New Delhi: Two tribal IAS officers from Manipur, one of them from the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar community and the other a Mao Naga, have been appointed as secretaries in the finance ministry as part of a major bureaucratic shake-up.
This is the first time the Union government has appointed Scheduled Tribe (ST) members from the Northeast as finance ministry secretaries. Sixteen other IAS officers were appointed to fill key posts in finance and other ministries, including commerce and aviation, as part of the reshuffle that happened last week.
Manipur cadre IAS officer of the 1992 batch Vumlunmang Vualnam, a Paite from the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar community, was named the new expenditure secretary, while K. Moses Chalai, a 1990 batch Manipur cadre officer from the Mao Naga community, was appointed secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, under the finance ministry.
Apart from Vualnam and Chalai, IAS officer Rajesh Agarwal, who has been appointed as officer on special duty (OSD) in the commerce ministry, is also from Manipur, which has been in turmoil since ethnic clashes broke out nearly two years ago. Agarwal, a 1994 batch officer, will take over as commerce secretary after incumbent Sunil Barthwal retires on 30 September.
Before Moses Chalai, Ameising Luikham, a Tangkhul Naga from Manipur, was appointed secretary (Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises) for a little over a year. But this was before public enterprises were demerged from heavy industries and made a separate department under the finance ministry in July 2021.
While the maximum age limit for the civil services exam for general category candidates is 32 years, the upper age limit is relaxed by five years for SCs and STs, meaning they can appear till the age of 37 years. This gives candidates from the SC/ST community more time to appear for the UPSC. But qualifying at a late age makes it difficult for such candidates to rise to the post of secretary before they retire.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has previously attacked the NDA government over a dearth of OBC and SC/ST representation in the top echelons of the bureaucracy.
Serving and retired civil servants told ThePrint the Union government rarely appoints secretaries from the ST community in the Northeast. Previously, in 2017, Shakuntala Doley Gamlin, a 1984 batch AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories) cadre IAS officer, was the secretary in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. She was from Assam’s Mishing tribe.
Former secretary (coordination) in the cabinet secretariat, James Michael Lyngdoh, 1961 batch IAS officer from Bihar cadre, belonged to Meghalaya’s Khasi tribe. He went on to become the chief election commissioner of India in June 2001.
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Vualnam—an old finance hand
Before this new appointment, Vualnam was the aviation secretary since September 2023. A senior Manipur cadre IAS officer in Delhi, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint that Vualnam opted for a central deputation in June 2023, just a month after violent clashes broke out between two ethnic communities in the state—the predominantly Hindu Meiteis and the tribal Kukis.
Before coming to the Centre, Vualnam was the additional chief secretary, posted in Imphal, handling planning and programme implementation.
“Following the ethnic conflict, there was segregation among the two communities on ethnic lines. It became untenable for the Kukis, both civilians and government officials, to stay in the Valley because of the prevailing situation. While a majority of the Kuki officers had to relocate to the hill districts from the Valley (Imphal), some sought a deputation and came to the Centre,” the officer said.
Had the situation remained normal in the state, Vualnam would have become the chief secretary.
Serving and retired civil servants also told ThePrint that Vualnam was a deserving candidate. “He is a very upright officer. There are no blemishes in his record,” a retired Manipur cadre Indian Revenue Service officer said.
Vualnam is not new to the finance ministry. He briefly served as the additional secretary in the department of economic affairs (DEA) in 2023 before becoming the aviation secretary. Prior to this, for three years starting October 2004, he served as adviser to the executive director of the World Bank in Washington D.C. He has also served as a deputy secretary and under secretary in the DEA between August 2000 and 2004.
“He has already worked in the finance ministry before and has adequate experience for the job,” said a retired Manipur cadre IAS officer.
Besides Vualnam, the finance ministry also saw the appointment of Arvind Shrivastava, a 1994 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, as the revenue secretary, filling a post that had been vacant since February.
Anuradha Thakur, a 1994 batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer, was appointed as the OSD in the DEA. Thakur will take over as economic affairs secretary after incumbent Ajay Seth retires on 30 June.
Naga body was pushing for Moses Chalai to be Manipur chief secy
Moses Chalai has been on central deputation since 2016. He was the secretary (inter-state council secretariat) under the ministry of home affairs before his new assignment.
Previously, he served as secretary North Eastern Council and has also worked in the ministry of women and child development.
In January this year, the Naga People’s Organisation (NPO) in Senapati, Manipur, wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah requesting that Moses Chalai be appointed the state chief secretary after Vineet Joshi was recalled to the Centre.
In its letter, the NPO said that no Naga officer has ever been appointed to the post despite many being deserving candidates. It said Moses Chalai was the most eligible for the post.
Currently, the total sanctioned strength of the Manipur cadre IAS is 115. Of these, currently 80 positions are filled while 35 posts are lying vacant.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
its not kuki-zomi its zomi both share cultural ties but representing them correctly will help reduce the confusion between the two communities.
The Kuki-Hmar-Zo people are residents of Myanmar (formerly Burma). They have illegally immigrated over the porous Indo-Myanmar border over the last few decades and settled in in the hill tracts of Manipur.
Almost all Kuki-Hmar-Zo people are illegal immigrants residing in India.
The Union government must investigate the background of this officer before appointing him to such an important position.
The Naga People’s Organization (NPO) is an anti-India group which has always been involved in secessionist activities. It has been an avowed champion of Naga independence.
The fact that this organisation has the guts to request the Union Home Ministry to appoint a Naga officer of their choice as the Chief Secretary of Manipur is surprising to say the least.
The Union Home Ministry must initiate strict action against these anti-India pro-terrorist civil society organisations.