Lucknow: Seven months after appointing former additional chief secretary Awanish Awasthi as adviser to the chief minister, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has appointed yet another retired IAS officer as adviser by creating a temporary post.
They said Kumar would be handholding officials in the department of infrastructure and industrial development for implementation of the proposals received during the summit, as the government intends to hold a ceremony to break ground on at least one of the proposals in the next six months.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior UP government official said Kumar held one-on-one meetings with top industry leaders ahead of the summit and is the driving force behind several economic policies framed under the Yogi government.
One of the sources cited above said, “He was the one leading the GIS team and was monitoring the work progress and promotion of the government’s efforts. He was piloting several changes across sectors.”
“He helped in preparation of industry-related policies,” the source added.
Meanwhile, CM adviser Awasthi’s tenure has been extended till 29 February next year.
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Who is Arvind Kumar
A 1988 batch officer, Kumar holds a BTech (electrical engineering) and MTech (communication and radar engineering) from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT) Delhi. He has held the positions of district magistrate in districts such as Farrukhabad, Sitapur, Azamgarh and Deoria, and served as the commissioner of Gorakhpur and Basti divisions in 2005-2006.
After serving the central government on positions such as director (broadcasting policy and legislation) and joint secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting between 25 May, 2006, and 1 May, 2014, he took charge as the principal secretary (medical, health and family welfare) in the UP government on 12 May, 2014 — a position he held till July 2016.
He was appointed as the principal secretary (revenue) in August 2016 and also held the position of principal secretary (home), vigilance & prisons between May 2017 and July 2019 during Yogi’s first tenure.
In November 2019, he was appointed as principal secretary (additional energy) and chairman of UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), UP Electric Production & Water Electric Corporation and UP State Electricity production corporation.
On 1 February, 2021, Kumar was appointed as the ACS (infrastructure and industrial development) — a charge that he held till his retirement — and also served as the infrastructure and industrial development commissioner (IIDC) from 1 February, 2022, till his retirement in February this year.
Similar appointments in past
The state government has often appointed retired bureaucrats and professionals as advisers to the CM. Adviser to the CM (health) is Gyanendra Nath Singh, former secretary-cum-scientific director of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission who has also held the additional charge of the Drugs Controller General of India in the past.
In 2017, the government appointed retired IAS officer and former director of World Bank Keshav Varma as adviser (urban development).
Varma is also the chairman of the central government’s high-level committee of urban planners and the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd.
The same year, former journalist Mrityunjay Kumar was appointed as media adviser to the CM. He was reappointed to the post in March 2022. In 2019, journalist and author of Karmayogi Sannyasi Yogi Adityanath Dr Rahees Singh, too, was appointed as the CM’s media adviser.
In 2018, K.V. Raju, who has served as principal scientist and assistant director of Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), was appointed as the CM’s economic adviser.
Raju was a part of the committee working on the Yogi government’s ambitious “trillion dollar economy” project but resigned in December 2021. His resignation was not accepted and he was a part of the team working for the GIS 2023.
In August 2022, the government appointed Dhirendra Pal Singh — former chairman of University Grants Commission and former director of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) — as adviser to CM (education).
Awasthi gets extension
Last September, Awanish Awasthi, a 1987 batch IAS officer, who retired on 31 August, 2022, was appointed adviser to the CM till 28 February this year.
The government order said Awasthi was appointed to “advise the CM on administrative affairs”. Last month, he was given a one-year extension till 29 February, 2024.
Till his superannuation, Awasthi was overseeing the functioning of several important portfolios such as home, confidential, visa, passport, jail administration, vigilance, energy, and religious affairs.
Appointed the ACS (home) in July 2019, he held the portfolio at a time the state saw the crackdown on anti-CAA protesters in 2020, the Hathras rape case, the bulldozer action against alleged encroachments, and the Prayagraj violence last year.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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