V. Srinivas takes charge as Rajasthan Chief Secretary

Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer V. Srinivas took charge as the new Chief Secretary of Rajasthan in Jaipur on Monday, November 17, 2025, replacing Sudhansh Pant, who was shifted to the Center as the representative. Mr. Srinivas, a 1989 batch officer, had also spent the last seven years as a representative in New Delhi.

Apart from his post as Principal Secretary, Mr. Srinivas will also hold the post of Chairman of the Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Limited and Chief Resident Commissioner of the State in New Delhi. He will serve until September 2026, when he is scheduled to retire.

Mr. Srinivas was earlier serving as Secretary, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances in the Union government. He has replaced an IAS officer in the seniority list as he is the second-most senior officer in the Rajasthan cadre after Subodh Agarwal in the 1988 batch.

Mr. Pant’s sudden departure from the State in the middle of his tenure as Chief Secretary was seen as an example of the Center exercising influence over key bureaucratic appointments. A major administrative reshuffle is likely following the appointment of Mr. Srinivas, with changes expected in the Prime Minister’s Office (CMO) and some key departments.

Mr. Srinivas said that after taking charge at the State Secretariat here, the State government will develop a road map to implement the “Viksit Rajasthan-2047” vision and attract investments in key sectors. “My main aim will be to establish better coordination between all departments and follow up on priority sector programs with quick and effective implementation of government plans,” he said.

The new Chief Secretary said that the State has witnessed significant innovations in the fields of agriculture, watershed development, healthcare and social security and several of these models have also been adopted at the Centre. He added that the implementation of the MoU signed during the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit-2024 will also be accelerated.

A seasoned bureaucrat, Mr. Srinivas has served in many key positions in the State and at the Centre. He worked as private secretary to the then External Affairs and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh during the NDA government and later served as technical assistant to India’s Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC.