The Jharkhand government has appointed Avinash Kumar as the new Chief Secretary of the state, ending weeks of speculation over the top bureaucratic position. Kumar, a 1993-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, was serving as Additional Chief Secretary in the Energy Department before his elevation.
According to an order issued by Under Secretary Vinod Kumar on Tuesday, under the direction of the Governor, Kumar will also hold the additional charge as Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister and Principal Resident Commissioner of Jharkhand Bhawan in New Delhi.
The appointment follows the retirement of former Chief Secretary Alka Tiwari, whose official retirement date was September 30. However, her last working day was September 26 due to administrative reasons.
With Tiwari’s retirement, the race for the top post had narrowed to two senior IAS officers from the 1993 batch, Avinash Kumar and Ajay Kumar Singh. The government finalised Kumar’s name, placing him at the helm of the state bureaucracy.