The Rajasthan government on Sunday appointed senior IAS officer V. Srinivas as the state’s new Chief Secretary, according to an official order. Srinivas, a 1989-batch officer currently on central deputation, succeeds Sudhansh Pant, who has been reassigned to a central role.
The Department of Personnel issued Srinivas’s appointment following his relief by the Centre on November 14. He had been serving as the Secretary, Pensions and Pensioners’ Welfare in the Union government for the past seven years. Srinivas will now assume charge in Rajasthan and continue in the role until his scheduled retirement in September 2026.
In addition to the Chief Secretary position, he has been given the additional responsibilities of Chairman of Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd and Principal Resident Commissioner of Rajasthan in New Delhi. Officials indicated that his appointment may trigger a broader administrative reshuffle in the state.
Srinivas is the second-most senior IAS officer in the Rajasthan cadre, just behind Subodh Agarwal of the 1988 batch, who is set to retire in December. From that point onward, Srinivas will become the senior-most officer in the state.
A highly experienced bureaucrat, Srinivas began his career as Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) in Bhilwara and Nimbahera. Between 1995 and 1998, he served as Director of Watershed Development and Soil Conservation, and subsequently held the positions of Collector of Pali and Jodhpur.
He has also served at the national and international levels, including as Private Secretary to former External Affairs and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh during the NDA government, and as Technical Assistant to India’s Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington D.C. Srinivas’s extensive tenure on central deputation reflects his experience in policy-making and administrative reforms.
