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Journalism of Courage
Newly-appointed Revenue Secretary Ajay Vikram Singh’s ill-health has forced the Government to look for a replacement. Singh collapsed in office on two occasions in the last one month.
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh gave the go-ahead for the search last week. With the FM back from Washington on Wednesday, the successor is expected to be finalised soon. The top contenders for the job are Banking Secretary D.P. Gupta and Chemicals and Fertilisers Secretary Nripendra Mishra.
Apart from the urgent need to have a full-time secretary with the fiscal deficit under severe strain, Jaswant Singh wants the tax collection machinery fully computerised. This involves considerable coordination with state governments as well.
Currently, former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar (who has a minister of state rank) is heading a task force to help streamline the department’s functioning. The other secretary level jobs to be filled shortly are defence production (the current secretary, Ajit Nimbalkar, has become chief secretary of Maharashtra), and non-conventional energy.
