Power Moment for PK Sinha: 10 things to know about new cabinet secretary

UNION power secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha had his power moment on Friday when prime minister Narendra Modi handpicked this 1977 batch IAS as new cabinet secretary, the top bureaucracy job in India. As Sinha will soon move into the earmarked bungalow of cabinet secretary (32, Prithviraj Road), he will have BJP veteran LK Advani and top corporate honchos like Dalmia, Nanda, Goenka, Punj and Jindal as his neighbours. Here are 10 things you may like to know about Sinha.

UP cadre IAS Pradeep Kumar Sinha appointed as new shipping secretary

A 16th century Japanese ship

Pradeep Kumar Sinha, a 1977 batch UP cadre IAS, will be India’s new shipping secretary in place of K Mohandas who is retiring on February 29, 2012. Sinha who is currently a special secretary and financial adviser in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas is one of the last empanelled officers of 1977 batch to get independent departments. Senior most IAS officer of 1978 batch, Jawed Usmani, will soon get a secretary’s post enabling all his batch-mates to be elevated to special secretaries. A post graduate in economics with sound knowledge of French language, Pradeep Kumar Sinha is a familiar face in Delhi’s corridors of power. He had three deputation terms in Delhi and had also served as additional resident commissioner in New Delhi’s UP Bhavan when current cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, Sinha’s three batch senior from the same cadre, was the resident commissioner.
Hailing from Delhi, Sinha was collector in Jaunpur and Agra districts of Uttar Pradesh. He joined the Central government first in 1986 when he became deputy secretary in the ministry of power. In late 1990s, Sinha became director and then joint secretary in the ministry of sports and youth affairs. Later, he joined as additional resident commissioner in Delhi’s UP Bhavan, and also UP’s investment commissioner based out of Delhi. In 2003-04, Sinha was additional CEO of Greater Noida Authority.
For almost eight years now, Sinha has been in petroleum ministry handling the task of financial adviser as joint secretary, additional secretary and then special secretary. Sinha undertook two long training, first at Indian Institute of Public Administration (1990) and then at Queen Elizabeth House (1999), UK.

Action and Appointments

a) Sharad Gupta, a 1977 batch Assam cadre IAS, presently Director General of Bureau of Indian Standards, has been appointed as secretary, department of official language, ministry of home affairs in place of ANP Sinha, a 1974 batch Bihar cadre IAS retiring on February 29, 2012.
b) Ms Rita A Teaotia, a 1981 batch Gujarat cadre IAS, presently in the cadre has been appointed as additional secretary in the department of information technology.