The Hindu Business Line : Rakesh Mohan's new designation raises eyebrows

THE ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government's decision to appoint Dr Rakesh Mohan as Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) rather than a full-fledged Finance Secretary has raised eyebrows among North Block watchers.

Dr Mohan, who is currently the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), was widely tipped to replace Mr D.C. Gupta as Finance Secretary, following the latter's superannuation by the month-end.

But in what appears to have been a last minute move, it was announced on Tuesday that Dr Mohan would take over as Secretary, DEA, with the post of Finance Secretary being left vacant for now.

In his new role, Dr Mohan's brief would be essentially limited to capital markets and multilateral institutions, given that banking and insurance are already under the purview of the Secretary, Financial Services, Mr N.S. Sisodia.

Further, while the Budget Division is technically supposed to be under the DEA, it is currently being handled by Secretary, Expenditure, Mr D. Swarup.

The talk doing the rounds is that the responsibility for budget-making and coordination will continue to be vested with Mr Swarup even after Dr Mohan assumes charge. The consolation for Dr Mohan though is that Mr Sisodia is due to retire in end-January, after which banking and insurance may also fall in the former's lap.

Although Mr Swarup, too, is due for superannuation in end-December, indications are that he may be given an extension.

While the Finance Secretary is technically equal to other Secretaries in the Ministry - Revenue, Expenditure, DEA and Financial Services - the post is still considered a notch above in a de facto sense.

The decision not to have a Finance Secretary now, according to insiders, reflects the underlying tussle between the entrenched civil services lobby and the technocrats.