Budget 2025: A few days before the Union Budget 2025, a major reshuffle was announced in the Finance Ministry. In a statement on Wednesday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet announced that Revenue Secretary Arunish Chawla will be transferred to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), while DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey will be the new Revenue Secretary.
The announcement said that Tuhin Kanta Pandey will continue to work as the Finance Secretary.
Meanwhile, Mr. Arunish Chawla will also hold the additional charge of the post of Secretary, Public Enterprises Department, Ministry of Finance, and Secretary, Ministry of Culture, both until the regular posts are appointed or until further notice.
Chawla was appointed as the Revenue Secretary in the Ministry of Finance on December 25 last year when he was working as the Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. He continued to hold the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture even then. The post of Revenue Secretary fell vacant after the appointment of Sanjay Malhotra as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
A 1987 batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, Pandey was also holding the additional charge of Secretary, Public Enterprises Department.
The changes come days before the Union Budget is presented on February 1. The revision is seen as the government's strategic adjustment as it prepares for the upcoming critical fiscal planning period.