The next reshuffle

With the ministers having been allocated their portfolios,the suspense will now shift to the babudom. A new Home Secretary has to be appointed as the current incumbent,Madhukar Gupta,is already under extension. Defence Secretary Vijay Singh is set to retire in July and so is Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon. Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar is tipped to get an extension,but hectic lobbying is on for his exit as it would brighten Labour Secretary Sudha Pillai’s chances at becoming the country’s first woman cabinet secretary. Her husband and Commerce Secretary G K Pillai is also a contender for the Secretary post in either the Home or Defence ministries. He has served in both ministries earlier,handling high-profile assignments. The names of Revenue Secretary P V Bhide,Agriculture Secretary T Nand Kumar and Petroleum Secretary R S Pandey are also doing the rounds for the Home Secretary’s post. Meanwhile,the MEA is bracing for a woman foreign secretary in Nirupama Rao,whose husband Sudhakar Rao is the Chief Secretary of Karnataka. She is currently India’s ambassador in China and will be the seniormost IFS officer after Menon’s retirement. Former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna’s appointment as the Foreign Minister has tipped the scales in her favour,though her batchmate,Nalin Surie,a Secretary in MEA now,is also seen as a strong contender.