Apurva Chandra (IAS) gets additional charge as DoT Secretary

New Delhi: Apurva Chandra (IAS) has been given additional charge as Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) with effect from Monday. Chandra is a 1998-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Maharashtra cadre. Presently, he is posted as Secretary in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

According to an order issued from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) on July 31, Chandra has been given addition charge of the post upon relinquishing the charge of the post by K Rajaraman (IAS) on July 31, and till the appointment if a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Apurva Chandra (IAS) has been serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting since August 2021. A Civil Engineer by education, Chandra obtained his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and Masters in Structural Engineering from IIT Delhi. He is a 1998-batch Indian Administrative Service Officer (IAS) of the Maharashtra cadre.

Prior to his current assignment, Chandra was serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Labour & Employment since October 1, 2020, with the mandate to implement the Labour Codes passed by the Parliament in September 2020 expeditiously. Under his guidance rules have been framed for all four Labour Codes after extensive consultations with all stakeholders. The Atmanibhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana has been launched to provide employment opportunities to 78.5 lakh workers in the formal sector with a budget of Rs 23,000 crores.

The secretary has also worked as Director General (Acquisition) in the Ministry of Defence with effect from December 1, 2017, with the mandate of strengthening the Indian Armed Forces by expediting the acquisition process. Several major contracts like the S-400 missile system, multi-role helicopters, assault rifles, naval ships, T-90 tanks etc. were signed during the period. He chaired the committee to draft the new defence acquisition procedure.

The senior bureaucrat has worked for over four years between 2013 and 2017 as Principal Secretary (Industries) in the government of Maharashtra. Maharashtra led the country in attracting FDI and other investments over the period. Chandra was instrumental in a slew of new policies like electronic policy, retail policy, a single-window policy to attract new investments. The first smart industrial township under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) has been operationalised at Aurangabad in Maharashtra under the leadership of Chandra.

He has spent more than seven years in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. He has been involved in framing policies with regard to fuel supplies to industries, supply logistics, transportation, storage and distribution of fuel products etc. He was directly associated with Natural Gas transportation infrastructure, setting up city gas distribution companies, LNG import terminals and allocation of gas to industries. Chandra has served on the Board of Directors of Maharatna PSU, GAIL (India) Ltd. and Petronet LNG Limited.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)