Ajay Kumar Bhalla is a senior IAS officer, who was appointed as the Home Secretary of India on 22 August 2019. Prior to this, he has held various positions including Joint Secretary (Ports) in the Department of Shipping, Additional Secretary, Secretary in the Ministry of Coal. in the Ministry of Power, and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He got four one-year extensions in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Ajay Kumar Bhalla was born on Saturday, 26 November 1960 (age 62 years; 2022) in Bihar. Their zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He has M.Sc. Is. (Botany) from Delhi University, MBA from University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and M.Phil (Social Sciences) from Panjab University, Chandigarh.
An old picture of Ajay Kumar Bhalla with his daughter
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 5″
Hair Color: Gray
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
His father was also a government employee. There is not much information about his mother and siblings.
wife and children
His wife Jyoti Grover Bhalla is a teacher in Delhi Public School. They have a son, Girik Bhalla, and a daughter, Aakriti Bhalla, who is an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company.
A picture of Ajay Kumar Bhalla with his wife Jyoti Grover Bhalla and children Aakriti Bhalla and Girik Bhalla
signature/autograph
Signature of Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla
livelihood
Ajay Kumar Bhalla is a 1984 batch IAS officer from Assam Meghalaya cadre. He started his journey as an IAS officer on 21 August 1984 after which he held various assignments in the cadre in Assam and Meghalaya. Bhalla served as Director (Ports) in the Department of Shipping from May 2002 to March 2005, during which he looked after port operations and human resource development matters of all major ports in the country. Subsequently, he served as Joint Secretary (Ports) in the Department of Shipping (April 2005 – May 2007). This position required him to oversee port development, port operations and human resource development matters related to major ports. Bhalla started working as Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Coal on 1 July 2010. From 8 January 2015 to 12 April 2015, he served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Coal. In this capacity, he looked after the allocation and distribution of coal blocks. On 13 April 2015, he was appointed as Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce. On 4 August 2015, they also started functioning as the Designated Authority, Directorate General of Anti-Dumping. On 20 October 2016, he was appointed as Director General of Foreign Trade with additional charge of Director, IIFT (29 November 2016 to 30 June 2017). Bhalla served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Power from 30 June 2017 to 25 July 2019. In 2019, the Modi government reshuffled more than a dozen secretaries, following which he was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Home Ministry.
Secretary, Ministry of Power, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh and other dignitaries addressing a press conference on INSPIRE- 2018 (International Seminar for Promotion of Innovation and Innovation) are doing. Research in Energy Efficiency), on 11 November 2018 in New Delhi
In August 2019, Bhalla succeeded Rajiv Gauba as the Home Secretary of India. During his service, Bhalla led the government’s initiative related to the establishment of Narco Coordination Center (NCoRD). He also played a key role in driving the progress of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022. This law empowers law enforcement agencies to collect, maintain, and evaluate various metrics from convicted or detained individuals, including physical and biological data such as retina. and iris scan. Additionally, Bhalla led collaborative efforts against Khalistan supporters and criminal groups in several areas, and he played a key role in the prohibition of the Popular Front of India (PFI) in 2022.
Ajay Kumar Bhalla took over as Union Home Secretary from Shri Rajiv Gauba in 2019
Bhalla as Home Secretary steered the ministry through several crises and his tenure began, literally, with a litmus test. Only a fortnight before his appointment, the central government abrogated Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, scrapping the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating it into two union territories, causing turmoil in the region. Went. Bhalla was tasked with pooling his resources, including the armed forces and central agencies, to ensure that there was no violent insurgency in the valley. He not only handled the situation then, but his supervision resulted in a significant decline in terrorist violence and law-and-order incidents in Kashmir in the following years. By the end of 2019, he was once again extinguishing the fire that broke out due to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the country. As the communal riots due to the CAA ended, Bhalla found himself leading the fight against Covid-19, handling the lockdown as the chief nodal authority and setting the agenda for states to fight the disease. Were. In August 2020, the Home Ministry was again in trouble when farmers launched protests in Delhi which turned violent when a group of protesters deviated from the parade to storm the Red Fort in early 2021. He also managed the establishment of the Ram Mandir Trust, for which he was responsible. Major effort to build Ram temple.
Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Union Home Minister Amit Shah
Although the officer was to retire from service in November 2020, after his scheduled two-year tenure ended, his tenure was extended till August 22, 2021, through an order dated October 17, 2020. 22 August 2023. In 2023, Union Home Secretary Ajay K Bhalla was again given one year extension in service by giving relaxation in FR 56 (D) and Rule 16 (1A) of All India Services, i.e. 22 August By 2024. Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958. At that time, the government was dealing with several internal security issues such as the Manipur unrest and the rise of pro-Khalistan elements.
Controversy
As a bureaucrat during the UPA tenure, Bhalla came into controversy in March 2013 when a meeting was organized by the then Union Law Minister Ashwini Kumar. CBI Director Ranjit Sinha and Attorney General GE Vahanvati attended this meeting. During the meeting, amendments were made to the initial version of the CBI report related to the coal scam cases. The report was originally intended for Supreme Court review, but was redirected through Ashwini Kumar, who had to step down due to the resulting controversy. At that time, Bhalla was joint secretary in the coal ministry and played a role in the group of officials implementing these changes. The Supreme Court later commented that these actions significantly changed the substance of the report.
Salary, Housing and Perks
As per Level 17 of the 7th Pay Commission, Ajay Kumar Bhalla was entitled to Rs. 225,000 basic salary per month as Home Secretary of India. In addition, Home Secretaries are eligible for diplomatic passports. Official Residence of the Union Home Secretary, Type-VIII Bungalow #3 at New Moti Bagh, New Delhi.
Facts/General Knowledge
- After the completion of his fourth one-year extension, Bhalla is set to become the second Union Home Secretary to serve for five years or more. The most recent example of such a long tenure of a Home Secretary dates back almost 52 years when Lallan Prasad Singh ended his tenure in January 1971 after more than six years.
- During Bhalla’s tenure as Home Secretary, the Home Ministry witnessed several declines. Even after more than four years of CAA being implemented, the ministry has not made its rules. There was a lot of political drumbeat on the National Population Register, but the process was never updated. First, the census, which was scheduled to take place in 2021, was postponed due to COVID-19. However, even when the pandemic was long gone, there were no signs of it happening until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn