Subhash Chandra Garg may be out as finance secretary, but he has a lot to say about economy
Power secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who sought voluntary retirement after his removal as finance secretary in July, has left his IAS colleagues perplexed.
He wanted his retirement to kick in from 31 October this year, which left him with a three-month-long tenure as power secretary.
His colleagues thought that Garg, miffed by his removal from a high-profile posting, would maintain a low profile. But he has surprised them all. He has been active, commenting frequently on the economy and the macro numbers that are released at periodic intervals.
Commenting on the factory output numbers released last week, Garg said they indicated an improvement in rural demand and surmised that, along with an increase in government expenditure after elections, it should mean an improved GDP figure in the second quarter of 2019-20.
IIP growth for July at 4.3%, food inflation at 3%, which will positively impact rural demand, and Government expenditure having gone up sharply after elections signal reversal of growth slowdown. Quarterly GDP data comes with a lag. IIQ GDP growth should be much better.
— Subhash Chandra Garg (@Subhashgarg1960) September 13, 2019
Prior to the release of the first-quarter GDP numbers on 31 August, Garg, speaking at a conference, forecast a growth rate of around 5.5-6 per cent. The data subsequently released by the Central Statistics Office showed the economy grew at a six-year low of 5 per cent in the quarter ending June.
Speaking in the Mindmine Summit today, I had said that first quarter GDP is likely to be between 5.5% to 6%. This is on account of subdued government expenditure on account of elections and some reduction in demand.
— Subhash Chandra Garg (@Subhashgarg1960) August 22, 2019
Garg, a 1983-batch Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer, was due to retire in October 2020 and had nearly 15 months of tenure left when he was shifted out of North Block. It is not known yet whether his application for voluntary retirement has been accepted.
He had taken over as secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in June 2017 and was designated finance secretary in March 2019. He was at the forefront of the government’s controversial Budget announcement to raise funds from sovereign bond issuance overseas.
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‘Lateral entry’ civil servants start govt gig with social media splash
The nine joint secretaries chosen by the government through the lateral entry system assumed charge in the third week of September. Some of the new appointees, who come from the private sector, are active on LinkedIn, a professional networking site, and announced their new stint to their contacts on the portal.
Amber Dubey, the new joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, posted a picture of his first day in office. Clad in a suit and tie, Dubey has brought the dress code of his previous workplace into his new job. In his earlier avatar, Dubey was a partner at KPMG India, heading the aerospace and defence vertical.
The picture also showed a coat hanger, a rare sight in a joint secretary’s office.
Some of the other lateral entrants who changed their job profiles on LinkedIn include Saurabh Arun Goel, joint secretary in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry who was previously with Shopclues, and Saurabh Mishra, joint secretary in the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, who earlier worked with Willis Towers Watson.
Why Amit Shah is snooping on BJP ex-general secretary Ram Lal
After Ram Lal yielded the powerful post of BJP general secretary (organisation) to B.L. Santhosh, he was expected to once again fade away into the faceless Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
It was clear that Lal, who had been in the post since 2006, wasn’t really a favourite of party president Amit Shah.
But Lal hasn’t quite faded into oblivion. He has, in recent weeks, been visiting media offices with some delegates, introducing them to editors. Grapevine has it that Shah has got wind of it and doesn’t like it. He even deputed someone to call media offices to find out exactly who Lal was meeting and what he was talking about.
(Contributor: Remya Nair)
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