Sanjay Malhotra to take over as next revenue secretary
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday appointed financial services secretary Sanjay Malhotra, a 1990-batch Indian Administrative Service officer of Rajasthan cadre as officer on special duty (OSD) in the revenue department. He will become the revenue secretary after incumbent Tarun Bajaj retires on 30 November, according to an official order.
Malhotra, an IIT Kanpur alumnus, will be responsible for giving final touches to all tax-related matters related to the forthcoming Union Budget for 2023-24 as the top bureaucrat of the revenue department, which is one of the key arms of the Union finance ministry. The Budget is expected to be presented on 1 February, 2023.
The decision has been taken along with over a dozen highprofile bureaucratic reshuffle by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. ACC comprises of the Prime Minister and home minister. Malhotra will be responsible for augmenting tax collections without overreach at a time when global economy is facing headwinds and India is staring at mounting food, fuel and fertiliser subsidy burden.
According to estimates, India’s fertiliser subsidy alone is expected to surge above ₹2.5 lakh crore in FY23, an over 138% jump from the Budget Estimate (BE).
The government recently approved a one-time grant of ₹22,000 crore to state-run oil marketing companies that took a hit on cooking gas between June 2020 and June 2022, which is 450% jump from ₹4,000 crore direct transfer of LPG subsidy in BE for 2022-23.
The government also extended its enhanced free grain scheme for another three months up to December 31 with additional financial implication of ₹44,762 crore, which is over and above ₹80,000 crore already spent so far in 2022-23.
Vivek Joshi, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner in the ministry of home affairs will replace Malhotra as secretary in DFS, the notification said. Joshi is a 1989batch, Haryana cadre IAS.