The year 2025 was eventful – full of changes. While top heads of administration as well as police changed, there was key reshuffle in the chief minister office also. The focus of bureaucracy was on punctuality, accountability, transparency and online disposal. Systems were set, records were broken and at the same time few heads also rolled. The BuckStopper takes a look at few of Movers and Shakers of Rajasthan Bureaucracy in the year 2025.
V Srinivas
V Srinivas was going strong at centre as secretary administrative reforms and public grievances. Incidentally he was chosen as the first Indian officer to head the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS), a significant global body for public administration a significant global body for public administration. But suddenly, services of incumbent chief secretary of Rajasthan Sudhansh Pant were called back to centre. He was appointed as secretary social justice. And V Srinivas was given the responsibility to head the Rajasthan administration.
Soon after taking over, V Srinivas rolled out the administrative reforms he had implemented at centre. He launched open door policy for senior IAS officers and brought in transparency by emphasising on online grievance redressal.
Sudhansh Pant
Sudhansh Pant had come to Rajasthan from Delhi to serve as chief secretary when Bhajan Lal Sharma government was formed in the state. Then he was serving as health secretary – a key position in the centre. Pant was hand picked by central BJP leadership to lead the administration in Rajasthan, where the party had chosen a first time MLA to steer the ship.
Pant was doing well. Unlike his predecessors, he didn't mind conducting morning surprise checks in offices to ensure punctuality and focussed on service delivery by fixing turn around time (TAT) for each step. However, his services were needed more at centre and he was summoned back to Delhi in between. Pant had to go back with unfinished tenure.
Subodh Agarwal
The senior most and only serving IAS officer from 1988 batch had some unpleasant encounters towards end of his tenure as he retires this month. Rajasthan government gave approval to Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate him in the alleged Rs 9000 crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam.
Agarwal is incidentally the only IAS officer in Rajasthan to face ED probe when directorate of Enforcement raided his residence and office in the year 2023 in JJM.
Agarwal is a senior officer and is known for delivery. He will also remembered as the IAS officer who had agreed to work in secretariat under chief secretaries junior to him in the interest of public and state government.
Rajeev Kumar Sharma
Rajeev Kumar Sharma is an officer with clean and impressive record. At the time when he was selected to head the police force, he was serving at centre as director general police research and development. He had been director general in ACB when incumbent Utkal Ranjan Sahoo was serving as DGP.
An officer with utmost integrity, Sharma has brought in more accountability to the force. His focus is on reforms and modernisation. With rise in incidences of narcotics and drug smuggling in the state, he has formed a special task force to curb this menace.
Utkal Ranjan Sahoo
Utkal Ranjan Sahoo played his innings as DGP. And when he was in the mid of two-year term, he was appointed as chairman of Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC).
With paper leaks and several other controversies mired with RPSC, the beleaguered recruitment agency needed an honest face to project the clean up exercise. Among available officers, UR Sahoo, with an expertise of over 37 years of experience in policing stood a great chance. The government was keen to have a chairman with police background to clean up the mess.
Akhil Arora
Akhil Arora is an officer who can perform and fit anywhere. He is known for delivery. After managing complex finances of state for record time across Gehlot and Bhajan Lal Sharma governments, chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma picked him to manage his office.
Arora is an officer who performs irrespective of political dispensation. Whether it was Vasundhara Raje, Ashok Gehlot or now Bhajan Lal Sharma, Arora has been able to deliver what was asked for. He is the man to go to for any chief minister. Arora spent more than four and half years managing the state coffers and ensuring that there is no dearth of money for any government schemes. Now the task for Arora is to implement the vision of chief minister on ground.
Shikhar Agarwal
A highly efficient officer Shikhar Agarwal was the first choice for chief minister office. He was appointed as additional secretary to chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. In the first year itself, Agarwal ensured that the Rising Rajasthan Global Summit happens. The state received a record Rs 35 lakh crore investment in the summit. In the recent reshuffle after Pant going back to Delhi, Shikhar Agarwal was given responsibility of industrial development in the state. He was made chairman RIICO and additional chief secretry industries. His batchmate Akhil Arora replaced him in the CMO.
Anand Kumar
After Akhil Arora, Anand Kumar was the only officer who retained his portfolio post the change in guard. Anand Kumar, who was appointed as principal secretary home in Ashok Gehlot government, continued to head the department for more than two and half years. In June last year, he was finally transferred as additional chief secretary forest, environment and climate change.
Bhaskar Sawant
When Anand Kumar was transferred from home department, the government needed an equally competent officer to handle the department. Bhaskar Sawant, a silent worker, was then considered to handle the sensitive home department. A team man, Bhaskar so far has been able to coordinate well with police department.
Ajitabh Sharma
Ajitabh Sharma had performed extremely well as principal secretary industries while organising Rising Rajasthan Global Summit. Out of the investment proposals of Rs 35 lakh crore, more than Rs 28 lakh crore was from the energy sector. The government transferred him as principal sector energy to speed up the implementation of investment proposals. Sharma, who had rolled out more than 15 new policies during Rising Rajasthan to facilitate in investment, didn't sit quietly in his new role. He worked on land allotment policy and battery energy storage policy to help Rajasthan top the chart in renewable energy. During his tenure the state has been able to lock lowest ever tariff in the range of Rs 1.775 lakh per MW per month to Rs 1.785 lakh per MW per month in the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Gayatri Rathore
Gayatri Rathore has changed face of tourism in Rajasthan. During the Corona time when tourism took a big blow, she stood up and anchored the revival of tourism in the state. Now as principal secretary health and medical education, she is rolling out new initiatives to boost healthcare and medical education in the state. She has streamlined the Rajasthan Government Health Scheme (RGHS), which was plaughed by corruption. She has also launched the evening OPD in SMS hospital for the first time to bring relief to patients.
Rathore has also implemented several new initiatives to boost the healthcare system in the state.
Vaibhav Galriya
A 1998 batch officer, Galriya has performed well throughout his career. As principal secretary in finance department, he is juggling well with the numbers. He has lived up to the expectation of handling the department held by Akhil Arora for more than four and a half years.
The consistent performance of Galriya in his previous departments PWD, Agriculture and UDH has a lot to contribute in his transfer to finance department. With the legacy of Akhil Arora in the department, Galriya will have to go extra mile to make people forget financial juggernaut of Arora, who kept the finances ticking in adverse financial conditions.
Biju George Joseph
Biju George Joseph served as Jaipur Police Commissioner for more than 27 months, which is record of sorts. Joseph is among few officers, who continued with the portfolio even after the change of regime. He is now serving as ADG Police Reorganisation Rules – a less significant appointment. However, Joseph will be remembered for his late night patrolling and efficient policing.
Sachin Mittal
Sachin Mittal has been a consistent performer. There were many contenders for the post of Jaipur Commissioner. But Bhajan Lal Sharma chose Mittal to helm the post.
A 1996 batch officer, Mittal had previously served on various posts including IG (ACB), IG (Jodhpur range), IG Jaipur (HQ), IG Jail and Jodhpur Police Commissioner.
Mittal is considered as an upright hardworking and honest police officer. He had also served as SP in districts including Bharatpur, Jhunjhunu, Sawai Madhopur, Dungarpur and Jhalawar.
Samit Sharma
Samit Sharma is serving in a comparatively ‘non glamorous' department. But with hard work and innovations, he has made it equally important. He has launched a helpline number – 1962 – for the treatment of animals and a WhatsApp based chat bot where farmers and animal raisers can interact to get information.
Sharma has also introduced app based attendance system to ensure punctuality of staff. He also started sex sorted semen production at Frozen Semen Bank in Bassi for reproduction of she-calves.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
