rao, SK Srivastava, Sudhir Kumar, Bahuguna, Pati…

ON Monday, Pulokaseth (Pulok Chatterji and AK Seth) zeroed in five IAS of 1978 batch to be appointed as secretaries to Government of India. Gujarat cadre IAS SR Rao was appointed as commerce secretary, Assam-Meghalaya cadre SK Srivastava as coal secretary, Rajasthan cadre Ashish Bahuguna as agriculture secretary, Orissa cadre Gokul Chandra Pati as animal husbandry secretary and UP cadre Sudhir Kumar as food and public distribution secretary.

BoI here presents 10 fascinating facts about them, which you may or may not have heard earlier. Read On...

Bahuguna or Pati: Who Pulokaseth zeroed in to be new agriculture secretary?

FOR 1978 batch secretary-empanelled officers, there are both anxieties and excitements. There are excitements because every month end, one or more secretaries will retire and the posts have to be filled up from their pool alone. But there are anxieties too: what’s if Pulokaseth (plural of Pulok Chatterji and AK Seth) decide to allot a department to someone which he or she really does not like to go? Also, will the process get delayed if more and more secretaries get extension? DEA secretary R Gopalan got an extension for three months, and coal secretary Alok Perti may get one.
This month, secretaries of agriculture, and food and civil supplies will retire, paving the way of two officers of 1978 batch securing independent departments. Here are the two contenders for the post of agriculture secretary, and why they should or should not be considered: