Newly-appointed Power Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg asserted on Friday that there is no connection between his transfer from the high profile Finance Ministry and his decision to take voluntary retirement. He had already discussed the retirement matter with the Prime Minister’s Office on July 18, he said.
Mr. Garg, who was the senior-most officer in the Finance Ministry, was shifted to the Power Ministry on July 24 as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle . On July 25, Mr. Garg announced that he had applied for voluntary retirement from service, leading to speculation that he was miffed at his transfer from the Finance Ministry.
“I joined today from the Ministry of Finance. The proposal that I would take VRS was discussed with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on July 18... much before the transfer order. There is no connection with that [VRS],” he told reporters after taking charge of the Power Ministry.
“I don’t think we should discuss those reasons,” he said when asked why he had put in his papers ahead of his superannuation. “Let’s rest that matter, as that was discussed and I conveyed my decision much before,” he told reporters after taking charge of the Power Ministry..
About reconsidering his decision, he said, “I don’t think that question is again relevant.”
Asked about lowering his stature by the transfer to the Power Ministry, he said, “We should not discuss these issues. It is the government’s prerogative to decide... all positions of secretary are equal. If seen from the challenges [point of view], the Power Ministry has a very big challenge. So I don’t think there is any meaning to it.
Mr. Garg told media that he had formally put in his application for VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) on Wednesday, July 24.
When asked whether his early departure from the Finance Ministry would affect sovereign bonds issue, he said, “This issue will now be dealt with by the Department of Economic Affairs and I cannot speak for that.” He said the sovereign bond issue was to ease pressure on domestic availability of resources, especially the private sector has enormous benefits, and risks are lower.
About opposition to sovereign bonds, he said, “During the time I was there, I hadn’t heard anyone in the government questioning the government.”
About not signing the Bimal Jalan Committee report, he said, “I have been saying this, that the committee is still deliberating. The deliberations are not over. Now those deliberations will be carried on by the new representatives...”
As the DEA Secretary, Mr. Garg was in charge of fiscal policy, RBI-related matters, and was closely involved in the preparation of the Union Budget.
A 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, Mr. Garg came to the Centre in 2014 and was appointed Executive Director in the World Bank where he stayed till 2017 when he was appointed DEA Secretary in June 2017. In March 2019, he was elevated as the Finance Secretary following the retirement of A.N. Jha.
