Veteran IAS officer T.V. Somanathan appointed next Cabinet Secretary

Veteran IAS officer T.V. Somanathan appointed next Cabinet Secretary

Sub: Polity

Sec: Executive

Context: The Union government on Saturday announced IAS officer T.V. Somanathan as the Cabinet Secretary-designate by appointing him Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Cabinet Secretariat. He will take over India’s top bureaucratic position from August 30 when incumbent Rajiv Gauba’s extended tenure end

Cabinet Secretary

• The Cabinet Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the Government of India.

Cabinet Secretary

• is the ex-officio head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat, the IAS, and all civil services under the rules of business of the government.
• ranks eleventh on the Indian order of precedence.
• is under the direct charge of the PM and is appointed for a fixed tenure of two years.
• The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Transaction of Business and the Allocation of Business Rules 1961.

Functions

• Ca facilitates smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government.

This Secretariat provides:

• Secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and its Committees
• Assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination,
• Ironing out differences amongst Ministries/ Departments
• Evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/ ad hoc Committees of Secretaries