The Maharashtra government on Friday appointed senior IAS officer Rajesh Agarwal as the new Chief Secretary of the state. Agarwal, a 1989-batch officer, is expected to serve a one-year tenure in the state&rsquo;s top bureaucratic post.
He will succeed outgoing Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar, whose three-month service extension ends on November 30. Kumar had taken charge on June 30 and was originally due to retire on September 30 before being granted an extension.
Agarwal recently returned to Maharashtra after completing his deputation in New Delhi and was posted as Additional Chief Secretary in the General Administration Department with charge of administrative reforms and good governance.
With Agarwal&rsquo;s appointment, another senior contender for the position, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Iqbal Chahal, will miss out as he is scheduled to retire in January 2026.
During his central deputation, Agarwal served as Secretary in the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He also functioned as Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Earlier, he worked as Director General of Training, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services. In Maharashtra, he has previously held several key positions, including Principal Secretary of the Information Technology Department.
An IIT Delhi alumnus in Computer Science, Agarwal joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1989. He is known for his work in data analytics to eliminate bogus beneficiaries and improve targeted subsidy delivery.
A strong proponent of e-governance and technology-driven administration, Agarwal played a key role in initiatives such as Aadhaar, Jan Dhan, DigiLocker, and Jeevan Praman. He has also contributed to cyber jurisprudence, authoring over 70 judgments as an Adjudicating Officer under the IT Act. [Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Benefit News editorial team and is published directly from the IANS news feed.]

1989-batch IAS officer gets one-year tenure after return from Centre deputation

Rajesh Agarwal Named Maharashtra Chief Secretary

1989-batch IAS officer gets one-year tenure after return from Centre deputation

November 28, 2025 | 19:53 IST