April 1 Reshuffle: Know more about new entrants in PMO

Tarun Bajaj (left) in Singapore (File photo)

ON MARCH 31 and April 1, the appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) headed by the prime minister engineered a major reshuffle in the PMO by bringing in five IAS officers including one from the finance ministry and two from the DoPT and paved the way for the exit of four existing PMO officials. Whereas Odisha cadre IAS Ms Anu Garg was shifted as joint secretary to the ministry of textiles, DEA joint secretary Tarun Bajaj was brought into the PMO. More about the men and women at the entry and exit gates:

ENTRY GATE
It is likely that Tarun Bajaj, 1988 batch Haryana cadre IAS and joint secretary in the department of economic affairs (DEA) who has been shifted as joint secretary in PMO, will play a key role in prime minister’s office. Bajaj, 52, is a graduate in commerce, MSc in utility regulation from London School of Economics and Political Science and MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. Between 2006 and 2011, he was with the department of financial services, first as director and then as joint secretary. He closely worked under the then financial services secretary Vinod Rai who later became the CAG and exposed a number of big-ticket corruption cases. In Haryana, Bajaj was the Managing Director of a number of public companies and boards such as Haryana Tourism Development Corporation, Mass Rapid Transport Corporation, Haryana Financial Corporation, Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation etc. Since July 2014, he was working as a joint secretary in the department of economic affairs that comes under the ministry of finance.
Another new PMO entrant at the senior level is Debashri Mukherjee, 1991 batch AGMUT cadre IAS who was serving as joint secretary in DoPT. An MA in English literature, Ms Mukherjee, 45, had earlier served as CEO of Delhi Jal Board and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) before joining in DoPT in February this year. An AGMUT cadre IAS, she had served in Arunachal Pradesh between 1995 and 1999.
Another newly-appointed PMO official (at deputy secretary level) Shrikar Keshav Pardeshi is a 2001 batch Maharashtra cadre IAS.  He did MBBS and MD before getting into IAS. Pardeshi, 41, is a Maharashtra cadre IAS.
Also, Gulzar Natrajan, 1999 batch Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS and director in DoPT has been laterally shifted as director in PMO. Natrajan, 40, is an engineer-turned IAS, hailing originally from Kerala. In the state, he served as municipal commissioner in Vijayawada and collector in Hyderabad. He was also the CMD of Eastern Power Distribution Corporation Ltd, and later vice chairman and MD of Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh.
Mayur Maheshwari, 2003 batch UP cadre IAS was also appointed as deputy secretary in PMO. Maheshwari, 38, is a textile engineer-turned IAS, originally belonging to Uttar Pradesh itself. He used to serve as collector of five UP districts— Ballia, Azamgarh, Bagpat, Kanpur Dehat (Rural) and Badaun.

EXIT GATE
Those who exited the PMO are as follows:
a) PMO joint secretary and 1991 batch Odisha cadre IAS Ms Anu Garg has been shifted as joint secretary to the ministry of textiles.
b) Sharmila Mary Joseph, 1997 batch Kerala cadre IAS and director in PMO, has been appointed as Member Secretary in National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority.
c) Selva Kumar, 1997 batch Karnataka cadre IAS and director on PMO, has been appointed as joint secretary in department of economic affairs (DEA).
d) Krishan Kumar, 1997 batch Punjab cadre IAS and director in PMO, has been appointed as chairman (at joint secretary level) in APEDA under the department of commerce.