Uttar Pradesh's new Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh (left) being greeted by outgoing Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra as the former assumes office, in Lucknow, Sunday.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: Senior IAS officer Manoj Kumar Singh took over as the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, an official statement said.
Singh, a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, replaces Durga Shankar Mishra, it added.
According to the statement, Singh was serving as the agriculture production commissioner, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner and the additional chief secretary of the Panchayati Raj department.
He has discharged important administrative responsibilities in his career, including as the district magistrate of Lalitpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Pilibhit, Moradabad and Aligarh and as the divisional commissioner of Moradabad. Singh is considered a prominent face in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's team.
The statement also said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Singh was part of teams that played a significant role in controlling the spread of the virus in rural areas.
Singh contributed significantly to both the planning and implementation of Adityanath's 'BC Sakhi' scheme, which embodies the concept of 'Banking at Your Doorstep, it added.
He also played a crucial role in realising Adityanath's vision of making the 2019 Kumbh Mela a grand global event. As the nodal officer, Singh oversaw its preparations and now as the chief secretary, his experience will be instrumental in successfully organizing the Mahakumbh 2025, the statement said.
Mishra, a 1984-batch IAS officer, who was due to retire from service on December 31, 2021, was repatriated to his parent cadre Uttar Pradesh and appointed as its chief secretary barely two days before his retirement. He had been holding the charge since then on extension of service.