Finance Secretary TV Somanathan appointed as Cabinet Secretary for 2 years

TV Somanathan

Center has appointed Finance Secretary TV Somanathan as Cabinet Secretary for 2 years starting from 30 August. A 1987-batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, Somanathan is currently serving as Union Finance Secretary and Secretary, Expenditure.

TV Somanathan will succeed Rajiv Gauba who had a five-year term as Cabinet Secretary. Gauba took over the charge of Cabinet Secretary five years ago on August 30, 2019

“The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has also approved the appointment of Shri TV Somanathan, IAS (TN:87) as officer on special duty in the cabinet secretariat from the date he joins the assignment till he takes over as the cabinet secretary,” the statement read.

TV Somanathan, a 1987-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Tamil Nadu Cadre was in April 2021 designated Finance Secretary, a designation given to the senior-most officer among all secretaries in the ministry. Previously a joint secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA), between 2015 and 2017, Somanathan was in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) looking after the implementation of economic policies. He is currently also the chairman of the committee reviewing the pension system for government employees.

The IAS officer holds a doctorate in Economics and is a qualified chartered accountant (CA), cost accountant, and company secretary. He has published over 80 papers and articles on economics in journals and newspapers, finance and public policy, and is the author of two books as well as chapters in several others. He has also worked as Director at the World Bank, Washington D.C on deputation from the IAS.

Somanathan was responsible for spearheading several policies when the centre’s revenues were hit due to the pandemic, especially during 2020 and 2021, including enforcing expenditure curbs on various ministries and departments across the central government. He is also considered to have played a key role in implementing flagship schemes such as ‘PM Gareeb Kalyan’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, which were announced during the first wave of COVID-19.

*With Agency Inputs