After former Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari’s retirement, the Jharkhand government has appointed 1993-batch IAS officer Avinash Kumar to the post. Tiwari vacated office on Tuesday, following which Kumar formally took charge as the state’s top bureaucrat. The Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha issued a notification on Tuesday regarding Kumar’s appointment with the approval of the Governor. Avinash Kumar will continue to hold existing responsibilities as Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Principal Resident Commissioner at Jharkhand Bhavan in New Delhi until further orders. Kumar was also serving as the Additional Chief Secretary of the Energy Department. He has also held additional charges as Development Commissioner of Jharkhand, and Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (JUVNL). After Tiwari’s retirement, the names of several IAS officers had surfaced for the post of Chief Secretary. As per seniority, Shailesh Kumar, Avinash Kumar and Ajay Kumar Singh were in discussion. Shailesh Kumar, a 1991-batch IAS officer, is serving as Secretary in the Union Ministry of Rural Development, while 1995-batch officer Ajay Kumar Singh is Additional Chief Secretary in the Health Department. Singh has also been given additional charge as Development Commissioner of Jharkhand.
