Rajgopalan is Gujarat's new chief secretary

Gandhinagar, Sep 30 (IANS) Gujarat's Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) D. Rajgopalan was Tuesday named the state's next chief secretary.

He will assume office Wednesday, replacing Manjula Subramaniam who retired Tuesday.

Rajgopalan, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1974 batch, supercedes three of his seniors Sudha Anchalia, George Joseph and Gurcharan Singh.

Two other officers senior to Rajgopalan are on deputation in New Delhi: Ashok Chawla, who was recently appointed secretary in the department of economic affairs in the finance ministry, and Christi Fernandez, who is serving as secretary to the president of India.

The way to the chief secretary's post was made easy for Rajgopalan after Sudha Anchalia, of the 1972 batch, was shifted out of the state secretariat in April 2008 when she was made chairperson and managing director of the Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertiliser Corporation (GNFC).

Gurcharan Singh was made director of the Ahmedabad-based Mahatma Gandhi Labour Institute in April 2008.

Rajgopalan retires in July 2009.

Joseph, of the 1972 batch, is additional chief secretary (general administration).