Rajib Gauba takes charge as Union Home Secretary; Mehrishi retires

NEW DELHI: Senior IAS officer Rajiv Gauba today took charge as the Union Home Secretary after incumbent Rajiv Mehrishi retired from service.

He will have a fixed two-year tenure.

A 1982 batch officer of Jharkhand cadre, 58-year-old Gauba was appointed as the home secretary about two months ago and since then he has been serving in the home ministry as Officer on Special Duty (OSD).

Gauba had served as secretary in the Union urban development ministry before being appointed in the sensitive post.

Earlier, he had worked in the home ministry as additional secretary, looking after crucial left wing extremism division, among many other responsibilities.

Gauba has wide-ranging experience in senior positions at policy making and programme implementation in both central and state governments and in international organisations.

Born in Punjab in 1958, Gauba had graduated in Physics from Patna University.

He had served in Jharkhand as the chief secretary for 15 months before joining the central government last year.

Gauba has also served in the central government's ministries of home, defence, finance and environment and forests in different positions.

He represented India on the board of International Monetary Fund for four years.

As the Union home secretary, he will be handling issues like internal security, militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast, Maoist problems in the central and east India besides other issues. ACB NSD