DIPAM Secy: Meet Tuhin Kanta Pandey, instrumental in Air India sale, LIC IPO

Tuhin Kanta Pandey

Tuhin Kanta Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer, assumed the role of the Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in 2019. His appointment came during a period when the government was considering a second attempt at the sale of Air India. Before joining the finance ministry, Pandey served in his home cadre of Odisha as the principal secretary in the state government.

The DIPAM Secretary will be a key player in shaping the interim Budget, which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.

The IAS officer from the Odisha cadre is credited with successfully completing the long-pending sale of the national carrier Air India and for overseeing the listing of the national insurer, the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

As the DIPAM secretary, Pandey worked to manage expectations regarding the government's disinvestments. The planned disinvestment targets were frequently revised downwards due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and several planned sales took longer than expected or did not materialise.

He holds a master's degree in economics from Punjab University and an MBA from the United Kingdom. He has served in various capacities both in Odisha and at the central level. In Odisha, he held positions such as Executive Director at the Odisha State Finance Corporation (OSFC) and managing director at the Odisha Small Industries Corporation (OSIC). Additionally, he served as the district magistrate of Sambalpur district.

During his earlier years, he worked as a deputy secretary in the Ministry of Commerce at the central level. Later he was deputed to the Regional Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

In 2009, Pandey was appointed as joint secretary, Planning Commission for five years and then as joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat for a period of two years.