‘Calm influence’: Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra next RBI Governor

The second term of current RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is slated to end on December 10.

Sources said what worked in his favour was his “calm influence” and “intellectual acumen,” two attributes that couldn’t be more relevant than today. “He’s not known for giving jerky inputs,” said the source.

A B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1989, Malhotra later pursued his Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University. He’s known for his analytical skills within the Finance Ministry in his role as Revenue Secretary and also earlier as the Secretary, Department of Financial Services.

One of the trusted aides of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Malhotra was known to weigh in with his insight on discussions around revenue trends. He has also been vocal about the over-reach of tax officers, asking them to refrain from hurting business sentiment in their pursuit of revenue targets.

“We are here not only for revenue but also for the whole economy of the country. So, if in the process of garnering some small revenue, we are hurting the whole industry, or the economy of the county, it is certainly not the intent. Revenue comes in only when there is some income, therefore, we have to be very cautious so that we do not, as they say, kill the golden goose,” he said last week at an event organised by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

As the Ex-Officio Secretary of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, Malhotra’s mild demeanor, especially during disagreements between states and Centre in the Council’s proceedings, were often appreciated by Ministers.

During his stint as young IAS officer (1996-1998), Malhotra served as District Collector and District Magistrate in Chittorgarh. Later in his posting with the Central government, Malhotra worked as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power (2020-21). He then joined as the Chairman and Managing Director of Rural Electrification Corporation, following which he was appointed as Financial Services Secretary from February-October 2022 and, subsequently, as Revenue Secretary.

A Rajasthan-cadre officer, Malhotra comes with over three-decades of experience in the areas of power, finance and taxation, information technology and mines. As Principal Secretary, in-charge of Energy Department in Rajasthan, Malhotra was seen to be instrumental in appointment of distribution franchisees in four towns, introduction of PPP in transmission and innovations in metering, billing and collection. As Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power, he dealt with transmission, distribution, reforms and restructuring and was involved in reforms, policy initiatives and privatisation of distribution utilities of union territories.