Rajiv Mehrishi is the next CAG of India: Former home secretary once spearheaded economic reforms in Rajasthan

Following the completion of his term as the Union home secretary on 30 August, Rajiv Mehrishi was on Thursday appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle. Mehrishi will replace Shashi Kant Sharma, whose tenure comes to end on 25 September 2017. This was the second time Mehrishi was given a new charge when he was to retire. [caption id=“attachment_2340150” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union home secretary, Rajiv Mehrishi. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] Born on 8 August, 1955, he was chosen as the secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs ( MHA) by the NDA government in 2015, just before he was to superannuate as the finance secretary to the Government of India. In October 2014, Mehrishi was brought in to the North Block to take charge of bureaucratic affairs of the Ministry of Finance from Arvind Mayaram.

Mehrishi kept a low profile during his stint at North Block, reported The Economic Times, but was not afraid to counter RBI officials as he spearheaded the push for an overhaul of the financial sector.

Mehrishi, whose career spans more than 30 years, has worked in the ministry of petroleum, agriculture and overseas Indian affairs and served as joint secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat of India, apart from various ministries in Rajasthan. He was on deputation from the state in the relatively low-profile ministry of overseas Indian affairs in 2013 when he was called back by the Vasundhara Raje government to be chief secretary of Rajasthan and lead the economic reforms in the state. Other posts that Mehrishi has held are Chairman of Indira Gandhi Nahar Board, and District Magistrate and Collector of Bikaner under Rajasthan Government. Mehrishi studied Master of Arts (History) from St Stephen’s College in Delhi University. He also has a degree in business administration from Strathclyde Business School, Glasgow, and is an alumnus of St. Xavier’s School in Jaipur. The CAG gets a six year-term in the office or till he turns 65, which comes earlier. This means Mehrishi can continue with the post till August 2020.