Career
Previously, he served as Secretary, Lokpal of India, from 5 February 2024 till 14 March 2024. Before this, he served as the Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand from July 2021 to January 2024. Prior to that, he served as Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for about 2 years. He also served in Government of India as Additional Secretary, Higher Education, where he looked after IITs, IIMs etc. Earlier, he served in various positions in the Government of Uttarakhand, Government of Punjab and Government of Uttar Pradesh. He worked as Secretary in several departments including Infrastructure Development, Highways, PPP Projects, Urban Development, Power, Industries, New & Renewable Energy, Finance, etc. He served as Principal Secretary to 4 CMs from 3 different political parties, for about eight years from 2007 to 2014. In NHAI, arbitration disputes worth Rs. 30,000 Cr were resolved by conciliation during his tenure, bringing great relief to the contractors and banks. Nationwide compulsory ‘Fastag’ for Toll Collection was implemented by him, resulting in annual saving of about Rs.35,000 Cr to the nation. NHAI was made one of the most digitalised, drone monitored and portal governed organization during this period. During his tenures as Chief Secretary, Govt of Uttarakhand, 35 policies of different departments were changed to make them more effective and delivery oriented, which led to better delivery, major investments and employment generation in almost all areas. He had also served as Collector / District Magistrate of Haridwar, Gautam Budh Nagar (NOIDA) and Udham Singh Nagar districts. He simplified the processes / procedures for effective delivery and found solution to many challenges. He has been a hockey player. He has interest in trekking and mountaineering and had scaled Black Peak (22,000 feet) in Uttarkashi District of Uttarakhand. He delivered a talk on ‘De-stressing Indian Cities’ at Harvard Business School, Boston, U.S.A, on invitation. ==Publications==