Karnataka govt appoints Ritesh Kumar Singh as head of Finance Department
A 1996-batch IAS officer, Ritesh Kumar Singh was serving as Principal Secretary, School Education and Literacy Department.

Days before the superannuation of L K Atheeq, Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department, on January 31, the Karnataka government has appointed Ritesh Kumar Singh to the position.
According to an order issued Monday, Singh, a 1996-batch Karnataka cadre officer, will be serving in a temporary post of Officer on Special Duty, Finance Department, till January 31 and will take charge as Principal Secretary, Finance Department, from February.
Singh was serving as Principal Secretary, School Education and Literacy Department. His immediate posting as Officer on Special Duty to the Finance Department comes amidst ongoing preparations for the state budget.
Singh had previously served as senior adviser to the Executive Director of the World Bank and as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate.
Atheeq, following his superannuation, will serve as Additional Chief Secretary to the chief minister on a contract basis from February 1. Atheeq has served as ACS, Finance Department, since June 2023. He was previously in the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department, apart from a stint at the Prime Minister’s Office and Chief Minister’s Office during Siddaramaiah’s first tenure as CM.