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Just a month after the government named 1991-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer Saurabh Garg to hold additional charge of Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), it announced his full-time appointment as MoSPI Secretary on Thursday along with a one-year term beyond his superannuation in July this year.
Garg, who currently holds the charge of Secretary, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, has also been given charge of Secretary, National Statistical Commission (NSC).
With this order, the government also announced the appointment of 1991-batch AGMUT cadre Amit Yadav as Secretary of Department of Social Justice & Empowerment. The shuffling of bureaucrats comes just three days after the government on May 27 had announced that Garg’s successor, Yadav, will take charge as Officer on Special Duty, Department of Social Justice & Empowerment till Garg’s superannuation in July and then take over as secretary. The order, however, does not make a mention of the appointment to the position of Chief Statistician of India, which is usually held by the same official as the MoSPI Secretary. The government is likely to consider completing the appointment process for Chief Statistician of India separately after Lok Sabha election results, an official said.
Garg, a post doctorate in international economics and development from John Hopkins University and an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, has earlier held key roles including Chief Executive Officer, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Principal Secretary for Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment in Odisha, where he worked on the direct income scheme for farmers — KALIA or Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation. He had earlier also served as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance.
Before Garg, the charge of MoSPI Secretary was held by GP Samanta till April 15, 2024. Samanta, who was an adviser in the Reserve Bank of India’s Department of Statistics and Information Management, was appointed as Chief Statistician of India-cum-Secretary MoSPI for two years in April 2021. He was then given a one-year extension in April 2023.
The Chief Statistician of India is an appointment in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. CSI, while holding the charge as Secretary, MoSPI, also heads the National Statistical Office and has the charge of Secretary of the National Statistical Commission.
MoSPI undertakes several crucial surveys including the Annual Survey of Industries, Consumption Expenditure Survey Periodic Labour Force Survey along with compiling GDP and retail inflation data for the country.
