Who will be Rajasthan's New Chief Secretary? These 5 IAS Officers Lead the Race

Rajasthan Chief Secretary: Rajasthan will get a new Chief Secretary from December 1. The names of 5 senior officers are being cited as the frontrunners for the post of Chief Secretary, of whom three are central secretaries in Delhi and two are holding important positions in the state.

Jaipur: Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant will continue in his post until November 30, despite his appointment in Delhi. Rajasthan will get a new Chief Secretary from December 1, for whom the search and lobbying have also begun. The names of 5 senior officials are being cited as frontrunners in this race, three of whom are central secretaries in Delhi and two are holding key positions in the state.

The names of five senior IAS officers are leading the race for the post of Chief Secretary. These include Rajat Kumar Mishra, Abhay Kumar, Tanmay Kumar, Akhil Arora, and V. Srinivasa. Shubhra Singh's name is also mentioned, who will retire this February. The most senior IAS officer in the state is Subodh Agarwal, who is retiring in December.

Officers Leading the Race for Chief Secretary Post

V. Srinivasa: He moved to the Centre before the Gehlot government took office in December 2018 and is the Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms, Public Grievances & Pensions in the Union Ministry of Personnel. He had gone to this department as an Additional Secretary. He will retire in September 2026.

Abhay Kumar: He is currently the ACS of the Water Resources Department. He is also responsible for completing the government's dream project, the Ram Jal Setu Link Project. He is the 5th officer in the seniority list of the IAS cadre of Rajasthan. He will retire in August 2028.

Rajat Kumar Mishra: He is the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Mishra has been working in the central government since 2019. A native of Odisha, Mishra served as Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office during the Congress tenure from 2009-13. Mishra will retire in January 2028.

Tanmay Kumar: He is the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Tanmay Kumar, a resident of Bihar, went on deputation to Delhi in 2020. He had also served as Principal Secretary to the CM during the BJP government in the state between 2013-18. He will retire in September 2026.

Akhil Arora: He is the Additional Chief Secretary of the Public Health Engineering Department. Prior to this, he served as Secretary of the Finance Department. He was appointed to the Finance Department in 2020, after which he was given the responsibility of the Public Health Engineering Department in June 2025. He will retire in January 2029.