Expenditure Secretary Ashok Lavasa was on Tuesday appointed the new Finance Secretary. The post had been lying vacant since April after the retirement of Ratan Watal, who was recently appointed as principal advisor, social sector, in the NITI Aayog.

“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved designating Shri Ashok Lavasa, IAS (HY: 1980), Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance as Finance Secretary,” an official release said.

Prior to this, Lavasa, a 1980 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer, has earlier served as Civil Aviation Secretary and Environment Secretary. Before that, he served in various capacities in the Ministries of Power, Renewable Energy among others.

As per norms, the senior-most of the five secretaries in the Finance Ministry becomes Finance Secretary. At present, Lavasa’s 1980 batchmate Shaktikanta Das is Secretary, Economic Affairs, Hasmukh Adhia is Revenue Secretary, Anjuly Chib Duggal is Secretary, Department of Financial Services and Neeraj Kumar Gupta is Secretary in Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.

Lavasa holds a Master’s degree in English literature from Delhi University and an MBA from Southern Cross University in Australia. Prior to joining the civil services, he taught literature and also had a brief stint at State Bank of India.

A man of varied interests, in 2010, Lavasa co-authored a book titled ‘An Uncivil Servant’ with former IAS officer and Stellar Group’s Chairman Ravi Mohan Sethi about the private and public life of the latter.

Besides literature, Lavasa is an avid photographer and along with his photographer wife has a number of exhibitions to his credit.

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